[pct-l] Trail Thoughts

[Iceaxehikes]

So, how long after you stop hiking before you finally stop schlepping your pack around?

Took me 1 year.
I remember leaving at 5 am to commute to my carpet cleaning job and looking over at the empty seat next to me.
My pack and all it's "going to Canada" gear should be right there.
But not that day.
I finally left it on the bed, fully packed with the same gear, just as I packed it for the trail.
All day I imagined theives breaking into my little rented shack and carrying away my smelly socks, cuben tarp, and beloved cottage made "going to Canada" gear.
I even imagined the theives somewhere in east San Jose, wondering at the gear as they pillaged my pack.

These days my pack spends its days on the floor, contents half dis-gorged.
I still see it everyday but I no longer carry it to work with me.

Ahh the trail.

Am I crazy now?
Was I crazy before but the trail made me sane so now I realize how crazy I was?

Was it all a dream?

-Matt

Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T