I have been writing a short book about life lessons I’ve learned from backpacking.I have also given slideshow presentations on my lessons to middle school students.I thought I would take excerpts from my “book” (I use that term very loosely) and post them here since, this is a blog about the outdoors.So with out further ado here is the excerpt from…
Chapter 2, Lesson 2
I only vaguely remember telling people that I wanted to hike the AT, just over 2,100 miles.I do remember hearing that I was crazy.The same phenomena happened when I started talking about the PCT.Granted this time I had a little more credibility but still, people thought I was crazy.
The funny part about it is that I never found a rational argument for me being crazy.I looked.I thought, maybe these people are right.Let me take a step back for a minute and analyze the situation.Am I crazy?Now at this point I realize you are probably saying yes, “this chick is crazy, look at her, she is talking to herself.”But don’t hold that against me.It’s my way of working things out in my head.Just keep on reading and see how this one turns out.
As it turns out, I wasn’t crazy or at least I didn’t think I was crazy.Why was hiking 2,100 miles and then turning around the next year and hiking 2,600 miles so crazy?Seriously, is living in a tarptent for 12 out of 18 months really so off the wall?It’s much safer and more prudent then it was walking to my car late at night in Philadelphia.It’s much safer and healthier then driving down I-15 in Southern California.But people didn’t believe that those were valid arguments to prove that I wasn’t crazy.
From this entire experience I learned another important lesson.“It’s ok if other people don’t understand your dream; it is, after all, yours.”
So yeah, lesson two is pretty simple as well.Tell yourself that it’s ok if other people don’t get your dream.Prepare yourself; someone won’t “get it.”It doesn’t matter how simple your brilliant dream is.Your dream could be something that happens every day for other people.No matter how sane your dream is, someone still won’t get it.That’s ok, don’t worry about it.
I have been writing a short book about life lessons I’ve learned from backpacking.I have also given slideshow presentations on my lessons to middle school students.I thought I would take excerpts from my “book” (I use that term very loosely) and post them here since, this is a blog about the outdoors.So with out further ado here is the excerpt from…
Chapter 1, Lesson 1
Throughout life, I’ve always had this secret fear of letting people down.Sometimes that’s not a bad thing.It makes me accountable to those people.Sometimes it’s a really bad thing and I put my dreams and goals on hold to make sure that I don’t let someone else down.
I had one of those “a-ha moments”.An epiphany if you will.I realized that I had to set some goals, dream some dreams.They needed to be realistic but grandiose at the same time.It can be a difficult line to walk but I needed to be toeing the line.
The goal had to be lofty, worthwhile, something that I really felt passionate about doing.My goal was hiking.I wanted to be out there having an experience and by the time I finished the AT (and my now ex-boyfriend had finished breaking my heart), I knew my goal was to hike the PCT from Mexico to Canada.Now, walking even a few hundred miles is a pretty large undertaking but hiking a few thousand.That’s a pretty massive task.However, it was reasonable; I mean other people had done it so why not me?
So here is lesson number one:“Don’t be afraid to dream big.”In fact, you have my blessing, permission and my plea.DREAM BIG!Do it, give it a try.See how it feels.Do you feel empowered?Do you feel relieved to have finally allowed yourself the opportunity to let your mind wander?Go on, let your mind wander.Let it unlock your secret desires, goals and dreams.It can be a moment of clarity for some.For others, allowing their mind to dream big is a moment of catharsis.Whatever it ends up being for you, you must do it.How else are you going to know what “the thing you want most” is?
I have been writing a short book about life lessons I’ve learned from backpacking.I have also given slideshow presentations on my lessons to middle school students.I thought I would take excerpts from my “book” (I use that term very loosely) and post them here since, this is a blog about the outdoors.So with out further ado here is the excerpt from…
Chapter 0 (that’s right, Chapter 0)
During my formative years I felt a strong need to conform.I felt like I had to live up to other people’s perception of what I should do and how I should act.I felt incredible pressure to act like a perfect role model since I worked with kids.I wasn’t having fun.I didn’t like my life.But I lived it, because that’s what you are supposed to do.That’s how I was supposed to act.
Then I saw the light.I remembered this idea I had for the first time my senior year of college.I remembered about the Appalachian Trail.The Appalachian Trail (AT) is a National Scenic Trail as established by an act of Congress.It runs about 2,174 miles from Georgia to Maine.I had heard about people hiking it.They hike it end to end and I wanted to do give it a try.I read everything I could about it; I read memoirs and planned out schedules.It was my escape from an existence that was missing something, an existence that had begun to make me fairly miserable.I had to go do this, I had to go hike.The urgency was building; the only comparison I can possibly use to describe the feeling is the pounding, the hauntingly vivid, constant reminder of the tell-tale heart.In my case, the need for change, the need for adventure was pounding in my heart.I could hear it and feel it with every inch of my body.I had to get out there.
The AT was an interesting experience.I learned a lot.I learned a lot about me.It was 6 months with a steep learning curve.I found a boyfriend, I found a new hobby, and I discovered who I really am.After the trail, I learned more about me.I had my heart broken by said boyfriend and focused on my new hobby; at least I still had that right!This time I focused on the Pacific Crest Trail.The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,655 mile National Scenic Trail, also designated by an act of Congress, which runs from the California-Mexico border to the Washington-Canada border.It is a well maintained trail that highlights much of America’s western beauty.
So that brings us up to now, saving again for the next adventure. Once again here I am, shirking my American obligations to keep up with the Jones’ and to consume as much as I can and work long hours to do so.I work hard, so I can play hard.I like to play hard for 5 or 6 months.But when I do work, I want it to be enjoyable and rewarding.Is that so criminal?I know, I know, I can hear you saying it even as I type this “this girl wants her cake and she wants to eat it too”.But really, think about it…is that too much for a girl to ask?
This leads me into my premise, the underlying idea that governs what I do and why I work hard and why I play hard and why I hike for days, weeks and months at a time.My dad told me this once.He stole it from someone else but he didn’t know who.We’ll now I’m borrowing it (if you know who said it, please let me know so I can give them credit, it’s been life changing).“The reason most people fail, instead of succeed, is that they sacrifice what they want most for what they want at the moment.”
