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.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

I dislike 8 day rations

Day 64, Mile 962.5--- I am on day 3 of ten and i am already dirty and stanky, hiking with a heavy pack today didn't make it any better. It was fairly hot today and we had two big climbs. The country is beautiful per usual but i do feel like i am getting a little burned out on the trail. Two more days and i will have walked over 1,000 miles of the PCT. I do not plan on quitting don't get me wrong, its just starting to all kind of run together. One new thing is hiking along with Max. He is a very capable dog and surprised me a few times today with his athleticism. Today was his longest hiking day yet, and although his feet have yet to warm to the idea he seems to be having a good time. He is not a very good watchdog though. We had more then a few deer come into camp tonight to within 8 feet of where we were sitting by the fire and eating; Max slept through it all. My camera happened to be in my bag and the deer were consistently between me and the bag so i couldn't get a video or picture. I have been in Yosemite for 2 days now, 2.5 more days and i will be out. Although its a great place, like i said I'm getting a little burned out. I am really just looking forward to seeing Jarell and family, and eating at the Cesar's all-you-can-eat buffet in 7 days. One of the good things about backpacking is the longer you go, the more you eat, the lighter your pack gets. I am definitely wanting to eat more and have a lighter pack so it's a win-win i guess. Alright i got nothing else, oh, except to wish Erica good luck in the delivery of your baby girl, hope she came today. Good luck is kind of dumb to say, how about i wish for good health for you and your baby, yeah sounds better. Thought of the day; what is the physiological happenings behind the feeling of having a lump in your throat when you are trying to keep from crying, i mean what is the body doing that for, what is the benefit if any? Song of the day; by Phil Collins or Sting i can't figure out which, but it's the song that has that constant bass line running through it and P-diddy did a remake of it after Biggie got shot...you know the one I'm talking about? Craving of the day; Royal Buffet Chinese food i think it's called - off Atlantic between the 405 and Wardlow, and an all expense paid trip to Vegas - the antithesis of the trail.


JWC on the PCT

1 comment:

ark said...

Jesse...I think that you only get a lump in your throat when you are trying not to cry. You are trying to dam up the flow and it causes some kind of spasm. I really don't think children experience lumps in their throats unless they have been threatened and told not to cry. When children are sad, the tears flow. When they are happy, they giggle and laugh. I think we grow up and lose the beauty and the transparency of children. What a loss! It is pride that causes us to think that it is better to conceal our feelings and to cause lumps and dams and spasms in our throats. Men are particularly susceptible to this malady because "real men don't cry" or eat quiche or do anything that looks the least bit feminine. There is this wonderful scene in "The Sandlot Kids" where they are having this showdown between two teams. They are all boys around the age of 12-14. They are insulting one another back and forth. But the final insult...the really bad insult...the one that starts the battle is this..."You throw a ball like a girl!" Maybe out there in the wilderness...with nothing but reality and wildflowers, you can learn to just cry when you need to.
Love forever........Andrea