I've been writing for a long time now and even that has expanded. Sometimes I cannot believe how many words come out of me - it's like a never ending well of fresh water pouring out of me, nourishing the life around me and propping up my spirit. Words. They define me in so many ways.
So what's new? Since this is my Annual Blog Post - let me catch you up.
First and foremost - my physical activities. It's expanded quite a bit since last year. I did make that Girl's Backpacking Trip in July and it was merely a stepping stone to a New Life. I cannot even express how much I love walking through the Sierra Nevada, how healing it is to my soul, how much it expands my universe. I know some will get this; others will not. That's OK.
I started out slowly; local hikes on PCT that were a few miles long. But I was scared - scared to do it alone, scared of what doing it alone meant (I don't just mean my personal safety) and scared of pushing myself.
Then one of my very best friends in the whole world sent me an awesome gift - a little messenger called a SPOT that allows me to be tracked, allows me to shoot an SOS if I need to.. and that was it. All I needed. I downloaded a few apps to help keep me on trail and I just took off.
Now I'm REALLY addicted. I mean, I've been hiking forever, but it's taking on a new meaning for me now, a meaning that's kinda hard to explain but all about what I said above: Healing. I feel so good when I'm hiking, away from people, inside my own head but NOT inside my head; engaging my right brain via heightened senses and exposure to nature.
Heaven. In an atheist mind.
(I haven't mentioned much about my past related to my previous marriage, but the truth is that I didn't think I could do many of those things any more - the things He took me to do, the hiking, the camping, the nature... but now I'm discovering that not only can I do it... I can do it BETTER.)
So anyway, I started going farther and farther and before I knew it, the distances were getting a little harder to do on my days off just because of the time. So then I started climbing up...
Never saw myself as a "peak bagger" but I'm certainly heading in that direction. I love climbing mountain trails - trails that are so steep I have to stop often just to catch my breath. I may be developing an adrenaline addiction.
So in this same thread of thinking, I decided I was gonna start planning a goodie - hiking the entire length of Catalina Island. It's called the Trans Catalina Trail and its about 52 miles long, with some serious ascents and descents.
And, oddly enough... I started planning it as a solo backpacker. Then I met some ladies via an internet group I'm in, and it's turned into a small group trip. Amazing how doing something that physically sets me apart from mankind is simultaneously bringing me back to humanity.
Most of all though, is a dream that is slowly coming together... I want to hike the John Muir Trail. It's a 211 mile hike through the Sierra Nevada, through some of the most beautiful land in the world. I started thinking of doing that solo too... and still might... but the reality is that there will be no solo-ness on that trip. Lots of people on trail... and maybe more doses of humanity, bringing me back to my own species.
I do have a big regret, and that's that I did not start doing this many years ago, in the days when my body was more apt for it, in the days when I could have turned it into the biggest life experience I ever had... If I could go back in time, I'd hike the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail. Maybe I still will. Let's see where life takes me next.
Life is about experiences and finding your way and all that shit. I certainly haven't wasted any time living mine, and it's only moving forward at a faster pace with more diversity than ever before.
And THIS too makes me happy.
