Just hiking the PCT through, from south to north, takes most hikers six months. But Williamson left the Mexican border below Campo on May 22, reached the Canadian border Aug. 18, had a one-hour lunch “a little bit into Canada,” and then headed back south.
“For a variety of reasons it was different this time, up and back,” he said. “I started a month later than ’04, for one thing. This one was more mentally challenging. I had already done it and I knew how much I had ahead of me. As well as being really late and facing the possibility of being snowed out of the Sierra on my way back south.
“In some ways the hike means more to me this time because I had to work harder to make it, both physically and mentally. I’m pretty jubilant. A lot of people when they come off the trail, whether it’s a short hike or not, they often talk about missing the trail. But I’m pretty much ready to finish.”
So why did he do it again?
“The first time I did it because it was a goal I set for myself,” he said. “In many ways it became an albatross around my neck because I came so close doing it three attempts before I did it in 2004. This time I just wanted to see if I could do it again, and also, 2004 was such an enjoyable, epic trip – the people, all the miles, the hiking, the various experiences. I just wanted to recapture that and maybe experience it all in a different way, which I did.”
Williamson’s base pack weighs just 8 pounds, one pound of which was a video camera he carried for Shaun Kerrigan, who is putting together a documentary on Williamson and the PCT titled, “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” Williamson shot more than 34 hours of video.
“He’s got some incredible shots of bears and other wildlife, some of the biggest bucks you’ll ever see, and some breathtaking scenery,” said Kerrigan, who lives in the Silicon Valley.
By hiking the PCT, as well as the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, Williamson is in a select group of hikers.
“I feel really privileged to be able to spend this much time out here,” he said. “I’m an incredibly lucky guy. Most people have responsibilities like jobs, bills, things that get in the way of them taking six months off to hike.”
A magazine story once portrayed Williamson as a man who escaped to long hikes because it was the only place where he was happy. Several years ago, Williamson was shot in the face during a holdup of a convenience store he worked at in Richmond. And a close hiking friend committed suicide, his death affecting Williamson greatly.
But rather than focus on the negative aspects of his past, Williamson clearly has left that part of his life’s trail behind.
“Since he yo-yo’d the PCT in 2004, he’s never been happier,” said his fiancee, Turley. “He’s at a really great place in his life.”
Among Williamson’s memorable spots on his journey:
The High Sierra and the northern parts of the Cascade range are his two favorite places.
The Trinity Alps and Lassen National Park in Northern California.
Entering Oregon, Crater Lake National Park, Three Sisters Wilderness Area and Mount Hood were beautiful stretches. The Eagle Creek Trail, he said, is “nine miles going down the creek gorge with just waterfall after waterfall after waterfall. It’s real lush and green, that northwestern rain forest environment.”
In Washington, the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area.
Williamson’s father, Dave, who lives in Escondido, and Turley were his support team.
“It’s been a solo hike, but Michelle and my father, a community of people like Reinhold, all were ready to help me if I needed it,” he said. “I couldn’t have made it this far without them.”
Williamson has heard that people are inspired by his hiking, how he has overcome so much to do these amazing journeys.
“I think it does give people inspiration. I hope it does,” he said. “I’m a big believer in people following their dreams. And no matter how people feel about what you’re doing, if you believe in it, go for it and follow your dreams.”
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