[pct-l] the end of the trail

[wandering_bob@xxxxxxx (wandering_bob@xxxxxxx)]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Yogi and Brick have hit the nail squarely on the head!

I would add that the destination not only defines the trail, it limits it. =
Why can't the trail go on for yet another day....and another...etc.?

In a perfect world, the trail would go on seemingly forever, the end always=
 just out of reach over the next rise. The challenge would be to live long =
enough to just reach the end. Sounds like real life to me.

Wandering Bob
----- Original Message -----
Wrom: NBOHMKHJYFMYX
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2003 1:17 PM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] the end of the trail

At 12:08 PM 1/12/03, yogi hicker wrote:
I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today.  Re-read the journal entry from my last
day on the trail.  Here's what I wrote about reaching the border:

"For 4 =C2=BD months, this was our destination (or was it?).
Today, I didn=E2=80=99t want to be there."

How ironic.  You spend months walking toward your "destination", then you
get there, and it's not what you want.

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
And Brick Robbins answered so eloquently:

Without the destination, you can't have the journey. The destination
defines the trail.

>From "Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M Pirsig

=3D=3D=3D
Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without
desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you
become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the
mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when
you're no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just a means to an end
but a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks
loose. From this place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These
are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is
shallow. It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top.
Here's where things grow.

But of course, without the top you can't have any sides. It's the top that
defines the sides. So on we go -- we have a long way -- no hurry -- just
one step after the next -- with a little Chautauqua for entertainment -- .

=3D=3D=3D=3D

Brick Robbins

It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that
matters in the end.
Ursula K. Le Guin