Feeling Alive

"Confronted with the petty concerns of ordinary life, I feel empty as if I am wasting a priceless gift. Days pass and my work does not generate the strength and eagerness to live which memories of the mountains inspire in me. Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are cathedrals grand and pure, and I approach them as a man goes to worship. From the vantage of their lofty summits, I view my past, dream of the future, and with unusual acuteness I experience the present. The struggle renews my strength and clears my vision. In the mountains I celebrate creation for on each journey I am reborn." Anatoli Boukreev.

It's late and I am sitting in bed listening to my wife breath as she sleeps. About an hour ago, I got home after a twelve hour work day. I have been too busy to think about hiking today, but the reading material on my nightstand reminds me of the upcoming adventure I have planned.

The image in this post was taken by Galen Rowell and I have a signed, large format print hanging in my office. It illustrates well the joy and excitement I feel when I am hiking. During the winter, when I spend most of my time indoors, and the fog often obscures the sun for days at a time, there is a heaviness that only being outside and feeling the warmth of the sun can dispel. A work day without a walk during my lunch hour or after dinner feels empty and unfulfilling no matter how many things I crossed off my to do list.

It is hard for me to even imagine what it will be like to set aside the concerns of my normal life for 5 months to hike the PCT. Living outside for five months, watching the sunrise and sunset each day, camping in a new location each night and enjoying the changes in the weather, seasons, and landscape. What can be better than this?