Hiker Turns Failure Into Success on Pacific Crest Trail

A hiker who set a lofty goal of walking the entire Pacific Coast Trail failed to do so, but still turned the experience into a success.

View of Pamelia Lake from high above on the Pacific Crest Trail in the Jefferson Wilderness. / Zach Urness / Statesman Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

One of the most grueling and demanding hiking trails in North America of the Pacific Crest Trail. Officially known as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, it is 2,650 miles of incredible scenery that crosses across three states and two countries.

The southernmost point of the trail begins just south of Campo, California. The northernmost point is on the border of the United States and Canada. It goes through California, Oregon and Washington and into British Columbia.

Trekking this trail is not for the faint of heart. A massive amount of preparation and effort needs to go into just planning the trip. The hike itself can then take 4-6 months to complete if you are traveling the entire thing.

You need mental toughness as much as physically being in shape to make it through this trip. More often than not, people are unable to finish. Injury and fatigue are two of the most common reasons that people have to quit.

Normally, stories of failure outside of a fatality or heartbreaking story are not discussed; people write about the successful trips adventurers make. But, Sandyann Ducarme is one person who turned her failures on the trail into success.

In her story shared by Sam Morse of The Inertia, it was revealed that Ducarme is known as “Snowdancer” on the trail. At the start of her journey, she was full of optimism.

Alas, nothing ever goes exactly to plan when out in the wilderness. Despite all of the preparations Ducarme made, adjustments were necessary early on as she adjusted to the pace of other people she was hiking with.

“After Hikertown, I tried to keep up with the younger hikers. It was really hard going through the desert,” Ducarme said. “I was pushing too far, too fast,” which led to adjustments to the itinerary.

She went the first 18 days without a zero-day. A zero day is when a hiker doesn’t record any miles, using it for recuperation and recovery on a long trip. “I decided to get off the trail because I hadn’t taken a zero for 18 days. I was trashed,” Ducarme said.

That didn’t mean her plans of making the entire 2,650-mile trek were over; she was just making some changes. Instead of making the trek in one shot, she is turning this into a multi-year journey. She wants to take in everything the trail has to offer at her own pace.

“I realized with me going slower that I was not going to get to Canada this year before the snow,” she said. Instead of pushing herself to the point of misery, Sandyann chose to enjoy the journey and make it sustainable. “I decided to go as far as I wanted and still have fun.”

There have been some difficulties with the decision she made, as skipping sections leaves her feeling inadequate. 

“When I got back on the trail, I felt like an imposter because I had skipped a section,” she said, reflecting on her imposter syndrome. “I ran into people who had started later and were now ahead. It was always in the back of my mind that I hadn’t really done the PCT in one go.”

While hard on herself, she deserves a lot of credit for accomplishing as much as she did. Despite a shoulder injury, Ducarme traveled more than 800 miles. That is something most people will never get close to doing in their lives.

“I’ve done a lot of tough hikes,” she said. “Even if I don’t reach the top, I’m okay with it.”