Hit mile 100 on the Pacific Crest Trail section near Crater Lake and it hit me different

I was doing a 5 day stretch through Oregon last summer, just grinding along. When I checked my GPS at lunch on day 3, it said 99.3 miles for that section. I made it to exactly 100 about an hour later near this little creek crossing. Something about that round number made me stop and actually look around for the first time in days. I had been so focused on making miles that I forgot why I was out there. Has anyone else hit a specific distance milestone that made you slow down and change how you approach a trip?

2 comments

2 Comments

kellys7810h ago

Haha "hit me different" yeah because staring at your feet for three days straight will do that. I did the same thing on the JMT a few years back, hit 200 miles at some random switchback and realized I'd been hiking like a robot on a treadmill. GPS numbers are a weird thing, they make you forget you're actually out in the woods, not just checking off a to-do list. Honestly, I bet half the people on trail would never notice that stuff if their phone didn't buzz with a new milestone. Kinda pathetic when you think about it, but also kinda the point.

nancycooper7h agoRising Star

Shutting off notifications halfway through helped me actually see the trail.