The PCT Long Distance Permit application form went live today, January 24 at 10:30 PST. And then it melted down into a puddle of Error 522 web server could not be reached, or something like that.
When the web server finally came back up, my first permit submission for April 16 failed. The web server likely crashed again. The second went through and I was able to apply for a launch date of April 9. I think they'll start issuing permits February 13, so it will be a few weeks before I actually have my PCT Long Distance Permit. I think that's when it will finally move from surreal to real.
I remember night hiking in Wyoming after being in a van for 24 hours. It was around midnight when we started. After about 30 minutes of hiking we stopped for stretch break and there it was, stuck to a lodge pole pine. The CDT trail marker. That's when that adventure went from surreal to real. I was on the CDT, something I had been looking into for over a year. Sure, I wasn't thru hiking it, I was just standing on a section of it. Still, it went from some image on a web page to something right under my feet and right in front of me. It was real.
I know its just a permit, but its now all becoming more and more real.
Now to book a flight and schedule some R&R in Canada with my nieces and nephews.