And on "we" go

I noticed today, that when im hiking, I often talk to myself or my body as a third person. It made me think, well my body does have a mind of its own, what the flesh wants and what the mind wants are usually two different things. So on "we" go my body and I, "I", being the crazy guy talking to his body in the third person. I guess a few hundred miles by yourself will do that to you.
*cough* golem *cough*

Today I made it to Sierra City which is mile 1197.6. Woohoo right? It is exciting but there are two fires which is not unusual for this time a year. Normally being the wannabe tough guy I think I am, I would try to walk around it or through it, but apparently that within the last 3 days the amount of forest burned by this fire was doubled, head north-west, where Im going. So this leaves me with two options...  Go home, or hitch around it. Because, the words quit, cannot, and failure are rarely used in my vocabualry, I will hitch around it, victoriously.  The plus-side to hitch-hiking, is you usually meet people who end up inspiring you, rather the other way around.
I called my buddy Chris the other day, on the trail, just so I could talk video games with him, it went straight to voicemail, so I talked anyways. It's crazy how when I was younger, games with adventure and mystery were my games of choice and of coarse, I liked shoot em up games. Thats part of the reason why I signed up with the navy 4 years ago, but was denied do to a pass misdemenor, of a DUI. So here I am, 4 years later, in some town I may never be in again and Im talking about adventure.
I loved games where I could get on horse back, or in a car and wonder all over the map, finding little easter eggs that would spark my imagination. Turns out, life has easter eggs of its own; metaphorically speaking of coarse. Since life is not a video game, those easter eggs taste even better. Reality, is beatiful, and at times is hard to take, but its those hard times, which define us. I think, maybe thats why I liked video games, risk was hard, so why not just sit in front a computer and not risk anything... Except your life.
When I think about all those wasted hours, days, possibly months, I think to myself what I could of really been doing. Following my own God given passions. Passions that require sweat, blood, and tears. I had to fugure it out on my own, or maybe I didn't figure it out on my own but maybe, I was shown a better life, a real life, where when you stop...You hear silence, but wait, is that wind you hear? Or could that be a river just down the ridge? Lets go find out, shall we?

Weighty legs and big shoes

I say, it's about time, we all come back around to old passions and hobbies, this one being writing, I havnt attempted to write in some time now so please forgive me. 

The last time I attempted an update, in hopes to give family friends and supporters some inside news on my life, I ended up deleting the post as soon as it was finished. It was horrible. 

I spend a lot of time by myself and it is good. When you simplify your life to the basic necessities, the other things of this world lose and gain much value all at once. Like electricity, plumbing and housing. Those things remain part of "the real world." And the "real world" is nothing like the world Iv'e become part of. Many mornings I find myself opening my eyes to an early morning sun, the sound of a creek smashing on through the night comes into my conscious mind as my ears turn up the volume into my waking life. I'm usually not tired and eager to greet the new day though on my way to the stream to get some fresh mountain water, I think to myself, "How many miles can I put between me and this spot right here?" Only time ever tells. People ask me what my schedules like. I try not to laugh, not because I don't have one but because there is no need for one. some people pace themselves and try to make 17.5 miles exactly. Not this guy, this is my hike, I start the day when I feel like it and I hike until I'm done. That's right, all based on how I feel. The way I see, its all part of being, worry free, care- free. Not wanting, just being. I know that everything I need is out there or on my back.

In the real world, things are different. Having to hitch your way into the town, always having to apologize in advance for the way you smell and all of a sudden your running on other peoples time. It can get you amped up enough to hurry back on the trail. Sometimes however you don't get that privileged, like when your resupply package gets mailed a week late and you are stranded having to depend on the kindness of others. In "the real world" where things arnt simple and everything, complicated and concrete.

Each time I get to a town, there is a re-occurring question I ask myself that seems to beam out of my sub- conscious. This question always leads to a familiar excite as my heart leaps in wonderlust. That question being "Are you ready to get off the trail?" Never has the answer been yes, even when dealing with an infection on my right foot and a blister that looked like the continent of Africa (and about just as big) on the other, never did I feel ready to leave the Pacific Crest Trail. 

This is an expample of HYOH, which is the golden rule of the PCT and adopted to my rule of life and stands for Hike Your Own Hike. Don't allow yourself to fall victim of someone who rules your life. You rule your life, you live your life, you hike your own hike. Try it if you haven't yet.

Bascially life on the trail is simple and hard. There is a lots of sweat, times when you get so fed up with yourself and the thoughts that go through your head, or that one horrible song that get stuck in your head and you cant get it out. You might find yourself singing Macy Gray at the top of your lungs when you just finished a 31mile day and setting up camp, or you might not, but I guarantee whatever songs that have been stuck in your head, I've had worse.