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.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

I'm just a hot mess

Day 35, Mile 558.3 - I awoke this morning at 1:31 am to find that the sandblasting/ chinchilla power wash had subsided. I think i woke up cause i was so hot now that the wind wasn't blowing and having every tie tied shut on the bag. In my half awakened state i could not manage to get out of the bag and basically freaked out fighting with the zippers and drawstrings until i was actually sweating. I laid there for some time trying to cool off and noticed that the wind had made the air so clear i could see stars behind stars behind stars. Then i brushed some of the sand off my face, head, and sleeping bag and laid it back down. Todays' 13 miles went pretty fast for me. The wind picked up again by the time we got to the oak creek wind energy, go figure. My hat is thoroughly ruined after two days in the high winds. I took a few pictures of it and then it got retired. We got a hitch into town with two guys drinking Budweiser and a van full of tools and shit. It was an interesting but welcomed ride. We are now in a motel after picking up the 16lbs of food in a drop from my parents. The food seemed heavy but once i crammed it in the pack it was just fine. Alright i need to get into town and get some mass calories into my body. Last but definitely not least i want to say happy birthday to Prince. Hope you had a good day little man. Thought of the day; cleanliness may not be next to godliness for real for real, but its damn good to be clean sometimes. Song of the day; take me dowwwn to that lovely place... yeah i have no idea who what or where, no one is gonna get that one. Craving of the day; turkey BLT with Swiss cheese on toasted squaw bread...to be exact.

JWC on the PCT

2 comments:

Sandra said...

Just a thought...
I think you should make a soundtrack of your PCT journey from your "song of the day" choices. It would be, in the very least, a very interesting mix.
Keep your head up, or down depending on the wind. It can only get better.

DANYELIA said...

I agree with the soundtrack idea...good memory on the happy birthday shoutout.

jarell