<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16608" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"
bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document
face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>Diane,</DIV>
<DIV> I'm not a thruly, as I call them, only a sectional
. I look forward to the hikes; try to do some conditioning to get ready; always
during the first week, and at other times, wonder what the hell I'm doing this
for; but keep stumbling along on my self-appointed rounds. </DIV>
<DIV> I've quit early only twice, both times for
self-inflicted injuries, in 79 on the AT (knees-naive & way too heavy) and
in 05 on the PCT (R arch-stupid boot decision); base pack weight has come down
from 50 lb (incl compact, 35 mm film camera) to 20 lb (incl a full-size,
non-SLR digital camera).</DIV>
<DIV> I've always been glad when my appointed rounds for
the year are over; I've never been depressed later; it's never been life
changing; I've never had any great revelations from it; and I've never had any
problems readjusting to regular life. Somehow, the hiking genes always start
stirring inside me about this time of year, and by sometime in the summer I'm
stumbling off on another long walk. </DIV>
<DIV> Actually, it's hiking time in Big Bend now;
Big Bend Ranch State Park just added 200-300 miles of new
trails (mostly old ranch roads) - springs, waterfalls, and mountains I've
never seen up close. Somehow, I think I'll survive another
year </DIV>
<DIV> Somehow, the AT-2000, Colorado Trail-2006, 46% of
the PCT (05 & 07), and 200 mi of the CDT (coincident with the C T) are
behind me. Around 1 Jul this summer I'll stumble off into the wasteland between
Donner Pass (US-40) and I-80; a few hours later it'll be too late to do anything
but wonder what the hell I'm doing this for, and will probably complete my
appointed rounds (to 75%) at McKenzie Pass (OR-242) by 1 Sep. In 09 I'll
probably complete the PCT, at age 66. </DIV>
<DIV> Then I'll really have to knuckle down to get the
CDT done by age 70. Hopefully Yogi will still be publishing to assist; hopefully
some of the confusing, conflicting routes will have been worked out; and
God willing I'll get it done. In the summer of 14, if sectionals get triple
crowns, I may go out to get mine. It won't mean a damn thing to anyone but me,
but I'm not doing it for anyone but me. </DIV>
<DIV> Actually I'm trying to figure out how to get the
Hayduke, the AZ, and Blisterfree's GET done, along with the above plans, by age
70. I figure an extra 4 months of hiking will get the GET & AZ Trails. I'll
have to find some other idiot to do the Hayduke with me.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Diane, you're saying your biggest fear is what
happens after the hike. Get off the sofa and go hike. If you don't like
reentry, do what Yogi and I'm sure many others do, work long enough to take
another half year off. A good waitress, in a Yuppie restaurant can make a better
than average income; I know three women, plus Yogi, who do it. One, in a family
I'm close to, paid for a 50% house expansion, helped raise 3 kids and
college two of them, etc on that supposed lowly income.</DIV>
<DIV> It's perhaps overused, and possibly trite in a
sense, but life is the journey. You either live in fear of everything, or
put one foot in front of the other, all day, every day, not having the
slightest idea what's around the next bend, or all the thousands after it.
Watch the Ameriprise tv ads, about a hundred times or until you get it: you only
need a dream, then a plan. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Off the
soapbox,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Bob
"Trekker"<BR>Big Bend Desert Denizen<BR>Naturalized Citizen - Republic of
Texas<BR><BR>Government cripples you, then hands you a crutch and says, 'See, if
it wasn't for us, you couldn't walk.' <BR>-- Harry Browne<BR><BR>"If you think
health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when its free."
<BR>-- P. J. ORourke<BR><BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 2/25/2008 8:07:12 P.M. Central Standard Time,
diane@santabarbarahikes.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>I have a
question for you veterans, especially those older than 20- <BR>something. My
biggest fear is what happens AFTER the hike.<BR>How do you readjust to your
regular life again? Do you ever?<BR>Did it change your life?<BR>Did it
reaffirm you were on the right path to begin with or were you
<BR>prompted to make a big life change?<BR>Did you come home and find yourself
depressed within a few weeks or <BR>were you glad it was
over?<BR><BR>Anything is
helpful.<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Diane<BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Pct-l
mailing list<BR>Pct-l@backcountry.net<BR>To unsubscribe or change list options
(digest,
etc):<BR>http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Delicious ideas to please the pickiest eaters. <A title="http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598" href="http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598" target="_blank">Watch the video on AOL Living.</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>