The Night Before
In a little less than 12 hours we will leave Tucson and drive to the Southern Cal, stash some water at Scissor’s Crossing and find a place to camp, maybe at Lake Morena. The goal is to be close enough to Campo to get an early start on Thursday.
In 1994, on the eve of my first PCT hike I remember being a little overwhelmed with the uncertainty of what was ahead. Could I really hike 20 miles a day? What would the Sierra Snowpack be like and how would I handle it? Would the streams be roaring so hard that they couldn’t be crossed? There was a general dread or “Fear of the Unknown.” It haunts all of us at every new adventure in life.
Now, I look forward to the PCT with far less worries about uncertain things. Sure things will happen that we don’t plan on. But there are no great unknown variables. In some ways this is very liberating. It frees the mind to focus on other things. I expect to be able to concentrate on the actual journey and stay more “in the moment”. I hope that this heightens the sense of surroundings. I anticpate not fear of the unkown but joy of the undiscovered. I hope to really be able to stop and smell the flowers along the way.
In fact, as I look ahead, I find myself not as excited by experiencing the wonderful scenery as I am excited about the unnexpected small momments of joy. The grandeur will be great of course, but I know where to expect it. The sunset is the unkown, the acts of kindness from trail angels and fellow travellers whom we have not met loom large in the pleasures yet to come.
So we are on our way…………..
