PCT 2014

I recently found a survey of 2013 Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers. I think the information is interesting, but then I'm the kind of person who loves statistics and charts! I noticed that I am not the average PCT thru-hiker in quite a few categories. I already knew I was not a normal person, but now I know that I am not normal even among hikers. I feel so special! You can view the survey results here: PCT Hiker Survey. Happy reading!

Hiking Sabbatical

“The command is "Do no work." Just make space. Attend to what is around you. Learn that you don't have to DO to BE. Accept the grace of doing nothing. Stay with it until you stop jerking and squirming.” Dallas Willard

I have described my PCT hike as a sabbatical and the more I think about it, the more I think that is a fitting description for what I am doing. The word sabbatical comes from the word Sabbath which means to rest from labor. A weekly day of rest is the most common understanding of practicing the Sabbath, but in the Bible there is also a Sabbath year (one in every seven years) that allowed the land to rest from planting, pruning, and harvesting.

It must have taken a great deal of faith to trust God to provide during the Sabbath year and I believe faith is at the heart of what God was trying to develop in us through the Sabbath in it's various forms. To rest from labor is to acknowledge God as our creator, redeemer and provider. Our trust is in Him and his provision, not in our knowledge, ability or effort. To rest is an act of faith.

I have worked hard for almost 30 years to provide for my family and save for retirement. I enjoy working and I have tried to honor God in both my work ethic and in using my talents for the Kingdom of God. When I finish hiking the PCT, I plan to return to work with the same enthusiasm and dedication. But for this time, this season, I believe God has made this hike possible and is inviting me to rest from my labor and trust him in a way that I have never experienced before. This sabbatical is a gift of time, place, and simplicity; an opportunity to experience God's presence and to renew my vision of who God is and who He wants me to be. To the praise of His glorious grace!

Simplify!

My desk never looked like this, but I love the hair!

Not only does the PCT require planning for a successful hike, it also requires planning to be away from home. I am taking the opportunity to simplify some areas of our finances and make it easier for Eva while I am gone and for me when I return. Before the end of this year, I am selling some of our stock portfolio, donating some to the church, and keeping just two stocks that I think might be winners... if I hold on to them long enough, lol! I am tired of playing the stock market and plan to use mutual funds and ETFs for retirement savings from this point forward.

In January of 2013, I went paperless which has worked out amazing! Any financial accounts that offered the option of paperless statements, I signed up. I began scanning and shredding all paper documents and eliminated most of my paper filling system. It's one year later and I can happily report that the desk drawer that used to be exploding with statements, invoices, notices, policy documents, and receipts is empty! I also went back for three years and scanned my tax documents and receipts. These are now on CD for easy access!

I set up all our bills, utilities, and payments for monthly auto-pay. One local utility didn't seem to offer auto-pay, but when I made a friendly stop at the office, they gladly took my credit card info and promised to pay the bill in full each month...now that's customer service. There is only one store credit card we have that does not have an auto pay feature....Kohl's.

I know that after the hike, there will be a pile of mail on my desk, but I'm guessing that 90% of it will be junk mail! Keep calm and hike on!

Gear Decisions...I'm Freaking Out!

Yesterday I spent the day fretting over gear. Weight, size, durability...I was obsessed, possessed, consumed, and finally depressed! I couldn't stop thinking about it! I was most concerned about what water purification method I would use. (I'm estimating my water intake at about six liters a day, which equals 900 liters of water for the entire hike.) I have two filters and a Steripen. I have also used iodine in the past and often carry it as a backup. If weight wasn't an issue I would carry my Katadyn Hiker PRO filter. I have used it for years and love it, but it weighs 11 ounces and it's too heavy for a 2,650 mile solo hike. I also have a Sawyer Squeeze, but I have had problems with it leaking! In a moment of doubt, I recently bought a Steripen ultraviolet purifier but I'm concerned about reliability, the number of batteries I'll need on such a long trip, and the possibility of needing a pre-filter for very dirty water. Iodine is great as a backup, but I'm not sure I would want to use it everyday for 5 months, and again there is the issue of a pre-filter... I'm getting a headache as I write this blog and think about it all over again.

So, after a good night's sleep, I have decided... I will start with the Sawyer Squeeze. The desert is where I will most likely need to filter dirty water and the Squeeze bags will be useful for carrying up to 8 liters of water in the dry sections. When I reach the High Sierra, I'll switch to the Steripen. There is abundance of water and I'll seldom need to carry more than a liter. If I have any problems with it, I'll switch back to the squeeze or have Eva mail me my Katadyn Hiker PRO filter. I'll always keep a few iodine tabs with me as a backup.

Hopefully most of the other gear related decisions I have to make won't be this difficult. I need to remember that gear is important, but what will make or break this trip is my attitude, commitment, and willingness to get up every day and hike!

The Bible

I love this quote! Don't skip it just because it is long.

“I don't think it is enough appreciated how much an outdoor book the Bible is. It is a "hypaethral book," such as Thoreau talked about - a book open to the sky. It is best read and understood outdoors, and the farther outdoors the better. Or that has been my experience of it. Passages that within walls seem improbable or incredible, outdoors seem merely natural. This is because outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders; we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary but the common mode of existence. It is our daily bread. Whoever really has considered the lilies of the field or the birds of the air and pondered the improbability of their existence in this warm world within the cold and empty stellar distances will hardly balk at the turning of water into wine - which was, after all, a very small miracle. We forget the greater and still continuing miracle by which water (with soil and sunlight) is turned into grapes.” Wendell Berry

I have a Bible on my iPhone to read and mp3 player to listen to and I look forward to hearing the Bible in a fresh new way as I hike, listen and read.

The Peace of Wild Things

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake rests

in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry

Andrew Lyon

Andrew at the Canadian Border

Andrew Lyon, 24, passed away on August 30, 2013, just ten months after he successfully thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. In 2008, at the age of 19, Andrew was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After having chemotherapy and radiation twice as well as stem cell transplant treatment his cancer returned for a third time and Andrew decided to do the unthinkable: He would hike the PCT! On April 7, 2012 he began hiking the PCT at the US/mexico boarder and reached Canada on October 20, 2012. Here is a link to his blog which is maintained by his mother. Andy's Big Adventure. I find his courage and determination inspiring. It reminds me how precious life is and how important it is to live every moment to the fullest. Hike On, Andy!

It Makes Me Nervous

When I think about hiking the PCT I get excited. When I think about being away from my job for five months, I get nervous. (Please let me come back. I love my job!) I'm the kind of guy that had my first job in elementary school. (I got in trouble at school and had to clean bathrooms as a punishment...I did such a good job, they offered to pay me.) I had a paper route, mowed lawns, fixed small appliances, mixed audio, and was a electronic test technician all before attending college. I worked to pay for college as the campus electrician, phone man, sound man, and a part time youth pastor. (Exactly when did I study?) I have never been without a job. I have never had to wonder what's next...what will I do now? I know I will enjoy hiking the PCT, but I am concerned that I will spend too much time worrying about what I will do after the hike. I have to remember that God has made this hike possible and He has something great for me after it is over. I just have to hike to Canada to find out what it is! Keep calm and hike on.

Happy New Year

It's officially 2014! Before today, my plan to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail felt like something in the distant future. It was always next year, but now next year is this year and the clock is ticking! In the next two months, I will have to make a final go/no go decision for a 2014 thru-hike. If it is a go, I will need to choose a start date, finalize my itinerary, apply for permits, contact resupply locations to verify shipping instructions, and begin packing resupply boxes Eva will mail to me. I will need to go shopping for my food (300 lbs.), make some final clothing and gear decisions, and complete a list of "honey do" projects at home. I will need to find a good landscaper to take care of the yards while I am gone. I am committing myself now to workout and run five days a week, eat healthy, and hike as often as I can to make sure my feet and legs are ready. Can you tell I'm hopeful and excited? Keep calm and hike on!

First Post-The Adventure Begins

"Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer." John Muir

Welcome to my blog! This is the first of many posts as I share about my plans to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and document the journey from conception to completion. I also plan to share some of my personal story and my theological musings on various topics, most of which are inspired by my time spent walking in nature. I hope you find the website and blog informative, interesting, and even inspiring. Some of what I write may be chaff, but no one has produced wheat without the chaff, so I hope you will graciously accept it as the price for getting to know...me. And if you draw closer to God and learn to appreciate and enjoy His creation more, that's even better. Feel free to ask a question or share a comment. I look forward to hearing from you. Hike on!