Some thoughts before departure...

  • I am still not a vet, doctor, lawyer, dog trainer, cia agent, fbi agent or a navy seal so...walk
  • I am doing this for the challenge of course, and I hope to gain a confidence that comes with this type of endeavor. But also I hope to gain some new knowledge about the world and the truths that reside in it.
  • Am I walking to "find myself"? Or just to take a walk. You decide...and you'll probably be right.
  • I'm not in the best shape of my life, but I do have a lot of new great gear so....
  • After living with my parents the last 2 years, it makes perfect sense to walk 2650 miles - alone.
  • Yes there will be bears, cougars, rattlesnakes and scorpions both imagined and real along the way. I'm definitely more worried about those imagined.
  • Am I scared? Not as of yet, more of just a constantly increasing anticipation. But check back with me on the 3rd night in the desert.
  • I tried to keep my pack fairly light, but I definitely would not call it ultralight. Somehow when I added up all my ultralight gear and put it in my ultralight pack, I ended up with just slightly heavy.
  • My biggest concern for this trip is that I get too hungry somewhere along the way, my brain goes awol as it usually does when I get hungry and subsequently you never hear from me again...I'll try to eat frequently.
  • I am not Christopher McCandless. This is not Into the Wild.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Almost there....

Day 58, Mile 900.8
Mammoth is finally here. Just 6 more miles give or take tomorrow and i will be seeing the parentos for the first time in 50 days. I am looking forward to it to say the least. Today was a long one, but well executed in terms of enough breaks, and getting into camp at a decent hour. Did Silver pass in the morning at 10,900ft and then worked our way up and down eventually stopping at 9,090ft for the night alongside Deer Creek. The mosquitoes were vicious at times today and at one point did not seem to be respecting the d-to-the double-e-t. I am not looking forward to having to put that chemical on my body for the next 1,000 or so miles. I got two or three big bites on my bald spot, I can only imagine how nice of a target that must look like for aerial attacks. Anyway the day went by fast enough, i had heart pains today here and there which was weird. I attributed it to the fact that I've been eating hardly any protein and def not any fresh fruit or vegetables - vitamins just don't cut it from what i can tell. When i get into mammoth tomorrow i am going to eat as many different fruits as are available to me and then take a shower. Maybe i will put some before and after shots up here, so you can see my transformation from homeless man to vagabond to 6th year college student. I plan to take two zero's in mammoth and then get back on trail on the 1st, looking forward to both. Oh i almost forgot, today we came across 3 JMT-ers south-bounding (been a lot of them in this stretch) and one was Asian, one was African American, and the third was Latino. A triumphant day for diversity in the back country, a good thing, wish i saw more of it. Thought of the day; i don't know im falling asleep as i type. Songs of the day; Macho Man by the village people, and Santa Claus is coming to town by umm Christmas carols unlimited. Cravings of the day; this morning it was a pear/apple/carrot/celery juice from like a Ronco juicer. In the afternoon it was apple pie with just apples no filling - a la mode.
JWC on the PCT

6 comments:

christina.kelada said...

OMG!! That's soo excited... your paretns and fresh foods and sleep. I m pretty happy for you. I may not have ever done a 60 day hike in middle of no where per se but, I did live in Africa for 7 months. So, I kind of feel like we can exchange some war stories.. haha, Miss you.

Tony Hii said...

Hello, you have a nice blog.

Unknown said...

Jesse,

I'm Curt Simmons, Anna's dad. It sounds like you're having the journey of a lifetime.

If you're passing by Hwy 4 (Ebbets Pass) between July 4-7 or July 18-25 I can offer you a good meal, shower, hot tub and comfy bed. 831-359-7254.

Good luck

DANYELIA said...

i'm so excited that we'll be able to meet you in s lake tahoe!!!!well i think prince is more excited but we're looking forward to giving you a good meal and some company =) keep truckin'

Sandra said...

What a joy! Your blogs are incredible. We are truly enjoying them. Jefferson desperatly wishes he could be hiking with you instead of selling mattresses and I need to get you mom's banana bread recipe. Obviously it's a winner! Song of the day for you
I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more... by The Proclaimers.
You could actually sing that song and mean it. J/K

ark said...

Jesse...It was so wonderful to be able to read your new entries. I am losing much needed sleep in order to read them, but they are worth it. O my gosh! You may be losing weight from your physical body, but you are gaining weight in your soul. You will never be the same. When we meet you and walk over the Bridge of the Gods with you, I will bring you rolls and banana bread and fruit. That seems to be the items that continue to re-occur. You are right...vitamins don't cut it. Man just cannot duplicate the intricacies of God's incredible creation. Only real food will do. And you frightened me with the death poems. I didn't get it at first and I was thinking it was Gina and Kraig. I have come to love them dearly and think of them as family by now. I would have been absolutely devastated. And your poetry is really good. Love as always...........Andrea