[pct-l] That far-away look in my eye

[Eric Lee]

My wife is a saint.

 

I know this because she gracefully puts up with me every year around this
time when I get that far-away look in my eye.  I realize that the current
thru-hiking class is closing in on final preparations, ADZPCTKO is five
weeks away, and I'm getting tired of my Seattle winter hibernation.  I start
dreaming about the trail.

 

Today I binged on all four of Squatch's Walk videos, seeing and remembering
people I've hiked with, or met, or exchanged email with, or just heard about
over the past ten years.  I checked mileage and road access for this
summer's section hike (done with Oregon and Washington and into California
this year, woohoo!).  I flipped through some of the many PCT narrative books
on my shelf.  I want to be out there again.  The amazing beauty, the
fascinating people, the clarity of a simple life.  The horizon of my worries
and responsibilities collapsed down to what food I'll eat next and how many
more miles I want to walk before I sleep.  Not exactly an easy life, but
simple.

 

I wish I were I better, more emotive writer.  I do pretty well with facts
and logic, I guess, but it's so difficult to capture the stirring in my
heart, the echo of the long trail that draws my eye inward and toward the
future.  How can I explain it to someone who hasn't felt it?  It's
impossible to put into words.  But for anyone who has felt it, no words are
needed.  You know what I'm talking about.  You feel it too.

 

Eric