the trail will wait for me

Around June 2012 I decided I wanted to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

What is the PCT?

• 2650 miles of national scenic trail from Mexico to Canada passing through California, Oregon, and Washington.  (My plan was to hike 1700 miles over three months from Mexico to Oregon.)
• The trail goes through three national monuments, five state parts, six ecozones, seven national parks, 24 national forests, and 47 wilderness areas. 
• One of three major US long distance hiking trails - sister to the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. 

Why?

• The stunning beauty of nature.  Often overlooked or taken for granted, Earth provides us with unimaginable sights.  From the vast desert emptiness, to dense forestry, and cascading mountains, the trail allows you to see some of America's finest land. 
• The people.  There is a community that surrounds these long distance trails that is full of unique personalities and people you'll never forget.  
• The unique experience.  Much like studying abroad, it was a very appealing thought to be fully removed from my comfort zone and have nature as my new home, living out of a 20-30 pound backpack for months. 
• My untethered life.  Rather than being disappointed with a lack of stability and commitment in my life, I wanted to embrace it.  I wanted to do something I would not have ever thought to do had plan A worked out in life.

So for the past eleven moths I have been planning, buying gear, dehydrating food, training, and anxiously awaiting this epic adventure I was about to go on.  I notified work, told countless friends and family, etc.  I had poured hours and hours into preparation and had filled my heart and mind with committed excitement.  

And then I got hurt. 

I wish I could say "I broke my leg" or "I fell down the stairs" or "I did _____ and ____ happened."  But it wasn't that simple.  Roughly 3 weeks before I was supposed to leave, I woke up and my leg starting hurting. I thought I must have slept on it strangely... but over the next several days the pain got increasingly worse.  It was extremely uncomfortable to even take my dog on a walk around the neighborhood.  Obviously worried, I went to the doctor and found out I have chronic tendinitis which has resulted in a pulled tendon where my hamstring meets my knee.  Nothing caused it... it just developed - unluckily a few weeks before my adventure.  With physical therapy, there was a chance I would be healed in time for the trail, but with a pretty high risk of re-injury.  

So I then had to decide... try my best to quickly fix it and hit the trail?  Give up my job and trade in my good health insurance for my crappy health insurance with the hope of not getting injured again?  I posted on hiker forums to help me decide what to do.  Generally, people agreed it wasn't worth the risk and the objective decision would be to not go this year.

So now I have a lot of really awesome gear, three months worth of dehydrated food, a ton of excel sheets and documents and maps with details and back up plans... and nowhere to go.  I feel incredibly disappointed... I don't even know how to describe it.  I feel like something so special to me was just taken from me... before I ever got to have it.

But, as many of the hikers have told me - "The trail will be there waiting for me."  And that is true.  I have to remember that I have decades of adventure still ahead of me.  That the trail will be just as epic in 2014 or in 2020 or whenever as it would have been in 2013.  

The good news...

As much as I don't like my job, I'm grateful to have it.  I was able to get it back just before they interviewed people to replace me.  

I try to remind myself that it is better that this happened before I left and not a few weeks in.

I go back to my normal life... lucky for me, I like my normal life.  It is not an epic adventure, but I have good friends and little things to look forward to.  

Adventures are still in the works... hopefully at the end of the summer with C!  Road trip to some national parks? 

Life... with its ups and downs.  Just keep smiling and moving along.

I'll leave you with one of the many beautiful images from along the PCT. 

ceramics class

Jessica and I recently took a ceramics class at the Norman Firehouse Center.  I loved having a set time every week that I got to spend with Jessica - even better that it was spent trying something new and creative!  The class was extremely relaxed - a teacher was there to help with questions, but it was mostly on your own.  There were about 10 others in our class, ranging in skill level across the spectrum.  I really enjoyed getting to know some of them through our occasional chats.

Ceramics is way harder than it looks... don't gripe about paying high prices for hand crafted goods!  I felt like I was finally getting the hang of it just as the class was wrapping up, but I am happy with my little creations. 

One of my classmates positively said that no matter how questionable the piece you make is, its better than the lump of dirt it began as.  

These are two... wine cups?  Really heavy shot glasses?

A candle holder? Candy cup?

I made two bowls!  Perfect for ice cream, yogurt, etc. 

This one swirled neatly in the middle.

And three coffee cups!  They are kind of small for me though... but I don't mind refills.

They are by no means perfect... but they're fun because I made them!

hoopers

C & L learned hula hoop tricks for our new thing one week.

We're awesome.

drink, ski, and hike

My last two weekends have been full of adventure!  First, C and I took a lovely trip to Denver and this past weekend I did an overnight backpacking trip in Arkansas.  

Kirsten!:

I was sooo excited that I got to meet up with Kirsten & Preston (forgot to take a picture...).  Went to a cool little place with great queso and drinks - of course!  Kirsten would make an excellent local guide.   I wish we could hang out all the time!!!! 

St. Patrick's Day!:

I have an intense appreciation for holidays/festivals/celebrations.

We dressed up in green and these fancy stickers!

 Good thing we had extra because we gave them out to lots of strangers we met throughout the day. Everybody we met was incredibly nice and celebratory... well done, Denver.

We went to an Irish pub called Scruffy Murphy's where they had traditional music and dancing!

 There was a little girl dancer in the group who was ADORABLE. Here we met these guys and ended up spending the rest of the day with them! 

We went to a rooftop bar and met some more people.  Meeting randos is one of my favorite things.

And ended the night with some yummy pizza.

12 hours later we were home and exhausted!

Love my C.
Celebration - check.

Skiing!:

Ski day at Loveland!

I have never really been skiing before so I was very excited and also nervous.  I didn't know what to expect.   C and Mr. Gubes were excellent instructors! I borrowed all of T's clothes and skis - thanks T!! I learned how to snow plow, of course, and do parallel turns.  By the end of the day I was zipping down parts that scared me in the beginning!  And I only fell once or twice after lunch break! 

We went on a tree trail that was a fun change of scenery. 

I loved the atmosphere - everybody was nice and friendly, the staff was happy and chill, and there were dozens of adorable little kids learning too.  Also, everybody's ski gear is lovely - people just look good in ski clothes. It was snowing throughout the day, giving it a very 'winter in the mountains' kind of feel. 

I want to go on a legit ski vacation now - stay at the lodge, come in after a good day on the slopes and chill with friends, etc.  Any takers for next season? :)

We also practiced self arrest with my ice axe for our new thing of this week!  It was very effective, so rest assured that I probably won't fall down any mountains this summer!  Forgot to take a photo of this too... and we even put on silly hats for it...

A lovely, albeit quick trip! Love my C. Love the Gubes. 

Hiking:

A few weeks ago, I met an amazing group of women and decided to go on a backpacking adventure with them!  They are quite a bit older than me and I am inspired by their continued sense of adventure and youthful spirits.

This was my chance to test out all my gear, test my level of mental and physical preparation, and also have some fun with the women in the woods. 

It was rainy and cold the whole time... but it was awesome.  Pretty much the entire time we were covered in fog, but it created this beautiful enchanted forest look.

I loved my gear and I loved being outside (even in that weather).  In preparing for this weekend, I knew it would either make me incredibly nervous or incredibly excited for the PCT and after it was over I could not wait to finish planning and preparing and start my journey.  With full packs on, we hiked 12 miles the first day and 16.6 the next.  My dreams of PCT all of sudden became more real, and more importantly more realistic.  My confidence and excitement is starting to well overcome my nerves and anticipation.
Due to the weather, we decided to finish up early, head back into town, grab a shower and go out to dinner for a celebration.  Here is the group:

I feel so blessed to have met these women and have them help me prepare for this journey!  One of the best parts of any journey seems to be the people you meet along the way and they are no exception.  

Queen of Sheba

My friend Sarah has told me about an Ethiopian restaurant in the city called Queen of Sheba.  If you watch the league, I hope you too can only think of Queen of Shiva.  

Excellent selling point: you eat with your hands.

I thought that sounded like a great new thing for last week!

We had a good size group - Sarah, Misty, Chris, C, T, Jess, and me! I love love love dining in big groups.  It brings such a festive element to the meal. 

I was very excited to have T in town. :)

 And C was very excited for our new thing of the week!

 I got the variety plate - why try one when you can try many? 

The crepe/pancake part is called injera - its super spongy. You tear off a piece and scoop up some food.  A bit messy, but fun and different. Every now and then its nice to ban utensils.    T started a bit of a game where she tossed some injera on your plate and wherever it landed, thats what you ate. haha Even more fun!

 I enjoyed the food, but its not the type of flavor/texture I would want regularly.

I was reading about Ethiopian food on the restaurant website and came across this bit of information: 

"Dining in Ethiopia is characterized by the ritual of breaking injera and eating from the same plate, signifying the bonds of loyalty and friendship.  The quintessence of those bonds are often demonstrated in the form of gursha-that is, the placing of food in the mount of another diner from one's own hand."

When in Rome...