Kyla Arnold & Matt Margiotta PCT '13

This might not be your typical project. We aren't making a movie or a CD or even creating visual art. We are on a journey. Extending from the Mexican border to Canada. We are hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. The PCT is a trail stretching 2,650 miles across mountain ranges in the states of California, Oregon and Washington ending in Canada. One may wonder what would inspire us to sell all our belongings to buy a backpack, sleeping bag, and a good pair of tennis shoes then leave all our comforts behind to walk across the county. To us this was obvious, we wanted to live. We didn't want to be restrained by society's expectations of how we should be living our lives. We wanted to learn, we wanted to grow, we wanted to evolve.
We are currently 3 months into our hike, half way complete and nearly 100 percent out of funds. The trail has been much more expensive than either of us had planned. We are in Truckee, Ca, mile 1156, and we have realized we aren't going to be able to afford to finish. We thought about getting off trail, calling it quits, being done, but neither of us could stand the thought of money being what ended our journey. So we are getting creative and even more determined to finish. Both of us have picked up shifts at a local pizza company to earn some extra money, but we are going to have to get back on trail very soon.
We are in a race against the elements. We can't stay in Truckee for too long because by the time we earn enough money by working, we wont make it to Canada before heavy snow sets in, making it impossible to finish. We can't imagine walking this far and it just being over. Thus far, the trail has shown us magic in many ways, and we realize without struggles, triumphs aren't as sweet. We are viewing this struggle only as an opportunity to overcome another struggle, just making the success even sweeter.
We both were very reluctant to create this site and ask for help. We aren't raising funds for charity and we aren't trying to start a business either, we are just trying to follow our dreams and complete the one we are half way into. We decided if we are going to make this account we are going to be honest and direct about where the money will be going.
We will spend the money mainly on food. We walk on average 20-25 miles per day and to keep our bodies running, and working its recommended we eat over 3,500 calories a day. Other expenses include new gear we need such as batteries for our water filter, or warmer clothing as the temperatures begin to drop. We estimate we have around 2 months left if we do around 25 miles each day.
If you chose you want to assist us financially, we can't express enough how grateful we would be.