Thru-hiking can take social distancing to an extreme.

Unless you camp close to random people or you spend lots of time in town when you resupply, you will be safely away from any contagion.

That's why 2020 is the best year ever to thru-hike, especially if you recently lost your job.

Put your stuff in storage (or sell it all). Stop paying rent. And hike for the next 6 months.

By the time you finish hiking, the Coronapocolypse will have killed a few million people and ravaged the economy while you were happily backpacking.

You'll return to civilization in the post-apocalypse - and just in time to vote for in the US elections.

I recorded the following podcast with Gehn Shibayama a month before the Coronavirus outbreak. What we discuss is extremely relevant for the 2020 pandemic. We discuss:

How thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is different now that it was 15 years ago.
How two East Asians females died on Pacific Crest Trail a couple of years ago.
How thru-hiking El Camino de Santiago has changed in the last decade.
How to invest your money (super relevant today now that the markets have tanked - thereby making it a great time to invest).
Why he was a trail angel in 2019.
Why do some vegans not tolerate people using their kitchen utensils to cook animals?
How can one retire before 50?
What's he planning to do in the 2020s?

A few fact-checking corrections:

We debated the pros and cons of thru-hiking the PCT southbound. On the podcast, I estimated that you need 3 months to thru-hike the Canadian border to Kennedy Meadows. I couldn't remember the exact time that I had calculated years ago. It's all in my "Why Go Southbound on the PCT" article. I explain that takes 3.5 months to cover those two points, which is the same amount of time that northbounders have to cover that distance. Therefore, I'm sticking with my recommendation of going south on the PCT. You just need to get in shape before you leave.

Gehn said that Scott Williamson has thru-hiked the PCT 7 times. I said that he's done it "more than 10 times." Fact check: he's thru-hiked the PCT 13 times.

What's clear is that this is a fantastic year to thru-hike the PCT. Snow levels are normal. Go for it.

I hope Gehn inspires you to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

Connect with Gehn Shibayama's Facebook profile.

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