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, July 27, 2008

Clean to filthy in half a day

Day 85, Mile 1398.7---This morning i had not been up more than 10 minutes and breakfast was served. I totaled 4 slices of cantaloupe, one serving of scrambled eggs, 5 slices of French toast, 5 pieces of bacon, and two glasses of freshly squeezed grapefruit/orange juice. I had 3 of the slices of French toast with homemade apple butter; the combination made me want to stay there forever. I had some more chores to do this morning after breakfast and consequently i missed the first ride out to the trailhead. The next ride didn't leave for awhile and in the meantime i got some extra computer time. I managed to talk to some of my former BBSR staff-mates which was really nice. Having spent the last 5 summers of my life at that place i definitely miss it from time to time. Hope the rest of their camp sessions go well. Myself, Julia, and Will were the only hikers left and got taken back to the trail by Georgi Heitman herself. She packed us little french toast and jam sandwiches that were amazing, in fact, i ate mine in the driveway before we even left. We made it back on trail sometime shortly after 11. The three of us took in the Subway Caves (a lava tube) and 22 miles of trail before the sun went down. Along the way we talked about everything from WWII, to food sustainability, to community design, to future travel plans. It made the miles fly by, and i barely noticed that the talcum powder-esque dirt we were walking on was covering me head to toe. It was fairly hot up on what is called the Hat Creek Rim, and no natural water for 30+ miles. This is the fastest i have ever gone from clean to busted, and actually its up there on the "as dirty as i have ever been" list. It was not a good feeling to get into my freshly laundered thermals with this dirty ass body and then slide into my already in need of a wash sleeping bag. Anyway that's where i am now and its time to sleep. Oh yeah, i wanted to congratulate my Dad on summiting the highest peak in the lower 48; i hope it went well and smooth both up and down. Thought of the day; we should be more conscious in general of the path our food takes to our table - without becoming fanatical of course. Song of the day; Where Have Youuu Bennn My Blue Eyed Sonnnn by James Taylor i believe. Craving of the day; a nice fresh salad with lots of grape tomatoes on it, also the crepe breakfast my Mother made in Mammoth ,but for dinner tonight.

JWC on the PCT

2 comments:

Mom and Dad said...

Love your choice for your song of the day (by Bob Dylan), but i sing it "brown eyed" son.


xoxoxoxox mom

Anonymous said...

Oh and that song has pretty much been my "song of the day" for the past year!
Where have you been
my blue-eyed son?
Where have you been
my darlin' young one?