The First Pictures of Our Journey September 18, 2009

 

Here are the first of our pictures to share! Twin monuments sit at each end of the trail, but the landscape that surrounds them is truly opposite ends of the spectrum. It’s great to look at these pictures next to each other and remember all the amazing places that we traveled between these two points. The trail starts at the Mexican border near a little town called Campo. It ends at the Canadian border near Manning Park (a park in Canada).

Yep, those outfits were worn all day, every day for 4.5 months. I did get a new pair of shorts after about 1.5 months, because I had lost enough weight my shorts kept falling down. And then I got a new shirt 1.5 months ago, not because my other one was worn out, it was going strong, but I needed to switch things up….. Its amazing how well everything lasted.

 

 

 

It’s such an interesting experience to start and end at the borders of our country. One of the main reasons to hike a long distance trail such as the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is to free oneself from the rules and neurosis of society. And there you are, standing at the Mexican border, a barbed wire fence right behind the monument, a swept road behind that (yes, they sweep this dirt road at least once a day to watch for footprints) and a massive steel panel wall behind that. Border patrol zoom back in forth in MANY different vehicles (I wish we had a choice what our tax money went towards….. ). And then there you are, standing at the Canadian border, literally in the middle of no where, with a 15 foot wide clear cut that runs along the whole border here in the Northwest. There are many other things along the way that remind you of our society, but its really a blatant reminder at the start and end of how seperated we have become. Its really quite sad in its own way.

  I have looked through some of our pictures, and its amazing to look back on the journey. It evokes great feelings and emotions. Its so funny what we remember and forget, and then what comes back to us by reflecting on the photos. There is so much I want to share about our trip, but I am still at a loss for words, its an experience that is so beyond words in many ways. Maybe as I look through the photos the feelings will help to inspire and coax the words out.

  It already feels like a couple weeks since we finished, and it has only been 5 days. Time is such a fluid and relative thing. I have really been enjoying just relaxing the last few days, allowing the body to heal and shift rhythms. But in ways I am starting to feel a little restless, I think it is time to start putting my energy into creative endeavors again.

The End of a Great Pilgrimage September 17, 2009

  Hi Everyone! Well here we are, at the other end of our great American Pilgrimage along the Pacific Crest Trail.  It’s such an amazing experience it’s hard to put into words in many ways. I’m glad I had the chance to hike it, and the passion and determination to finish it. This year it was estimated that 400 to 500 people started the trail with the intention to go all the way through, and I would guess that at the very most 100 will have finished by the time the weather makes it too hard to get through.

  The Pacific Crest Trail is such an amazing 2,650 mile cross section of the west coast. Every area is beautiful in its own unique way, and so very different. It’s amazing to me feeling the energy of each area and each different habitat. Each place speaks to your soul in a whole different way. And it’s always interesting to see what areas each person feels more at ease in. The goal is to be at ease in all settings, but usually we have climates and areas that we are more comfortable with. Over all I felt like I did better than in the past adapting to my surroundings, but I know I could have done even better. But it’s all a process.

  We took around 2,000 pictures along the way to remember our great journey. As I type this Bernie is uploading them to my computer to start working on them and picking a few of our favorites to make a slide show with and to share online. Sometime soon we will be able to show you the spectacular places we journeyed through. We looked through a few of the pictures the other day and its amazing to look back on the beginning of the trip. It seems like so long ago now, and many details have already blurred in my mind. It will be great to have the pictures to remember through the years.

  We started on April 27^th 2009 at the Mexican border; we finished at the Canadian border on September 13^th 2009 at 8am.  It really was a bittersweet moment. My body had become somewhat tired with the daily 25 to 30 miles, and was ready for a break. But when you spend 4.5 months hiking, it really becomes a lifestyle. It’s great to be immersed in nature on a daily basis, and in a different rhythm than how life is typically lived in our society now. So it is always a bit sad to shift the rhythm away from that again. And it’s always amazing the simplicity of hiking. All that you need is carried on your back, in a little backpack. It makes you appreciate how little we truly need. And of course you could do with even less than what we had.

  My fun and crazy story from the trail that was a side trip is this: When we got to Ashland (We stop at towns along the way to resupply and sometimes get a hotel room to relax and rest) I called my mom to ask her to look up prices on Hotels.com to see if we could find a better deal. She said “Why don’t you fly home for the weekend?” I was confused and a little suspicious. What it turned out to be is that I had an older Ford Explorer that had many troubles and was going to cost much more than it was worth to keep in good working order. My parents had been looking around to buy me a newer car, one that would be more dependable than mine. They heard about the cash for clunkers program (anyone that doesn’t know of it, our government was paying car dealers to give to buyers $4,500 per old car if someone bought a new car that got 10 miles per gallon better than their old one) , and were trying to surprise me with a new car. It turned out I needed to be there to sign paperwork since the car was in my name. So I flew back to Bellingham for 2 days to get my new car, a Kia Soul. I flew back down to Ashland and kept on hiking. This was exciting to me in many ways, but one of the main reasons it was exciting is because I have been working on manifestation techniques while on the trail. And I had been working on manifesting the Kia Soul because I loved how they looked, and they are supposed to be good cars; I really needed something better than my old car that was just getting too tired. I know many don’t really believe in the Ask and it is Given theory, but I swear to you it works, it has worked in many ways for me. Since we have gotten back to Bellingham I have really been enjoying getting to drive it around.

  There are many great life lessons learned on the trail to bring into every day life. And as always I hope to continue the learning process through life. Every moment is a great adventure, if you don’t feel wonder with each moment in life its important to take some time and reflect on how you are experiencing this thing called life, and change things up until you are in awe with everything you do.

  I hope everyone has been having the most wonderful of summers, and I look forward to catching up with each of you! I have been inspired this summer to try some new things, as I play around with them I will let you know what they are and how they are going for me.

 

A New Adventure April 25, 2009

Well everyone, tomorrow a new adventure begins. We fly to San Diego to start the Pacific Crest Trail.

I will miss getting to interact with everyone in blog land.

I wish you all the best of summers!

I hope you have the most spectacular time doing what each of you love!

Thank you for all the kind thoughts and comments that you have all shared with me.

Recent Outings April 15, 2009

This first photo is from a trip last week (photo courtesy of Bernie). Bernie and I went up to the Mt. Baker ski area, and headed out on showshoes. It really was a beautiful day to be up in the snow. The sky was SO blue! And I got my first (although meager) sunburn of the year! I am so excited to have enough sun to get a burn. It was nice to hear the crunch of snow as we explored the slopes. Both Mt. Shuksan (the photo above) and Mt. Baker are spectacular from up there.

 

Yesterday we made our way back to the Chuckanuts (big surprise there!). First we hiked up to Fragrance lake. Its a great uphill climb, through a beautiful forest. It’s a good one for me to get in shape. It was a beautiful hike, but nothing inspired me to take pictures along the way. But when we got back to the car, this little guy was sitting on the passenger door, resting in the warm spring sun (This picture is for Joan, the bug lady). We all know what honey bees and bumble bees look like, but have you taken the time to get close to your flowers and look at all the different native bees in your area? I think it is something a lot of people miss. Last fall I had the honor of seeing the most beautiful emerald green bee. It was so beautiful! And I had never seen one before.

We then drove to larabee State Park, which was near by and walked down to the beach.

 

The Red Flowering Currants are still blooming in full glory. They really do add a beautiful burst of color to the countryside.

 

I love the patterns that the water wears in the sandstone along the shore. I really wonder what causes these little pits in the stone. Just a weak point that errodes out?

 

We sat on the rocks, enjoyed the view, and studied tide pools.

 

Sometimes the tidepools look back. This charming little fish was trying to get closer as Bernie took this photo. I think he liked getting his picture taken, cause all the other fish swam to their hiding spots. There were also two large Red Rock Crabs sitting in this little tide pool. We tried to take some pictures, but they just didn’t turn out. Its amazing all the life that can live in such a small pool of water.

 

We then drove down the road to a little mud flat/cove that we had not visited before (well, maybe I was there when I was young, I can’t remember). The tide was out, so it was a nice (although squishy at times) walk. We got to see three areas relativly close to each other, but different in feeling.

Back Into The Chuckanuts April 1, 2009

Another outing to the Chuckanut Mountains. This is the primary place we have been going for our hikes lately. It is one of the nicer areas in Bellingham. It has some nice trails that wander through the woods. We ended up doing a loop trip, up to Lily lake and back.

 

One of the first things we came across was a few beautiful Red Flowering Currants. I love these plants in the spring. They are one of the first flowers to come out, and their color is so fresh and vibrant. Many of them were just budding out, so I have lots of great color to look forward to for a little bit from these jems.

 

On our way up my attention was grabbed by a pair of trees next to the trail. Some times trees will grow very close to each other, but usually they just grow straight up. These trees looked as if they were truely in love. You can’t see very far up these trees in the picture I took, but they make one complete twist around each other. Now perhaps I am just projecting, but they really seemed to have an essence of love to them. Ah, they made me smile and feel all mushy inside.

 

When we got up to the top, there was snow! Snow? Yes, it seems that winter does not quite want to release its hold. We keep seeing fresh snow on our foothills. Neither of us expected to make it up high enough on this hike to hit the snow, but alas we did. It was actually fun to crunch around in the thin layer of snow.

 

Here is Bernie enjoying the snow, and protecting his beloved camera from the inclement weather (it was hailing just a few minutes before this shot). Can you all tell I gave him a haircut recently?

 

On the way down we came across a little waterfall. There were actually a good hand full of them on the way down, but this was one of the more enjoyable ones. I am drawn to the waterfalls lately. They are a peaceful place to linger for sure.

Another enjoyable outing into the Chuckanuts. Plenty of uphill for getting in shape, and just as much downhill for an easy glide down.

A New Backpack! March 16, 2009

 

The other day we went to REI just to look around, I really did not expect to get another backpack, because mine is in fine condition. But I ended up trying on a couple any ways, and they are sooooo much more comfortable than the one I have been using. It’s pretty amazing how they are changing the backpacks, they are making them formed to the body so much better.

The pack I ended up getting is made specifically for women, so the harness is shaped to fit the body better, and the length is made to fit women better. Its a really nice pack, just a little larger than my other pack at 3,000 cubic inches/ 50 liter. Its and Osprey backpack, the model is Aura 50.

It’s so exciting to get a new toy! I loaded it up with my gear the other day. Bernie and I do lightweight backpacking. The baseweight of my backpack (the backpack, with my hiking gear like sleeping bag, extra layers, sleeping pad, personal items, and such) is 14 lbs. With a full load of food and water we might get up to 30 lbs max. Usually we are more around 20-25 lbs. Many people think it would be hard to be comfortable hiking this lightweight, but we have everything we need, and we are plenty comfortable in any situation we come across.

We hike in Teva sandals. Another choice that many would not make, but we have found it to be much more comfortable for us. We used to hike with running shoes, but I was having trouble with my toes running into the end of the shoes too much (I ended up loosing a nail because of this, ick!), and so over time we decided to switch to sandles. We have probably hiked somewhere around 3,000 miles in sandals.

Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life March 3, 2009

 

Yesterday we went for a hike up to Pine and Cedar Lakes in the Chuckanut Mountains. I chose it for getting in shape on the hills. Its a pretty good climb up to the lakes, and it takes a bit of a direct route up the hillside. Not only am I working on getting my body in shape for hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, I am also working on my mind. I am changing beliefs that have not served me so well on the trail in the past.

I have always had a bit of a challenge with the hills, and have known for quite some time that this is mostly a mental problem. Instead of looking up a hill and dreading the climb, I am learning to embrace the hill, and enjoy the journey up it. Bernie and I were coming up with thought patterns and intentions for the climb yesterday, and over all I feel like I did quite well! I did not breath nearly as hard as I usually do when in this kind of shape. Its sometimes a bit disturbing to climb hills with me, because my face almost turns purple at times. This is one of the many symptoms I am working at getting rid of.

My body stayed pretty relaxed our entire hike up, simply by changing the way that I think. This is a very strong lesson to learn when doing any activity. The more we embrace it and enjoy it, the less of a burden and challenge it becomes to us. One example is if we are out for a walk with someone, and we come up to a long steep hill, at first we might think “oh god, I have to climb that”, so right away your body starts to feel like a lead weight, and you have to drag it up that hill. But if the person you are with gets you talking about something you are passionate about, your mind is suddenly no longer focusing on how hard that hill is. Before you know it you will be at the top of the hill, you wont be breathing hard, and you will feel great, because you were focused on something you really enjoy, not making the hill into an impossible task.

One book that I was raised with, and always go back to for perspective on the different ailments that we carry in our bodies is Louise L. Hay’s “You Can Heal Your Life”. If you have never seen this book, I highly recomend it. The funny thing is I have actually not read the book through, but there is a list in it, with all the main body parts, what they represent, and then diseases that we get. It tells you what the typical reason for these problems are, and a new thought pattern to help you overcome these problems. So I looked up shoulders, since that is one of the main problems I am solving before we leave on our hike. She said that shoulders “represent our ability to carry out experiences in life joyously. We make life a burden by our attitude”. This is very true for me, especially with hiking. I have turned it into a burden at times for myself in the past. I know that I no longer need to do this, I know I will enjoy each moment it has to share with me, even if some of them do happen to be challenging. So my new thought pattern is “I choose to allow all my experiences to be joyous and loving”.

Sometimes the hardest part of changing our thought patterns is deciding to do it. Once we make this choice, we start to flow into a healthier place, and more thought patterns will naturally change to serve us better. I still have a lot of work to do in many aspects of my life, but I feel good at this moment working through some of these thoughts and fears that have been serving me very poorly for many years now.

 

After our nice hike up through the woods we came out at Pine Lake. Both of the lakes are not all that large, but they are pretty little gems hidden in the trees. As you can see, its been pretty chilly around here lately, there is still quite a bit of ice covering the lake. The weather is warming quite quickly over the last couple of days, so I believe spring is finally on its way around here.

We spent our time exploring around both the lakes, enjoying the scenery. Bernie got to play around with is new camera, and figure out some of its settings, and how it works under different light conditions. When we were done at Cedar Lake we made our way up a side trail to a few overlooks. One of them looked down on Bellingham, and it was kind of interesting to see it from a different perspective. Its amazing how much it sprawls…… kinda sad too. And then the other viewpoint looked out across the San Juan Islands. It wasnt quite sunset, but the light was still very nice. It was a nice place to pause for a few minutes. I was not doing so well on changing my beliefs on cold, and was feeling quite chilly at this point. I was looking forward to moving again, and so we made our way down the trail.

 

 

It was a good outing over all. My body felt good, it was nice to end a 7 mile hike with many hills without feeling sore and tired. I actually felt like I do after a few weeks of being on the trail, strong and relaxed, which is exactly what I wanted to accomplish!

Finding Balance February 28, 2009

The chaotic energy has not left our lives yet….. We ended up returning to Washington state last Tuesday. We have been spending some time trying to figure out the next step. I kind of wimped out on poor Bernie. I just didn’t quite feel up to doing both the Arizona Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail all in one summer. Together it would be a total of 3,400 miles, which I am sure I could do, but for some reason I just don’t feel up to it. Possibly partially because we haven’t done a long distance hike in quite some time. So I am much more excited about doing the Pacific Crest Trail, and it looks like at this point (we keep going back and forth between doing one and doing both) that is the one that we will be doing. I am getting quite excited about it.

The only downside to waiting to do the PCT is the waiting. It is 2 months away, and Bernie especially is very ready to get out into the world and do something new and fresh. So I do have to say I feel a bit guilty at limiting his adventures for this season….. He is being quite understanding with me, but does have moments of frustration at the idea of waiting around for a couple of months.

I do not feel like I am in the shape I would like to be to do a long distance trail. So one of my main goals for this period is to get my body to the place I would like it. I have trouble with one of my shoulders, it often starts to hurt quite a bit when I wear my backpack for extended periods. I need to do some upper body work, so that it is stronger, and will no longer hurt me. I want to really work on the mental aspects of getting ready for hiking also. In the past I easily fallen into focusing on the negative, whether that was pain, or the challenges of terrain. So I am going to turn around my perspective on the whole experience, and enjoy each moment for what it has to offer.

One thing that we might do over the next couple of months is to find some type of spiritual/meditation center to volunteer at. It would be and interesting new experience. We have been looking online this evening for possible places around here, and other interesting places in the western US.

Another chaotic and frustrating thing that happened is that Bernie lost all his photos that he has taken since about Christmas, because his computer crashed, and when he got it working again, it did not save those photos. There is a slight possibility they might have been saveable by a trained computer professional….. which I do kind of wish we had done, because he had some jems. But as Bernie said, in the long run it doesn’t matter, it just is. Its just too bad. But he will get many more beautiful ones, so its not the end of the world.

I do hope that things calm down a little bit, we have had quite a few crazy things going on. Its strange how that kind of energy comes in waves every once in a while.

One thing that I do want to do with my time here is to get some crafting done. I really would like to make some more of those re-usable shopping bags. I also wanted to try making some re-usable produce bags. I saw a plan for them online one time, and have a couple of ideas to play around with.

Well, that’s how everything stands for this moment, but I dare not say that’s how its going to happen, because things keep changing on a weekly or daily basis lately.

Greetings Blogland! February 22, 2009

Hi everyone.  It has been a while! Sorry for the lack of updates. Well the weather continues to be rather wet around here. We did have a couple of days of dryness though. That was nice. We got to get out and stretch the legs a little bit.

Last Wednesday Bernie and I went to the free day at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. When we got there mid morning the line was sooooo long, we decided to go take a walk through the park to pass some time. We walked along a few nice paths and made our way down to the beach. Its always nice to see the Pacific ocean, and the waves crashing against the sand. We had a nice little walk in the sand, watching the surfers trying to catch the waves (they weren’t the best quality waves for surfing, at least they didn’t seem to be, but what do I know…) And then we sat on a nice little bench looking over the beach and ate our lunch that we had brought along.

We made our way back into the park and decided to give it another try with the line. It was shorter this time, and we only had to stand in it for about an hour…… Free day is VERY popular aparently, probably because it cost $25 per adult per day to get into that place normally. Thats sooooo expensive, especially if you had a family. It was a fun experience over all. The aquarium was pretty interesting. They had a few very large tanks, and then many smaller ones with all kinds of different types of habitats and creatures. We didn’t make it into the Rainforest dome, because there was a large line for that, but it looked pretty interesting from the outside. Thei other exhibits weren’t too bad. Although I do have to say, I was excited to see their Penguins, but VERY dissapointed when I actually saw them. They had those poor guys in a dispaly that I thought was much too small, especially since they had about 10 animals in there. I felt so sorry for them. I have a real hard time supporting places that do that kind of stuff. A few of the tanks in the aquarium were much to small for the animals in them also. Oh well, its only expected with something like that I guess.

And then the last two days we have gone for hikes in the hills, to help me get in better shape, and to enjoy being outside a little bit. Yesterday was quite the workout for me, there was one hill that the trail went pretty much straight up on. My legs feel it a little today for sure! But it was nice. There was some ridge walking, in which you got expansive views from.

Unfortunatly we have been getting very few pictures, either because of rain, or grey days. We did find a hummingbird on a nest a week or so ago, and if we happen to get a sunny day before we leave for Arizona Bernie wants to try to get a picture of her. She was quite cute, the nest is barely large enough for her to stick in.

We are planning on leaving for Arizona the begining of next week as long as everything goes right. The weather has been warming up and drying out there over the last week. It will be nice to get into some real sun! And then we should be able to get some nice pictures! Hopefully there will be a few more dry days this week, so I can go up and down a few more hills to get back into shape, so I’m not huffing and puffing each time we have to climb a hill on the hike.

Hope all is well for all my blogland friends. I will try to make it into libraries now and then while we hike, so that I can do updates on our trip. I wish I could share pictures along the way, but I will at least try to share some of the best when we are all done.

A New Adventure! February 10, 2009

Well, it looks like the blog will take quite a break this summer…… It makes the blogging part of me sad. But the adventure will be worth the break. We are headed out the end of this week to drive to Arizona with Bernie’s parents. They are dropping us off at the Mexican border, and we will be hiking the Arizona Trail. It is a 800 mile route that travels from the Mexican border to the Utah border through the heart of Arizona.

To see some maps and more information on our hike visit the Arizona Trail Association’s web site at http://www.aztrail.org/ . Bernie has had the itch to hike for a little while now, and its been a bit since we have done a real long distance trail.

And then if we are feeling good after the Arizona trail, Bernie would really like to make our way to southern California to start the Pacific Crest Trail. This is a trail that travels from the Mexican border in California to the Canadian border in Washington. It is about 2,650 miles long. Bernie had finished this trail before I met him. He did it over 2 seperate summers. If we do happen to do it this summer, we most likely would thru hike, which means we would do the whole trail. For more information on the PCT visit http://www.pcta.org .

Hiking a long distance trail is an amazing experience. It becomes a way of life. When you hike one as long as the PCT you are immersed in nature for about 4 months or so (depending on your speed, and the length of the trail you are on).

Bernie and I have hiked quite a lot since we have been together. We started with the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) which is a 2,700 mile trail that travels from the Canadian border in Montana to the Mexican border in New Mexico. I only finished 2,000 miles of it, because of an injury, but Bernie did the whole thing. Then we moved onto the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) which is a 1,200 mile trail that travels from Washingtons outer coast to Glacier National Park in Montana. And then over a few different trips we completed about 3/4 of the California Coastal Trail.

It has been a good number of years since we have done a long distance trail, so it will be fun to get into that lifestyle again for a little while. We will be taking my camera with to get some nice memory shots along the way. I hope to share them with all of you one of these days when we settle down long enough to do that.

I wish everyone the best of summers! May adventures abound for all of you, and beauty surround you!! Everyone that is doing a garden this year, I wish you a wonderful crop, and lots of joy playing out in the dirt! To all the creative people out there, keep expressing yourselves with your beautiful crafts! Perhaps we will run across a Library every now and then, so I can drop in on my blog and let you know how our adventures are going!

Enjoy each and every moment! And always Do What You Love!