[pct-l] Contemporary Thru Hiking

[Erik The Black]

Sara,

Your post reminds me of the book "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho.

It is the story of a young Spanish shepherd who, after having a powerful
dream, decides to leave everything he has ever known and travel to the
Egyptian pyramids in search of hidden treasure. 

Along the way he has many adventures and misfortunes, each time entertaining
the notion of returning home in defeat. But he never gives up and continues
pursuing his dream, though the route is anything but predictable and takes
him places he never expected.

In his travels he meets a crystal merchant. The merchant shares that he too
has a dream. He has always dreamed of making the pilgrimage to Mecca before
he dies, but never could because he must tend to his crystal shop.

The boy goes to work for the crystal merchant and before long the shop is
thriving. 

One day the boy says to the merchant "Now that the shop is doing so well,
you can finally pursue your dream of traveling the Mecca. I can take care of
everything while you are gone."

But the merchant tells the boy that he will never travel to Mecca. Because
if he did, he would have to give up the dream of doing so.


-Erik The Black
www.eriktheblack.com




Message: 9
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:38:46 -0800 (PST)
From: Sara Dyehouse <saradyehouse at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Contemporary Thru Hiking
To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
Message-ID: <901608.59122.qm at web31106.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Ned?asked:? "What I want to know is why is it that people desire to thru
hike these days, has it changed any over the years, and does the drop-out
rate reflect a lack of realistic preparation and desire?? If I can be that
one voice crying out in the wilderness encouraging aspiring thru hikers to
be thoroughly prepared and motivated for the realities of such a trip, then,
perhaps, more will come home in one happy, confident, satisfied piece, even
if they drop off the trail, they will have found what they sought."
?
Well, here I am aspiring to thru-hike the PCT.? I have been for 12 years
now.? Why?? I ask myself all the time.? Why this?? Of all the things one can
do in the world (especially in five months' time), why this?? I don't really
have an answer, other than:? It's been calling me above and beyond anything
else.? I first caught the PCT bug in 1997.? I've seriously geared up on two
occasions, but never made it out of the gate.? Why?? Truth be told: fear.?
I'm afraid that I'm biting off more than I can chew.? I'm afraid that I'm
not being realistic, that I'm glamorizing what in reality will chew me up
and spit me out.? I've read books and journals and blogs.? I've watched
videos.? I know about the heat, cold, snow, drought, bears, snakes, spiders,
blisters, stress injuries, hunger, thirst, dirt, elevations gains and
losses, and isolation, to name a few.? All of them scare the bejesus out of
me.? And yet, I feel compelled to go.? Every year?I
 feel the pull, and the let-down when April turns to May, and I'm still
here, slogging away at a job and a life I'm fairly miserable with.
?
I see a thru-hike as a vision quest or walkabout of sorts.? It is an
opportunity to leave all that I know behind and step into a world relatively
foreign to me, stripped down to the bare essentials.? I will walk and
think.? I will assess who I am, where I am, and where I want to go from
here.? I'm half way through my life and have recently experienced some
significant losses and disappointments.? What's next?? I relish the solitude
and peace to figure it out.? Meanwhile, I will be testing my physical and
mental mettle.
?
Am I prepared?? I don't know.? I doubt it.? I don't normally hike 20 miles
per day in the desert, dodging rattlesnakes and fantasizing about a water
source, or climbing 12k foot peaks in the snow.? I know I'm not in the best
physical condition, so I know I will suffer, at least for awhile, until I
acclimate.? Perhaps my relative lack of conditioning will ultimately be my
downfall.? Perhaps it will drive me off the trail and back home in short
order.
?
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.? Why don't I just stay home and continue to live
vicariously through the journals of those with the courage and fortitude to
try?? That's what I've been doing.? I'm tired of that.? I want to go.? I
want to experience the highs and lows for myself.? I want to experience the
"trail life" that so many people talk about.? I want to see just how
mentally strong I am.? Ultimately, I may make it only a week or a month.?
Sure, I will be disappointed if I don't make it to Canada, but I hope that I
will be more proud that I did all that it takes to go and that I succeeded
as long as I did.? Somebody on this list said something to the effect that
the real failures are the ones who don't go at all.? I agree.
?
I hope this will be my year to go.? So many things need to fall into place.?
I guess if I'm meant to go, they will.? Wish me luck, as I do to you in
whatever you seek to accomplish.
?
Sara