16th April 2025

3am and wide awake: jet lags still present. Better enjoy the warmth and softness of the bed while we can, not sure when we’ll be sleeping in one again. 

Now we have our food and yesterday’s purchases from REI we can finally pack our bags. We instantly question whether we bought too much food and have underestimated our 40L capacity. But with a little brute force and several crushed snacks later our bags are packed. 

After three trams and one very crowded bus later we arrived at CLEEF campground. This is a fantastic set up predominantly used by PCT hikers the night before their start dates as it’s less than a mile from the PCT official start.

We arrived just in time for the pre-trail talk, but first we had to set up our tent, an intimidating feat in front of thirty or so hikers sitting in the communal shelter. After the talk we went to bed, tired from our day of travel and a little too over stimulated to socialise.

Sleep came and went with the excitement and anticipation of tomorrow, the reality of which still did not feel as though it had fully materialised. But here we were in the thick of it, surrounded by other hikers also barely able to believe it.