[pct-l] Thru Hiker Mentality

[losthiker at sisqtel.net (Deems)]

"That night, around a small fire, we sat talking for hours . . . " our eyes
mostly blinded by the light of the fire.  Our minds collectively filtered
backwards down the trail, all of the way to our first days.  The question
was
raised, "Hey, Greg, where did you camp the first night?"  "Well, Yellow Rose
Spring, just north of I-80" I replied.  "You?"   He, Paul, answered the
same.  And
then a funny thing occured, we thought just for a moment to come up with the
second night's camp, and then the third and fourth and . . .

We could actually remember the exact place that we had each camped at on
every single night over the past 5 months, 2 weeks and 3 days.  In a  moment
we
had hit upon this fact and realized the deep stirring implication; we had
never
lived another such span of time in which we could have gone back thus and
described in detail, just from memory, where we had gone and what we had
done on
each and every single day.

As the fire light flickered upward on that dark night, a tingle of fear
creapt into my spiritually lifted thoughts, a fear of the unknown in the
dark of
that northern forest, a fear of the grizzly who just might have smelled our
cooking and noticed our intrusion upon HIS territory.

But then the fear subsided and the thought that I was truly feeling the
complete and total experience of a free LIFE for the very first time came
back and
filled me with excitement, confidence and peace of mind.

Strider

Thanks Greg,
It gave me chills, and I too know almost every campsite I've ever
experienced.
Sometimes during the day at work, I suddenly find my thoughts on the trail
25+ yrs
ago or more, remembering an experience I've not felt in all that time. The
wilderness
carves very deep grooves in the cortex of memory, and for me, it is the best
times of
my life. I'm hiking the Muir Trail this summer, and I will carry the
experience and
memories with me for the rest of my life. 'Can't wait!
Deems