[pct-l] Garey Meabon

[spiritbear2k@hotmail.com (Ginny & Jim Owen)]

Thank you for sharing Zoe's letter.  We met Garey (and Jonathan and Ryan) at 
Scissors Crossing last year, then ran into him again at Idyllwild after he 
had decided to get off the trail.  We missed him by less than a day in 
northern California and were very disappointed.  We were very struck by his 
excitement about what he was doing.  He told us that he couldn't regret 
having attempted the trail, even though he wasn't able to go as far as he 
had hoped.  He said, "You don't realize how lucky you are."  That line came 
back to us often during our hike.  It has so many levels - lucky to be 
hiking the PCT, certainly, but more than that, lucky to be healthy and 
alive.  We take so much for granted.  Garey didn't. He couldn't.  He knew 
how precious every moment was, both on the trail, and in our lives.  We are 
lucky to have the time, the health, and the desire to spend our days walking 
in beautiful places.  We try not to forget that.
Ginny and Jim
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com