CDT Here we come…Things are already happening. Should we duck for cover and run back home?
Category: Carol’s Blog Page 4 of 14
This is it! Final packing for our departure this evening on a train bound for Lordsburg, NM to begin our 2022 Adventures! Our first month will be about 200 miles beginning at the New Mexico/Mexican border on the Continental Divide. Then back home for a week or so before heading out to complete the Pacific Crest Trail THIS. YEAR!
My head is like a rabbit in spring. Hopping from one last mInute task to the next. A little here a little there! OMG. Will I ever settle down to focus on one thing! The resupply boxes are sort of sorted, and the pack is sort of packed.
This morning I finished weeding and pruning the front entry roses that should have been done months ago. There’s still a claim to file with the PO! Like I need one more thing to do! I’d left my favorite sunglasses in MN couple weeks ago so my SIL mailed them to me. The box arrived damaged with nothing inside. Ugh! A trip to the PO left me even more frustrated after waiting in line only to be told to file the claim online.
Yikes! Why am I sitting here writing this when I need to get back to sorting the resupply boxes!
Till next week when there will be actual trail adventures to report!
at age 65
When I first began hiking the PCT (in sections) I was 65 years old and had never backpacked. Sure, there had been plenty of local day hikes here and there. But my first ever backpack trip started at the southern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail.
A friend asked me why I’m doing this. The immediate answer rolled off my tongue without a thought. “Because I can.”
I’ve thought about that answer many times, wondering if it sounded smug or conceited. To some it probably did. After much consideration, I believe what I really meant was “Because I’m able.”
Today, while watching the YouTube of a fellow senior hiker, The Hiking Rev, one of the things he said struck me like lightning. When asked why he hikes, he said my exact words.”Because I can!” I’m not the only one who spoke the words! Yay! (I’m not entirely conceited!)
It made me feel validated and vindicated because my choice of words were echoed by another senior hiker.
At 65, I’m sure many in this age group have experienced family members, friends, and acquaintances who became disabled or died. It’s not something we want to acknowledge or dwell on for ourselves. Our days are numbered and our bodies are wearing out. This fact motivated me to backpack, because “I’m able and I can.”
The decision was made. I will seek adventure with a pack on my back while I am able.
Are you able?