Welcome to Living on the Trail! This website is dedicated to Anthony’s progress throughout his hike on the Pacific Crest Trail.
A little bit about myself.
I’m Anthony Purnel, and I was born and raised in Palm Springs, Ca. I have been an avid backpacker/hiker since I was a kid when my dad would take us hiking in the local mountains. I grew up backpacking in the Sierras with my brothers and sisters, my dad, and my grandparents. I kind of fell out of it as a teenager, but started backpacking again when I got into college. The majority of my hiking has been in California and Wyoming, but I’ve also backpacked in Utah, Oregon and Washington.
Why am I doing this?
I’ve always had a fascination with the trail ever since I’ve learned of it’s existence about 10+ years ago. When I learned that the trail came right through my backyard I was determined to figure out how to complete it. The logistics of organizing a five month backpacking trip seem daunting to say the least, but I decided that I was going to do the first 200 miles of the trail as a test to see how I would do. I completed that in April of 2015. It took me about 2 months to convince myself that I was to going to start the process of organizing a thru hike. Yes, I’m going to have bad day, yes there will be times where I just want to quit and go home, but those are the time that you have to be the strongest. There’s nothing like wanted to quit a hike, and then turn a corner and see some of the most beautiful scenery that this earth can show.
What’s in my pack?
I’ve adopted somewhat of an ultralight stance on backpacking. I’ve learned to develop a balance between needs and wants. I try and keep my pack as light as possible, so here a list on what I’m carrying:
