My good friend Joanne is in charge of our five- or six-person trip down the trail (or up, depending on which end we begin at), to take place at the end of August. I hiked the trail with my junior high school in April of 1996, when I was 14. I was in the “easy” group, which conquered the north half of the trail, turned on its heel and went back. It has been a long time (over four years) since I did a serious backpacking trail. And the first worry that I always have is, “I have no stuff!” Seriously, I have like a water bottle and a Thermarest. No pack, no sleeping bag, and I’m not sure my boots will get me by.

I’m glad I’m not the one in charge of organizing things. I have every expectation that by the time I start my second last semester of school, I will have once again hiked the West Coast Trail.