Friday, March 20, 2009

It Just Got Real

I've always known that this day would come, but now it is finally here. It's time to pack my bag, sleep my final night in my own bed, and prepare for life in a backpack.

The past week has been a hectic one which is why I haven't had the time to post anything lately. I took my $500+ worth of the best that Costco and Ocean State Job Lot have to offer up to Foxy's place to make our mail drops for the trip. All unperishable and all fantastically delicious. Ahi tuna steaks, beef jerky, vegetable orzo, cheddar broccoli soup, Annie's Mac N' Cheese, quinoa, dried fruit, and enough gorp to fill a kiddie swimming pool. While our mail drops will be few and far between, we will eat like kings for those couple of days.

However, the trip took a backseat when I found out my girlfriend was going in for surgery the day I would have started hiking. So, after a little finagling, we pushed the trip back five days so that I could be there. The surgery went great, but as she got better, I was getting worse. The trip that had seemed so far away was now the only thing left to do.

Now it's time to say goodbye to all of my friends, my family, and to the comforts we all know. Time to say goodbye to Mama's meals, the El-R, and a real mattress to sleep on. To my cell phone, to my computer, to movies, television, and screens in general. To nights out, to paychecks, and to the real world - and damn, it sounds good.

Foxy and I sat down one night in Vermont and tried to answer the simple question of, "Why?"

I gave a long-winded answer, exploring the many morals positions one can take when facing a challenge like this - to test myself, to find myself, to learn about what I'm capable of, to grow as a person, to follow-through with what I said I was going to do, and in general, to simplify. All noble and all true. Is it the right answer? After 25 minutes of rambling through all of these reasons, the only answer that felt right was the simplest one.

Because it's there.
If it was good enough for Sir Edmund Hillary, it's good enough for me.

I guess that's why I have to start walking. I know where I'll be going, but where will the trail take me? We shall see.

Hopefully to a better answer.

2 comments:

  1. answers will come to you along the way. they shouldn't be there before you start.."anything is possible!" (i'm a huge sports fan if you didn't know). it's all up in the air, as it should be. you're going to do great things, and the trail is going to do great things for you (not that you aren't great already...awe cuuuuute. barf).
    you should be nervous - it'd sure be weird if ya weren't. life would be no adventure if we knew what was in the future.
    and thanks for stickin' around those extra days - you know how much it meant. plus, batman was so good!

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  2. Good luck, bud. Keep us posted to your progress. I might try to find you at Harper's Ferry (a scant 1,000 miles or so!)

    Go get em!!

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