"We met Georgia on the shuttle bus from San Diego to Campo! She was a day 0! She has one of, if not the most electric energy of anyone we've met on trail! The positivity just radiates off of her and it is contagious! We hiked around her for a good section in the desert, but as her name implies she vortexed in towns and we hiked out. She's a strong hiker so she usually caught up to us. She's also not one to stay on trail. If there's a side adventure to be had she goes for it! We saw her again in Bishop where she got invited to go to a rave in the desert. She hitched there and convinced the people who gave her a ride to go to the rave with her. We saw her again at PCT Day's and to no surprise she was stage left, front row breaking it down, dancing barefoot. If everyone had half her positivity and energy we would have a much happier and brighter world with a lot more dancing!" - Journey Man
What's your name / trail name or both?
Georgia, or Vortex
Where are you from?
New Zealand
Why did you decide to do the PCT?
I heard about the pct maybe five years ago from reading wild, and I decided it seemed like a cool in between thing to do. Like lots of lost people coming together and all walking in the same direction. And I thought maybe when I finish studying I’ll come over and do it. And then I finished studying and wanted to start traveling again so I thought why not now. I also really like walking and thinking and ‘being’ in the outdoors so it seemed perfect.
What has been the most challenging thing you've encountered on trail so far?
The most challenging thing has been working out what the PCT means to me and what I want to get out of the experience. Do I need or even want to do every mile or are the random experiences more important? (Hint: it’s the latter) Why am I here? - all the good stuff like that. Also the Oregon mosquitos drove me insane.
What is something you've learned so far on your hike?
Something I’ve continued to learn is to be authentic, kind and follow your heart. So many of my best times on the trail have been when I decided to do something for myself or follow a whim and it’s worked out great every time. Also I think you get out what you put in so by putting out good energy into the world, your life will be filled with good lovely people :)
