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.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Exiting Skykomish

Day 138, Mile 2494.something---I am writing by the moonlight next to Pear Lake. We just arrived like 15 minutes ago and it's going on 10:20pm. We did not get back on trail until around 2 o'clock. Given the good weather and the full moon we decided to go as far as we could within reason. Considering that i am cowboying on a slope about 5 inches off the lakes main trail i am not sure this was within reason. But i am glad we made it this far. The moon is moving behind some trees, i'll explain more tomorrow night. Thought of the day; youth is wonderful, sometimes. Song of the day; too dark. Craving of the day; dinner.


JWC on the PCT

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