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<p class=MsoNormal>Fellow CDTers,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Bernie Krausse posted this today at <a
href="http://northwestnaturalmoments.blogspot.com/2009/01/ladybugs.html">http://northwestnaturalmoments.blogspot.com/2009/01/ladybugs.html</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Thought you might be interested.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Dr Bob<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>________________________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#333333'>The
third and most seldom used trail of the Triple Crown is the Continental Divide
National Scenic Trail. Known to the world as the King of Trails, it stretches
its way through the realm of the Rocky Mountains from New Mexico to Montana.
This 3000 mile epic challenge essentially tests the essence of who you are.
Mental attachments and ideals of how a trail should be, must be left at the
Mexican border. Trail is not even the appropriate word for this wondrous
monstrosity. In actuality, it is a route of paved and unpaved roads linking up
to established trails throughout its’ length to Canada. Only about twenty
hearty souls set out to complete this incomplete maze of mischief each year. If
an army of a thousand hikers were to forge this journey, not one would find
themselves following the same footsteps of another.<br>
<br>
New Mexico, like southern California, begins the quest with thirst and dry heat
as its executor. Four liters of water keep you hydrated between picturesque
windmills crowded with the trails most abundant inhabitant, the bovine. Where
there are cows, there is the liquid of life. The more appropriately named
Continental Cow Trail begins weaving its way through the traffic on the hard
pavement of highways. This challenges the mind immediately with what our
conception and definition of a trail actually is. Roadways then alternate with
dirt roads of which at least fifty percent of the trail follows. Finding actual
hiking trails in New Mexico brings a sense of relief and joy to the body and
mind. The body itself becomes a finely tuned machine. You may begin to sense
how many miles you have traveled since your last meal, not by merely observing
the position of the sun, but by the feeling that it is time to refuel your
stomach once again. The body may even trim five to fifty pounds of muscle and
fat along the length of your hike.<br>
<br>
Even more energy is needed in the 12,000 foot snow capped peaks that tower over
the state border in Colorado. The San Juan Mountains may have snow lingering
till the end of June. Snow Shoes may be the newest appendage to your body.
There are mountains as far as the eyes can see and you have the choice as to
where you want to venture without really knowing where the trail actually is
beneath your feet. The true journey along the Continental Divide actually lies
in losing the official trail and how you deal with the situation that you find
before you. Time and again a thru-hiker will choose the wrong junction or will
just run out of treaded ground. Frustration is inevitable. Rage, sorrow, and
even tears emerge from feeling a loss of control. But the wisdom learned
doesn’t come from ever being in control of your journey. The wisdom found
comes from letting go of your expectations. When the trail disappears, you must
realize that you will eventually find it again. No matter where you are you
will know this is your true path. There are always unexpected detours in life,
and they themselves provide the valuable lessons we need to learn from.<br>
<br>
The trail transitions yet again in Wyoming and instead of losing heat to your
surroundings, your surroundings begin to overheat you in a treeless high
desert. Amazingly, cows, pronghorn antelope, badgers, and even wild horses
thrive in this arid land they call home. A thru-hiker learns to live with as
little water as possible, because the water sources are typically dung infested
reservoirs, at times, with decaying carcasses at the waters edge. These type of
extremes that the trail provides makes living and traveling in ideal conditions
or in the middle ground of life a pleasurable ease. The sub-alpine and alpine
mountains of northern Wyoming then becomes a hop, skip, and a jump to Montana
and Idaho. You flow as if floating on a breeze. Thunderstorms explode above and
all around you. Winds do their best to push you off of the narrow ridge tops.
Signs mislead you in their directions. Even early snowfall blankets the world
around you. But all that just doesn’t matter anymore. You’ve been
through the worst and the best of it all. It all just is what it is, and you
are there to experience it all in its’ completeness. And as a farewell
gift to you, you are greeted by a Grizzly Bear protecting her two cubs as you
approach the Canadian border in Glacier National Park.<br>
<br>
In hiking long distance trails one eventually learns that no matter what path
we may choose, it will always take us somewhere. Just because the Appalachian
Trail ends in Baxter State Park, the Pacific Crest Trail ends in Manning Park,
and the Continental Divide Trail ends at the border with Waterton National Park
in Canada, it doesn’t mean the trail is finished. If it were finished you
would be just as lost as when you began your journey. Taking a long hike through
nature can in fact break the shackles of your mind, leaving behind the
expectations and attachments to how we think things should be in everyday life
for us. Having truly learned to walk for the first time, you realize that you
can do anything right now and anywhere. The grass is never truly greener on the
other side of the rainbow. You will just take one step after another till the
end of time where knowledge expressed through action will provide the wisdom to
take you down any path in life. What the Triple Crown of long distance hiking
can instill within your spirit is the desire to live life to the fullest. One
conscious and aware moment leads to the next and you will always find that you
are where you are for a reason. So smile and wake up, and choose your trails in
life wisely. - Bernie Krause <a
href="http://northwestnaturalmoments.blogspot.com/2009/01/ladybugs.html">http://northwestnaturalmoments.blogspot.com/2009/01/ladybugs.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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