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Life Lessons Learned Backpacking: Book Excerpt Chapter 4

admin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:00:42 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Bony and Bono

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 4, Lesson 4

Now here is where the fun begins, with lesson 4. You’ve done your dreaming, you’ve dealt with the naysayers and the crazy talk, and you’ve done your planning. Now is the time for doing.

Once you start down the action path, the physical act of working towards your goal, be aware that things don’t usually go as planned. In our idealistic planning stage (lesson 3) things typically get scripted for how they can be executed perfectly. That’s all well and good but let’s be honest, things happen. In this case you are left to rely on your best asset, you. This is where your brain power and your preparation come in to play. With quick thinking, creativity and flexibility, you can overcome obstacles that appear in your way.

Case in point, on the Pacific Crest Trail, one of the most highly anticipated sections of the trail is the High Sierra. It is a couple hundred miles of high altitude, fairly remote hiking. In fact, there are a 100+ miles of trail where you don’t even cross a road. So you need to have a plan, you need to be prepared but you also need to be ready to deal with obstacles as they come up.

When I was getting ready to enter the High Sierra, I got food poisoning. It knocked me on my butt for a few days and put me behind schedule. No problem, I adjusted my schedule. That’s an easy obstacle to over come. However, in the week and a half to follow, I fell off a high mountain pass, lit my tent on fire, was bitten by a dog and almost drowned crossing a river. Yeah, it was a heck of a week.

Now anyone of these things could really put a damper on my trip, even possibly ended my trip (death is usually a trip ender). However, by thinking fast, being creative and flexible, I over came all of these obstacles and still made it to Canada.

So how did I overcome these obstacles you ask? You are curious as to how I got myself out of these messes? Well, briefly here is the low down. Falling off a high mountain pass was pretty unnerving. I was climbing up Forrester Pass, the highest point on the Pacific Crest Trail, and I was transitioning from snow to rock and one of the rocks gave way and sent me plummeting to what I was sure was going to be serious injury but I stayed calm and divine intervention took hold, a rock appeared and I landed my butt right on it, stopping my fall. Now you ask, how does that apply to quick thinking, creativity and flexibility? Well, I think the big lesson for me was to slow down, don’t stick to my schedule, be flexible with it and you won’t get yourself in to such jams.

Lighting my tent on fire was pretty funny (now that I reflect back on it). I was camped with 2 friends at the base of Mather Pass and we were getting up very early, 4 AM, to climb the pass while the snow was still hard so we could use our crampons to get up and over before the snow turned to mush and we’d be post-holing the whole day. Now for reasons of full disclosure I should mention that I am not a morning person. I was using my tent as a ground sheet since it was a beautiful night and I wanted to sleep under the stars. In the morning I rolled on my stomach to heat some water for morning oatmeal. I had my stove on the ground, past the edge of my tent so that I could cook on my elbows from the comfort of my sleeping bag. Well, unbeknownst to me, I dragged and dropped the guy lines of my tent over my stove. I didn’t realize it until they were burnt all the way through. But after a few expletives, I realized I could field repair it without compromising the effectiveness of the tent and life was good again.

The dog bite was an interesting situation. My friends, Nightingale and Bono and I were hiking out a side trail to pick up more food. We had to hike 9 miles off the Pacific Crest Trail, to get to a road to get to a town to get to more food. En route, someone’s dog came up to me and bit me on the leg. I was pretty angry with the situation. I mean I am hiking from Mexico to Canada and I need my leg. It was a small bite but drew blood and left a small scar. We had to be flexible with our schedule and decided to take a day off in town to make sure it stayed clean and started to heal without infection before we got back on the trail. By making this simple schedule change we averted what could have been an infected leg. Simple really.

Now here is the biggie. This is the only time I actually felt like my life was in danger. Not everyone has one of these moments during their quest to reach their goal, and I honestly hope it doesn’t happen to you but it did to me. I had to cross a pretty big river, we found what seemed to be a slower, better option for crossing. Bono, being the tall guy went first and shuttled Nightingale’s pack and then my pack across for us. Nightingale crossed next and made it with no trouble. Then it was my turn.

I hate being wet, I think it’s from years of springboard diving and always being wet. I hate it now. I wasn’t looking forward to crossing the stream and getting wet but I went for it. It turns out that somehow, I walked into a big hole in the stream bed and my feet no longer were touching the bottom of the river. My head was under, the water was snow melt and I was an active drowning victim. The frigid temperature of the water took what little breath I had, away. Things were not looking good. Finally, I got a hold of myself and managed to get myself pointed over toward the bank and let the river current push me there as I kicked and paddled. I managed to beach myself on the shore like a whale, soaking in the warm sunshine as I lay there, replaying the last few moments in my head. Scary moments but staying calm and thinking fast had probably saved my life.

Now all these crazy stories happened in a short span of time and I managed to overcome these obstacles and I still made it to Canada. Other obstacles popped up along the way, but none in such rapid fire succession.

So remember this: Obstacles will come up, but with quick thinking, creativity and flexibility you can overcome them.

Life Lessons Learned Backpacking: Book Excerpt Lesson 3

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:00:43 +0000

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 3, Lesson 3

Ok, so here’s the part you’ve probably been waiting for if not since the first post of the book, then at least since the end of chapter 2. Lesson 3 is critical. It’s possible that when you were dreaming big you got a little overwhelmed. You are probably an over achiever, have an extremely high level of self-confidence or are just a heck of a dreamer. Either way, good for you! I mean it. I think it’s great that you have such a big dream. Not enough people have that big dream and even worse, not enough people recognize that dream and make strides to reach it.

Now here is where things get a little tricky. If you have a big dream it’s possible that you are now in a state of paralysis. You have no idea where to begin. This state of paralysis happens to many of us. It’s happened to me in the past and luckily I’ve learned something about it. Something I want to share with you, hold on…here is the secret.

Walking from Georgia to Maine or from Mexico to Canada is a pretty overwhelming prospect. Sure it sounds totally doable sitting in the comfort of your living room, freshly showered, eating something recently taken out of the refrigerator. But if you haven’t prepared yourself, that first night when you are laying out under the stars you are totally overwhelmed by the thought that you still have over 2000 miles left to hike.

If you are lucky, you’ve already realized that this is going to happen to you. That thought will enter your mind. It can make you quit if you haven’t made a plan. It can drive you mad. It will toy with your resolve; it will suck the fun right out of your journey. When I think about my journey, I don’t think about hiking from Georgia to Maine, or Mexico to Canada. I only have to hike to the next town that has food. So I only have to walk 4 or so days. That’s it.

I make these mini goals of just getting to the next town. I don’t have to worry about getting all the way through the trip. I only have to get to the next town with food. If I connect these town stops and I make it to each one, eventually I’ll come to realize that, in the case of the Pacific Crest Trail, the next town stop is…Canada. Before I know it I have reached my big goal. I’ve made it to the end. I have been successful. I did it. It’s a great feeling to achieve your big goal but it also feels good to reach the little ones knowing that they add up to the big goal.

Lesson three simply says: make little goals, that when added together, reach the big goal.



Life Lessons Learned Backpacking:  Book Excerpt Lesson 2
admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:00:07 +0000
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.  
 


    

	


Life Lessons Learned Backpacking: Book Excerpt, Chapter 1
admin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:00:29 +0000
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?  


    

	


Life Lessons Learned Backpacking: Book Excerpt Chapter 0?
admin — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:00:43 +0000
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.”