[pct-l] On a different Note - Why Hike?

[Bighummel@xxxxxxx (Bighummel@xxxxxxx)]

Are you wondering why you want to hike the PCT?  Are you having fears that it
wont be all that the hype makes it?  Hoping to have a near religious
experience out in the wilderness underneath the trail dust, mosquitos and
heat?

Try out "The Art of Pilgrimage,  The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred"
by Phil Cousineau.  I just picked up a copy at Adventure 16 in San Diego,
intrigued by the theme.

I have found some great thoughts that you all know but have had trouble
putting into words, in just the first few pages.

"So target a distant place -  your Mecca, your Jerusalem, your Mount Meru -
and set out.  You needn't don a hairshirt, for obstacles enough will erupt.
But by attending to them now - openness, attentiveness, and responsiveness
are the essence of pilgrimage - you will be able to surmount them by yiedling
to them in the way that life always requires that we yield to it.  And draw
the resilience you will need from those who have preceded you, for pilgrims
are a hardy breed. They trudge rough roads, put in long days, and live on
breadcrusts.  But hunger turns those crusts into gourmet fare, and pilgrims
sleep well from their fatigue, even when their beds are hard ground and
stones are their pillows.  On clear nights the stars that steer them cover
them with their canopy and token eternal."

and

"For millenia, this cry in the heart for embarking upon a meaningful journey
has been answered by pilgrimage, a transformative journey to a sacred center.
 It calls for a journey to a holy site associated with gods, saints, or
heroes, or to a natural setting imbued with spiritual power, or to a revered
temple to seek counsel.  To people the world over, pilgrimage is a spiritual
exercise, an act of devotion to find a source of healing, or even to perform
a penance.  Always, it is a journey of risk and renewal.  For a journey
without challenge has no meaning; one without purpose has no soul."

I'm only page 13 so maybe you'll beat me to the end.  But, I think, I may
enjoy the journey of reading the book as much as reaching the end!

Greg