"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks" -John Muir
Throughout my travels, I have found this statement to be true time and time again. All adventures in the woods bring more experiences, adventures, and memories than are first expected. There is a sense of self-renewal and growth in the wild places we explore. They are places for self-actualization. Re-creation.
Shelly and I have decided to publish one final post before we begin our journey. Here we are going to write down our expectations for our walk. Our goals, our fears, our hopes-everything and anything that comes to mind before we set off. This will be a way for us to look back on our journey and see what we have learned and how we have changed. This post will be a marker showing what we have sought in our journey and what we have received.
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| Bye Missoula! Until next time |
Emily's expectations:
Where do I begin? I have so much excitement and anxiety its hard to sum it all up. I am anxious about a lot of things, mainly my old injuries that like to flair up when its inconvenient. I am also worried about the lack of water in California. We will see how that goes.
I am hoping for many things on this trip. I want to become a better backpacker. I am by no means an expert and I hope to be an expert by the time I reach the end. I also hope to improve my health, both in body and mind. I want to be in top physical condition when we reach Canada! My most sincere hope, however, is that this hike helps me heal. This year has been awful for me. I have experienced the most profound heartbreak and loneliness and I am still struggling with this pain. My wish is to heal these wounds. I want to grow as a person and really come into my own. If I come out better on the other side, the journey will be worth all the work.
There are a lot of things I expect to happen. I expect to be sore as hell. I expect to be constantly hungry. I expect to be angry, happy, exhausted, anxious, and confused-all at the same time! I also expect an epic trail name. Most of all, I am expecting and looking forward to a ton of laughs and jokes with Shelly. We have enough sarcasm to last every single mile and a million more after that. I'm sure we will have a lot of memorable times.
Where do I begin? I have so much excitement and anxiety its hard to sum it all up. I am anxious about a lot of things, mainly my old injuries that like to flair up when its inconvenient. I am also worried about the lack of water in California. We will see how that goes.
I am hoping for many things on this trip. I want to become a better backpacker. I am by no means an expert and I hope to be an expert by the time I reach the end. I also hope to improve my health, both in body and mind. I want to be in top physical condition when we reach Canada! My most sincere hope, however, is that this hike helps me heal. This year has been awful for me. I have experienced the most profound heartbreak and loneliness and I am still struggling with this pain. My wish is to heal these wounds. I want to grow as a person and really come into my own. If I come out better on the other side, the journey will be worth all the work.
There are a lot of things I expect to happen. I expect to be sore as hell. I expect to be constantly hungry. I expect to be angry, happy, exhausted, anxious, and confused-all at the same time! I also expect an epic trail name. Most of all, I am expecting and looking forward to a ton of laughs and jokes with Shelly. We have enough sarcasm to last every single mile and a million more after that. I'm sure we will have a lot of memorable times.
Shelly's expectations:
Well I expect everything to be perfect and happy. Pretty much a musical. :)
I am worried about many things for this trail, my physical shape, the lack of water, my mental abilities, my distance from my friends and family, California falling off while we are hiking, and many more reasonable things. :)
As far as things I expect. I am expecting pain and lots of it. I also expect joy and laughs. I expect to be cold at night and hot in the day. Annoyed by bugs, but astonished by the beauty of the trail. I expect to be changed by this journey. I hope to let the trail shape me and discipline me into becoming a better person.
I am most excited to embark on a trip that is all about the journey. Most trips end up being about the journey, but this one is planned for the journey. That is what I am most excited for. To put myself through each mile and see how it was different from the last. I hope that I can become a better hiker, better person, and really discern where I should go after the trail.
I am worried about many things for this trail, my physical shape, the lack of water, my mental abilities, my distance from my friends and family, California falling off while we are hiking, and many more reasonable things. :)
As far as things I expect. I am expecting pain and lots of it. I also expect joy and laughs. I expect to be cold at night and hot in the day. Annoyed by bugs, but astonished by the beauty of the trail. I expect to be changed by this journey. I hope to let the trail shape me and discipline me into becoming a better person.
I am most excited to embark on a trip that is all about the journey. Most trips end up being about the journey, but this one is planned for the journey. That is what I am most excited for. To put myself through each mile and see how it was different from the last. I hope that I can become a better hiker, better person, and really discern where I should go after the trail.
Well, now that we have our thoughts on paper (digital paper) its time to leave the computers behind! This is it, the breath before the plunge. Wish us luck and keep us in your thoughts! This is the beginning of a bright and daring adventure.
Bye for now! We're going on an adventure!
-Emily and Shelly
Awesome! I am so excited for you guys :-) have fun and we will be anxiously awaiting updates!
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