BEST TIME TO WRITE

9-18-17 . THEY SAY THE BEST TIME TO WRITE IS WHEN YOU ARE SAD OR HURT OR LONELY OR THAT YOU FEEL ELATED OR ON A MOUNTAIN TOP HIGH.

What if your dog dies?

I had to put my dog down today.  I have been crying ever since.  I cried yesterday too,  I cried a week ago.  I cry because at first, I knew this day would come.  I knew he was getting worse, having trouble walking etc.  Shepherds get that where their legs get paralysis in them.  Their spine starts showing.  I kept him around for me.  I didn't want to do it.  I didn't want to be the one to end his life.  I knew he had a good life, a strong life,  he loved a girl, he had a family,  actually two families,  one of his own and all of us.  He was never on a leash except when I went to the vet or He was in training.  He loved only one girl dog all his life.  He was a very good pet,  he was part of the family,  his real name was Sir Boomerang Avalanche.  He was 11 years old.  I loved him.  I still do.  He is gone now and lives only in my memories.  He had the best life a dog could have,  he lived on 10 acres and could poop anywhere.  He had steak and ribs more times than I can count.  He got to chase anything he wanted.  He got to sleep on a sunny deck and jump in the snow in Winter.  I took him camping and fishing with me.  He lived a very good, long life.  I think dogs should last forever.  I wish he could have lasted my entire life but alas I had to let him go.  I am not sure all this coming and going is very good at all.  I do not like death,  not in the least.  I know it wasn't meant to be like this from the beginning but I understand why things must die.  I understand the circle of things,  I just don't like it sometimes.  So here I am with my heart in my hands.  I am exhausted and tired from all these tears.  I know life must go on but my heart aches.  I will get over it, eventually, but for now, I will lean into the pain and let it absorb me so I can grieve long and hard and then it can be over and I will have closure.  I am not brave or strong today, I am just a sad little girl who loved her puppy.  I know many of you who hurt and have lost and have loved.  It will be another sunny day again,  I promise.

In San Diego

Today's blog will be at
Trailjournals.com/yippee

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

FIGHT OR FLIGHT?

     It's almost time.  I have about 10 days left before I get on a plane with a one-way ticket to beautiful San Diego.  It used to be my hometown.  FIGHT OR FLIGHT?  Yeah,  I am choosing flight this time. 

     I love San Diego, I lived there for many years,  went to school there also.  I love the beaches, the warm air, all of the flowers.  I now live in Idaho.  I still have 2 feet of snow at my house.  I love it here too.  Lots to do but you have to embrace winter or else you can become sad.

     I have been having the fight or flight response recently because I am getting ready to trek a long distance.  Some of it is scary and dangerous.  Other parts are fun, like camping out under the stars at night.  I love to do that.  The walking a marathon every day will not always be a piece of cake.

I have the right equipment, the right shoes,  my smart brain, etc.  I do have all of the pieces to do this thing but yet I wonder how this old body will hold up?  I have the determination and stubbornness to walk this far,  just hope the ankles and knees want to carry me.

It's exciting to go into the unknown.  I love adventure.  I was not meant to be inside four walls for an entire lifetime.  I belong outdoors.  I am very thankful to my family for letting me go.  I did ask them.  I have a feeling if they said No,  I would go anyway.  I am stubborn.

I want to be real for a minute here.  I will probably have some bad days out on the trail,  I may even say a bad word.  Please understand that I want you to know the real me, https://www.gofundme.com/MIGS-PCT-HIKE-2017 life is sometimes raw.

     Please say a little prayer for me when I'm out there.  I will share with you everything I learn.  I will take lots of pictures so you can go there with me.  Please remember why I am doing this, to help women who are going through the pain of breast cancer and also I am trying to send kids to camp who have never been.  Check out the Casting for Recovery site and also the Mazie Morrison Foundation.  Thanks for doing that.  If you want to donate for these causes, please check out this link.

   https://www.gofundme.com/MIGS-PCT-HIKE-2017    I appreciate you guys a lot.  YIPPEE

   

HIGH SNOW YEAR

LOOKS LIKE A HIGH SNOW YEAR!

How does a high snow year effect me?

A high snow year in the Sierra can be dangerous.  The Snow is a lot higher in the Pass so it is hard to cross.  When the snow melts, it creates fast flowing rivers which are harder to cross.   When you cross a river you must be very careful.  First, you have to look to find a safe place to cross, that is if you can find one.  Sometimes you have to look upstream and downstream and find the safest place.  Sometimes you may have to walk a few miles to find that safe place.  People sometimes make a human chain to get across.  Others use a rope.  Some wait for enough people to come and then trek across together.   Whatever way you chose,  the best time to cross is usually the morning when rivers are lower because when Snow melts, the rivers are higher.
I am glad I am traveling with a friend on the PCT.  We can both scout out the river and decide which path is the best.  My friend will use special camp shoes or river shoes to cross.   I will just walk through in my trail runners,  they dry quick and that will not take up too much time.  If you were to fall in the river, always point your feet downstream so you can push off a rock if you had to.   That is an old river rafting trick.  Before you ever cross a stream, you need to unbuckle your pack and also your sternum strap.  If you fall, the weight of the pack will not take you down and you can release it quick.  Snow has other worries, that is why you need an Ice Axe sometimes.  When it is steep and you need to traverse across, you need stability, right?   I have watched videos on this and this coming weekend, I will be actually doing a self-arrest on snow near Snoqualmie pass in Washington.
There is so much more to this trek than just walking in pretty scenery.  I do not want to talk about the dangers but you have to be prepared no matter what.  I have been in a state of limbo this week, just waiting for my plane to get me to San Diego.  It is so hard to be here mentally.  I want to be on trail every time I look outside my window and see two feet of snow.  Where is the sun anyway?  It is March now and nothing seems to be melting.  I have all of my gear,  I have my base weight around 11-12 pounds, which is good,  I have a couple days of food in my pack and about 6 liters of water to cross the desert.  I have paid all of my bills ahead of time,  I am giving my dog extra love and making sure Hubby is all situated.  We have been spending more time together and watching a lot of movies at night.  I love old films.  Life seems pretty good right now with the exception of the weather.  I leave on March 29th and start the trail early April.  I can hardly wait!

GOT THE PERMIT

I GOT THE PERMIT! I AM OFFICIAL!

Everyone wants to hear those words "My Permit Came!"

I am one of the few (so far 3600) TO GET INTO THE PCT.  

Many people did not get their permit,  many people did not get the date they wanted.  I did receive my permit by e-mail last night.  I was planning on Easter morning but I ended up getting April 3rd, which is fine.  It is going to be a high snow year in the Sierra.  Does that scare me?  Sure, a little it does.  I will need to buy a "whippet"  which is like an "Ice Axe".  I have watched the self-arrest video and I will practice with it I promise.  When you do a trek like this, you have fears,   I am perfectly honest with you,  yes, I have some.  I do not like being cold.  I do not like ice except in summer in a cold drink.  I have never done a self-arrest.  I prefer Summer over Winter.

Let's talk about "The wizard of Oz"  "Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my",  Well yes there are bears and mountain lions and scorpions in the desert.  There will be high rivers because the snow melts,  there are lots and lots of scary things out there but do you lock yourself in your room and never go outside?  No,  You get up get dressed and go to work or go to town almost every day.  I will be walking.  I will go slow.  I am not in a race.  I will be with a friend. I have read all about the dangers.

I will be re-supplying along the trail which means I will buy food as I go.  People get bored of food, the same food so it makes sense to just buy as you go.  I will try to eat the best food I can get, the healthy food but sometimes a convenience store does not have good choices.  I will do my best.  I do not want to send a box from home that costs $20.00 to ship and then try to walk to a Post Office 18 miles from the PCT trail and wait for it to open, make sense?

I worry about my family members whom I love.  Will they be alright without me?  What if something happens?  These are all real fears and as you know, most fears and worries never happen.  I know that my family and my dog know that I love them very very much.

If I didn't do this trip, I would regret it the rest of my life.  I must do it.  It is something deep inside of me that I just know I have to do.  Hard to explain really.  Everything has just fallen into place.  I went to my dentist and my doctor and I am all checked out.  Sometimes in life, you have to just take a risk, you have to step outside the boundary and see what is on the other side.  Is it curiosity? is it wanderlust?  Is it Gypsy blood?  I don't know but I do know that God made me an adventurous person.  He gave me a drive, a motivation, a stubbornness.

When I look back on my life, it seems that everything has groomed me up to this point,  it has lead me straight here for this moment in time.  I think everything that has happened to me, the good, the bad and the ugly has just made me a whole lot stronger for the trail.

Most of all I am looking forward to the beauty of nature.  I am looking forward to helping women with Breast Cancer (Casting for Recovery) as my fund-raiser.  I am so very Happy that I get to raise money for kids to go to Camp (Mazie Morrison Foundation).  I am privileged to do all of this,  I am also very grateful and thankful to my family fro letting me go.  It's not going to be easy but I think it is going to be fun.

I hope you follow along on my adventure.  It's going to be a wild ride.   YIPPEE!

How the RUCK went???

RUCK WAS AWESOME!

What fun to be with outdoor people!

I love to go somewhere that has people who think like you.  People who love the outdoors are just great people.  People who Backpack love the environment.  I want to help save the environment.  I want to eat healthy. I want to live healthier. That is why I go to nature.  I can breathe fresh air and drink fresh water and talk for hours with people.   I can watch a sunrise or sunset and share life.  I went to the RUCK this last weekend and got to be on the Panel of ultra-lite thru-hikers.  It was a blast and I learned a ton.  I learned you don't need bandaids, just duct tape,  you don't need a bazillion clothes, just thin layers.  I had packed a little heavier clothes.  I learned not to sweat the small stuff,  just get on the trail and go.  You do not have to be 100% fit,  just get out there,  the tail will teach you.  I have been a text-book thru-hiker.  I am learning to be a real thru-hiker,  still lightening my pack.  I have been a little bit stressed because I want to pack just the right things for just the right moments and have everything all planned out.  Guess What?  It does not happen that way.  The trail dictates to you.  The trail knows what you need and if you let it,  you will gain strength from it.  I am just learning like a baby even though I have been studying this stuff a year now or more.  I need to just chill.   I need to relax and just let it all happen.  I am just such a planner so it is hard but I have found that there is no way that I can have every scenario taken care of ahead of time.  I have to be patient and wait.  You can only plan so much and then you have to let go.   So here is to "Letting Go".

THAT'S THE PLAN!

THE PLAN

ITINERARY SO FAR.

EVERY GOOD GENERAL HAS 2 PLANS, HERE IS 1 OF THEM.

https://www.pctplanner.com/plan.php   

 HERE IS A LIST OF DATES FOR MY POTENTIAL HIKE.  IT MAY ALTER DEPENDING ON WEATHER, AND HOW FAST I MOVE.  IT IS AN OVERVIEW, I AM SURE IT WILL CHANGE ALSO WHEN I TAKE ZERO DAYS (DAYS NOT HIKING) IN TOWNS.  I WILL ALSO BE POSTING ON "TRAILJOURNALS.COM" AND MY HAPPY CAMPER GIRL PAGE ON FACEBOOK.  SEE ONE OR SEE THEM ALL,  THEY WILL BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.

I will be sharing my deepest thoughts during my trek.  I will be talking about trail culture,  thru-hikers,  Gear, what worked, what didn't, etc.  I will be flooding you with pictures of where I am so you can follow along with your own map if you want to.   I will be honest with the way I feel so be prepared for the occasional outbursts of "I don't like this rain"  or "life sucks today"  once in a while.

I think that life is something we experience and share with others.  I am hoping you will follow along with me as I visit the world and experience the way it is outside in the elements.  I think this trek will give my life more meaning, purpose.  I am also raising funds for women with breast cancer, and raising funds so that kids can go" to camp" for the first time.  I know that Breast Cancer is a fight, a real one.  I am amazed at women who overcome these obstacles.  I think that going over a snowy pass in a windstorm does not even come close to what women who have breast cancer fight with every day.    I can't imagine that.  I want to fight for them in a small way by walking.  

Every day will have enough worries of its own,  I will get to find out what they are.  Few people get to step into a different world for 5 months.  Few people see the kind of beauty I will see.  I consider this a privilege and I want to share it with you.   So thank you for reading and supporting my cause.

https://www.pctplanner.com/plan.php   You can copy and paste and check this out.