Uncategorized Archives - My New Life on the Trail

Day 87, Wednesday, May 9. Cove Mountain Shelter—13.8 miles

Gnome was bothered by red lights and squirrels all night last night so he didn’t sleep well. He picked a bad day to go to bed sober. Apparently, other people in camp complained of deer wandering around through camp, but they didn’t mention anything about them having red lights. Maybe Gnome singlehandedly stopped an alien invasion. He also fell out of his hammock—seriously, he was sober. When we woke up at 7, all of the hammock campers were already gone, so they may have been the red lights he was seeing.

The PCT was designed for pack animals; the CDT was designed by cartographers; and the AT was designed by stoners. I imagine Otto the bus driver from the Simpsons as a trail builder talking to Mr Burns from the ATC…
Otto “Dude, wouldn’t it be cool if the trail ran over that peak on the next ridge?”
Mr Burns “Excellent. Make them climb down to the valley and back up.”
Otto “And then we could make them come back to this ridge to see the view 50’ from where they started.”
Mr Burns “We will call it a ‘pud’ “
Otto “Dude?”
Mr Burns “A pointless up and down”
Otto “Dooood! Gnarly”

The AT runs near the Blue Ridge Parkway for a little over 100 miles

Today was the first day of relatively easy walking in Virginia. The weather was perfect; low 70s with a steady breeze and a fairly level trail. We crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway after just a couple of miles of hiking. The AT will run in the neighborhood of the parkway for a little over 100 miles, but we will still diverge from it to climb a few additional mountains since the trail was designed by stoners.

Gnome and Bunny emerging from the woods at mile 97

Every time the AT crosses the Blue Ridge, there are two things that are possible: 1) a scenic overlook (100% guaranteed), and 2) a chance for trail magic. No angels were in the outfield today. We did hear of magic that will be around on Friday when Little Foot’s parents meet him near the James River. It will probably be out of our reach, though.

I have a secret about my time in the woods—I talk to trees. Don’t be too quick to lock me up. So far, they don’t answer me. I just think of them just like trail volunteers, or fire fighters, or trail angels…I thank them for being there and making my hike pleasant. I’m hoping I can make contact with Tree Bard and that he will put the word out to protect me. That’s why I felt comfortable staying at Pine Swamp Branch Shelter (the one closed because of dead trees), I know I’m being watched out by the living trees.

Level section of trail, heavenly for a change

The trail greened up and budded out from the rain of yesterday. We got to see our first rhododendrons in full bloom. I’m looking forward to going through a rhododendron tunnel in a few days. The flowers are pretty, but not very fragrant. The fragrant flowers are the wild azaleas. There was also a fair amount of honeysuckle near the lower road crossings.

Gnome suggested I do an underwear pose and look off in the distance

Here’s are a few examples of Gnome humor. He is very knowledgeable of wild plants and is trying to teach me about different edibles. He pointed out some wild violets and said “I oppose violets in any form.” He also told me about 3 moles digging a tunnel. The first one says “I smell sugar.” The second one says “I smell syrup.” The third one says “I smell mole asses.” And lastly, when asked about sex on the trail, he said it was “in tents.”

Walking along a narrow ridge above the valley over 2000’ below

Patches did text us and tell us she wasn’t going to catch up for a while. We knew that when we left her yesterday, she would probably end up taking a Zero after all. She really wanted the banana pudding from 2 pigs barbecue. It used to be 3 pigs, but we did quite a number on the place with our two visits.

The three of us with the James River visible below

The shelter we decided to stay at today is dry. Not the same kind of dry that counties in Tennessee and Kentucky have. Here, we mean no water. Between the 3 of us, we carried an extra 9 liters of water to camp. If this shelter had a reliable water source, it would be a favorite. There have been plenty of wildlife coming through and it’s in a sheltered dip in the ridge. It even has a brand new privy that I would consider sleeping in because it only smells of fresh cut cedar. Since we were the first ones here, that won’t be necessary as we got the shelter. Only 2 more hikers came down to the shelter and they both camped.

Our first snake picture and it’s not even poisonous

But it did have an interesting blue band

EFG

TMB Day 10–Monday, October 2. Argentiere (close enough)

There are two truths to what happened to us and why we are still in Argentiere today–we will leave it up to the reader to choose the version he/she prefers to be true and which sounds more truthful.

It was so cheap compared to that country whose name must not be spoken, that we opted for extra days

Clouds in the morning–they might breakup or get worse, we can’t tell which way it’s headed

Version 1:

While having pizza and beer for dinner last evening, we logged into the internet to check the weather for the next few days since it was pretty miserable and cold already. It started misting right after we got into our room and the clouds rolled in. The forecast for the next few days looked pretty grim–rain and clouds with low visibility. It is October and we have to expect some bad weather. We decided that if it was, in fact, raining in the morning, we would call it a trip and end the Tour du Mont Blanc here and skip the last 13 miles. We can see Chamonix down the valley from where we are so it seems pointless to climb back up the ridge opposite of Mont Blanc to not be able to see the mountain. The last two days are normally the most spectacular views of the mountain, but if it’s cloudy, why bother. We’ve already hike over 1400 miles.

Version 2:

We started praying for the rain to continue tomorrow so we would have an excuse to quit. After the last 3 days of hiking in the nameless country we just left, we were broken. For the first time this entire 6 months, we both can honestly say we are not having any fun and want to quit hiking this trail (not quit hiking, but move on to a different activity for a while and allow our bodies some recovery time). When we woke up in the morning, our prayers had not been answered–there were just a few clouds in the sky. We took our time with breakfast and extended our stay for another 2 nights. By the time we found a cash machine and figured out where and when to catch buses, the clouds had rolled in and it was starting to rain. We started to feel better since the weather justified our premature ejection from the trail.

Just before bed last night the clouds were completely blocking out the face of Mont Blanc

Normally, I’d say we didn’t come to Europe to hike most of the Tour du Mont Blanc, but, apparently that’s not the case this time. We have hiked the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in Wales and didn’t skip an inch. We hiked the Camino Francais starting in St Jean Pied de Port and actually took some longer detours to hike well in excess of the 500 miles our Compostela says we hiked, plus, we hiked to Muxia and Fistere. We hiked the entire GR10 in France (something the majority of the people in the world are smart enough to not do in a single pass). AND, we came to France to hike MOST of the Tour du Mont Blanc. We hiked over 90 miles of the trail skipping the last 12 miles because of the weather (after it finally decided to cooperate and give us an excuse to quit). All together, we have hiked in excess of 1450 miles and we are still planning on hiking a few more trails in England before we return to the USA in December.

Honey, I’m headed to the “Office” today, don’t know when I’ll be back, don’t wait up

The goal we set for ourselves this year was to hike at least 1600 miles to prove that we are mentally unbalanced enough to begin the Triple Crown next year. We have proven to ourselves that long distance hiking is mostly a mental challenge. We have endured the physical hardships and have proven we are mental. For now, we sightsee. Come November, we will be hiking in England. We hope you will continue to follow us then. Ba bye for now.

Riverbed running through town–the water was dark brown with sediment from the rains last night instead of its usual crystal clear aspect

Who is “Bunny Tracks” ?

Bunny Tracks, aka Pam, is the devoted, doting, loving wife of Easily Forgotten who would blindly follow him to the ends of the earth. But I’ll let her tell you in her own words.

EFG

I go by the name of Pam, Spam, Pamelor, Pamma Jamma, Pea Kae, or Mrs. Himstedt now. I came into the world back in 1963 born in Memphis, TN. I only lived there for a few years while my father completed his internship at Baptist Memorial Hospital then moved to SE Missouri to settle in a small town in the Bootheel close to the Mississippi River.

My father was a physician and my mother was a home maker taking care of me (the deprived baby), my older sister, and older brother. I remember growing up around healthcare all my life. My father would take me to the hospital on rounds with him. Then, when I was old enough, I worked at the medical clinic in the laboratory. My mother made sure we were where we were supposed to be and well fed (more than a full-time job with 3 active kids). Unfortunately, her cooking and homemaking skills didn’t pass down to me.

Every summer when school let out, we would take 3+ week vacations all over the country in our Holiday Rambler trailer. I believe we made it to all states except Alaska and Hawaii. We would usually make a stop in Colorado on the way out or back. Dad took us on some harrowing trips over Devil’s Punchbowl (between Marble and Crested Butte) and Black Bear Pass (near Telluride). In spite of dad’s sense of driving adventure, I love the mountains, nature, and just being outside, especially in the low humidity and crisp air. Now my brother lives in Colorado when I think it should have been me. We would also go to Kentucky Lake to camp, fish, swim, tube, and ski. I have always been an outdoorsy person.

After graduating high school, I went to the University of Missouri just as my older brother and sister had done. I realized after a couple of years there, it was much too large for me and I left and went to Central Methodist College to complete my nursing degree. I stayed in Columbia, MO and worked for a year before moving to St. Louis where I worked for 13 years. When I was pregnant with my son, we moved back to SEMO and have now worked here for 20 years.

I have since completed my Bachelor of Science in Nursing, my Master of Science in Nursing and Nurse Practitioner. I have been an RN for 32 years and a Nurse Practitioner for 16 of those years. I have 2 wonderful children—Sarah, 23, and Sam, 19. They have been my pride and joy and it is hard to see them fly from the nest.

I met Curtis (and I did not “easily forget” him) back in 2009 through Match.com. We wrote long emails most nights and we really got to know each other for months before we actually had our first date. We finally tied the knot this year! Curtis and I have done some traveling part time over the last 7 years and we decided that we wanted to travel full time before we were too old and could not physically hike or backpack. Already we are seeing people our age and younger dropping like flies.

I have also been disillusioned with healthcare lately. I know I am burnt out and need a change. I can no longer listen to my patients cry in my office because they cannot afford their medications or all their retirement money is being spent for their healthcare. This is not the American Dream and I feel it is absurd to spend your life working to only spend your dying days forking over all your money for health care. I feel my time is spent trying to prove to insurance companies why I feel the medications I prescribe are the best for the patient. I also feel I give 100% to care for my patients and I am not sure it is always about quality patient care these days–it is all about making money. Healthcare costs are too high! (and I know it is not because I have gotten big raises in the last 9 years). I don’t want to be a “Debbie Downer” but I am so tired of working and tired of hearing about all the problems of this country—-healthcare, politics, gun control, and education. I don’t know the solutions, but I know I need a break from it all.

I feel a sense of peace when carrying all my belongings on my back and hiking down a trail. I don’t have to worry with fixing my hair or putting on makeup—I can just be my natural self. I don’t want an alarm clock getting me up in the morning, I want to wake up with the sun and fall asleep when the sun sets. I will be with my partner and we can laugh and just enjoy life without all the fast pace and constant technology. I guess I sound like I am going thru a mid-life crisis or I am just getting old. In either case, I know I am ready for a change.

I love my children dearly and my family but I must do this because I have not felt true happiness or contentment in just working and making money—there is more to life and sometimes a challenge and change is the only way to find it! Bunny Tracks is off to hit the trail!

I am the journal keeper, editor, and the photographer of our travels. As you will see, Curtis is the writer and he does a fine job at making it enjoyable. I do, however, want to give my opinions as a female hiker in her 50s hiking with her husband so if you see some comments in parentheses and in red print, you know that I could not help myself (good, bad, or ugly). It is going to be interesting 🙂

Bunny T

Maybe she’ll slip a few through the cracks, but only I know the admin password. One thing she forgot to say is that she loves bunnies–I have lived in “Bunny Hell” for the last 7 years as a result.

EFG

Why?

Surprisingly, very few people actually ask us this question. When we tell people our plans (which Pam always tell me not to overwhelm them with details, just say we want to go hiking) their initial response is along the lines of “Wow, that’s amazing. I wish we had the guts to do that.” Who knows what they say when they get away from us—“Can you believe those two idiots? They’ve got great jobs and make good money and they are just throwing it away.”

To that I can only ask another question—what is more important: money or happiness?

We are both in out early 50s. Pam’s son is in college and her daughter is on her own so they already know way more than we do. Maybe by the time we get done with this odyssey, we might have some knowledge they could use (but I doubt it, we’re pretty stupid—who walks when there are cars available?).

Both sets of our parents are hovering around that 80 mark. If you believe actuary tables (which we’re counting on), they have another 8 years of life expectancy. This is the best shot we have for a time window. Add in a general burn out feeling for work we both have and it becomes a no brainer.

As a controls engineer, I have pretty much given up every holiday for the last 30 years because the production facilities are shut down. The only reward that I’ve ever gotten is a string of second guesses for everything I’ve done while my boss is home watching fireworks with his family on the 4^th of July. (I must throw in a big exception for Brad here). Every job I have ever had was stated 10-20% travel but that’s only the first month. It usually turns out to be 80+% and I didn’t get married to be away from my wife.

With Pam’s career in healthcare, despite the line of BS hospitals spew—it’s all about seeing more patients and generating more revenue. Patient care is not a concern as long as there is no grounds for malpractice. Hospitals are constantly charging more with any excuse they can think of (Obamacare was a field day of excuses for 7 years). While health care costs have gone up, Pam hasn’t seen more than a 2 or 3% pay raise in spite of having one of the highest patient ratings in her institution. Instead, they have taken away any continuing education benefits, come up with petty rules that she cannot have an office door, all the while trying to increase patient load every couple of months even though there is an agreed amount every year in the review process. The hospital executives who don’t have patient contact manage to get nice raises though. Pam’s concern is the quality of care for her patients—priority no 1, 2 & 3. There are major problems in the healthcare industry in this country that will only be taking steps backward for the foreseeable future.

I don’t know if what we are doing is unique—it’s definitely on the extreme ends of the bell curve. Our goal is to hike the Triple Crown as “seniors”. The schedule we have outlined calls for starting the AT on Pam’s 55^th birthday and finishing it on my 55^th (I have no control over the fact that I’ve got a cougar for a wife).

We want to show people that it’s never too late to get out and enjoy nature. Pam has been a diabetes specialist for about 20 of her 30+ years in healthcare. We are trying to show people that you can overcome the bad effects of diet through discipline and exercise. Granted, we are fortunate that we have the time and means to begin this endeavor. I’m tired of living in a society that loves objects and uses people. I want to love my wife and use the trails to gain joy and strength.

The Master Plan

Below is a tentative outline of what trails we are intending to tackle in the next few years. It’s a pretty ambitious list but we need to get going while we’re still able. Granted, we are not in as good of shape as we were a few years ago. That’s why we’re starting off with some shorter trails in Europe that aren’t as demanding building up to the 2 trails that are really what’s driving us in 2017—Tour du Mont Blanc (similar in length to the Wonderland Trail and it’s the highest mountain in Europe between France, Italy, and Switzerland) and GR20 Corsica which is considered the toughest trek in Europe even though it’s only a little over 100 miles.

We have had several influences in coming up with this list. My mentor at the Stage Company in Carbondale, IL was instrumental in our choosing the Camino. Nick Earle hiked this trail when he was 78 years old after his wife had died. She used to carry a good luck stone with her and Nick dropped it on the pile at the cross on the trail. It was a very touching story he shared with Pam and me over dinner a few years ago.

We were originally going to hike the Cotswold Way because of a book (The Unexpected Pilgrimage of Harold Fry) recommended by our good friends, Peter and Marcia, whom we met in Scotland and have gotten together with several times since. After running into a few English men and several guys from Wales (who are in no way biased about the undiscovered beauty of their country), we were persuaded to hike the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path instead.

Another influence for us was John and Jenny whom we met on the Wonderland Trail. The GR10 is on their bucket list and they have hiked the GR20 already. We spent many evenings talking about these trails with them while we were hiking the Wonderland Trail.

Peter thru-hiked the AT before it was the “In Thing” to do—way back in 1971 (I was only in 2^nd grade when he accomplished this feat). Marcia did it a few years later. They will be joining us for a large section of Maine next year. In addition, we met Michelle “Brownie” Pugh when we were on the Wonderland Trail (author of Love at First Hike). But probably one of my biggest accidental influences was the younger brother of one of my best friends growing up—Steve Johnson. When I got divorced way back in 2006 (the same year of all the devastating floods in Mt Rainier—coincidence?), Steve got me off the couch and back on the trail after 20 years of excessive eating. We went to Mt. Rainier, Olympic, North Cascades, Isle Royale, and the Smokies: all of which I’ve gone back to again (almost all, since we got the Wonderland Trail this past year we didn’t go to North Cascades). Surprisingly, Steve doesn’t have a desire to hike the long trails because he’s like a male shopper on the trail—get in, get what you want, and get out.

I’ve had a desire to complete the Triple Crown ever since I heard that it was called that. I’ve even heard of the “Grand Slam” but I’m not sure if it’s official, but that would be the Triple Crown with the American Discovery Trail thrown in (but that might get me into a little bit more trouble than I need right now if I bring up that topic with Pam—we’ll visit that subject in the end of 2021).

Most importantly, I couldn’t/wouldn’t be attempting this without my wonderful wife by my side. When we first started dating she told me she would like to try backpacking (I had just gotten back from hiking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal). I put her to the test and bought her a pack for Christmas and booked plane tickets for Scotland so we could do our first hike together—the West Highland Way. The rest is, as they say, history.

2017

April 8—Fly to London

April 9—Bath

April 10—End of May: Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, Wales (186 miles)

May—June Camino de Santiago St Jean Pied de Port, France

To Finisterre via Santiago (526 miles)

July—August GR10 Pyrennees Traverse Hendaye (Atlantic Coast)

To Banyuls-ser-Mur (Mediterranean Coast) (538 miles)

Sep 1-15 Tour de Mont Blanc Les Houches, France (110 miles)

Sep 16-30 GR20 Corsica Calenzana to Conca (108 miles)

Oct-Dec Norway, Germany, Italy

Nov Cotswold Way, England ?

Dec 7—Return to London

Dec 9—Return to USA

2018

Feb 2 Check In Amicalola Falls Lodge, Dawsonville, GA

Feb 3—Hike approach Trail to AT (7.8 miles)

Feb 4—September Appalachian Trail (approx. 2200 miles)

October—Fly to New Zealand

October—April ‘19 Te Araroa (appox. 2000 miles)

2019

April—October Pacific Crest Trail (2650 miles)

Winter—South America

Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia

Machu Picchu

2020

March—October Continental Divide Trail (3100 miles)

Winter—SE Asia; Cambodia, Viet Nam, Thailand, Laos

2021

April (3 weeks) Nepal—Everest Base Camp

June-July Pacific Northwest Trail (1200 miles)

August John Muir Trail (211 miles)

September West Coast Trail, Vancouver Island, Canada (47 miles)

If we survive and complete this list, we will complete the Triple Crown and will have hiked in excess of 13,000 miles. At this point, we may slow down if Pam gets her way. I honestly hate to put this in writing because I know Pam will get overwhelmed when she reads this list.

Noticeably missing from the list are any trails in Iceland, Australia, Alaska, and Sweden all of which Pam has expressed a desire to hike. I also haven’t included any trails we might choose to hike in South America or SE Asia which we will figure out in the future. We will continue hiking as long as our bodies and funds hold out.

Why We Hike

When was the last time you set your tooshie down on a porcelain toilet and thought “this is the life”? Not just this is great in that you are getting (or about to get) gastronomic relief, but, rather, this is fantastic!–all I had to do was drop my drawers and sit down, not dig a hole and hope my aim was good enough to not land in my pants and hit the aforementioned hole, no balancing on the balls of your feet required, no leg cramps to throw your rhythm off, no swatting of bugs from your face or watching over your shoulder to make sure no one is about to get an eyeful. Just pure love of the toilet you’re sitting on, the cool refreshing feel of the porcelain coursing through your nether regions and the joy of a flush to take all that you expel away without any mess or having to cover up the hole. You also can expect a hot shower to wash all the last 4-5 days of sweat, smells and grime off of your body. This is the life!

Just a cot, a communal bath, and a great view–I was in heaven after only 3 days out

Hiking gives you an appreciation of what we take for granted every day of our normal lives. When you are deprived of the accepted conveniences of modern life for 5-7 days while in the back country and can anticipate a town day coming up, you actually get excited about bathrooms and laundromats. A restaurant that serves a fat juicy hamburger and fries will cause you to even put sex on the backburner (especially if your partner has the same 5-7 days of filth on them). In simplest terms, hiking makes you appreciate the front country but frees you up from the stress of modern living.

Some of the happiest people I’ve ever met lived in the Annapurna region of Nepal–by our standards, they had nothing

Imagine living life in pursuit of the basics. Your day consists of eating, walking, and making sure you have a safe place to sleep at night—that’s it! Eat, walk, and sleep. Imagine not having a cell phone attached to you (I know this is a nightmare scenario to approximately 99.99999% of people under 25 but once they actually have to be in constant contact with work and fend for themselves they might appreciate the freedom from technology), no constant exposure to news trying to whip up a fear frenzy, no constant threat of job stability, no arm pit odor fear, no white teeth anxiety (or any other consumer installed fears), just eat, walk, sleep, and be amazed at the beauty of nature. Now, if you’re really lucky, you get to share that with a like-minded partner.

I am extremely fortunate to have such a partner. It is especially rare to find a mature woman (yes, I have a cougar in my life—she is a full 8 months older than me and always will be!) in her 50’s that is willing to accept the hardships of the back country and see that the simple life, joy of freedom, and spectacular vistas far outweigh any perceived inconveniences. Initially, I introduced my Bunny Tracks to backpacking, but over the years she has taken the lead in equipment research and has replaced most of our gear (sound familiar men? When you get married, all of your stuff slowly gets thrown away, moved to the basement or garage until you are down to one remaining item that you started with—in my case, it’s my long underwear; all other gear I started with now sits in the upstairs closet pining for another trip outside).

We disagree, but I think my wife looks best without makeup and with a few days of grime on her

It’s romantic to say we are living like our prehistoric ancestors, but this is pure fantasy. How many cave men had walking sticks with built in shock absorbers (they used sticks); water filters (they could drink water straight from the source without worry of anything other than a little bear shit in the water—tastes similar to berries squeezed into a pitcher of water); light weight tents made from Cuban Fiber (they slept under the stars, rock over hangs, or trees); alcohol stoves for cooking on (they actually built fires if they were advanced enough); lightweight down sleeping quilts and inflatable sleeping pads (they carried hides if they were lucky enough to have them or made friends with bears to sleep on and hoped they weren’t horny); dehydrated food or town stops for resupply (they ate what they gathered or killed—my wife recently tried termites and said they were minty, I passed until such time that a termite would represent a life or death scenario for me); lighters (they had to create fire using friction or flint and steel unless a member of the tribe could shit fire and they didn’t have Thai restaurants to provide an assist); head lamps (they stayed by the fire or set the least liked member of the group’s hair on fire and sent them ahead—this is why I keep my hair short because I know my standing in any group setting); cameras to record every moment (they had to just rely on memory); blogs to share the experience (cave walls with whatever they could use to paint pictures). Other than these few minor differences, it’s just like living in primitive times—cave man grunting sounds here!

Try retrieving a dropped water bottle from the edge of a shelf with a 2000′ drop for a primal experience

The last major reason (for me at any rate) is that it is very satisfying to think that you are carrying everything you need to survive for a week on your back. If you don’t have it, you go without. Hopefully, it’s not life or death (it’s not!). As long as you have food, water, and protection from the elements, you’re golden, Pony Boy. The more you backpack, the more you discover what you can go without. We recently spent 2 weeks on the Wonderland Trail and Pam said that was too long without a shower, but after 5 days, it doesn’t really matter—words of wisdom for all you ladies out there. After every trip, we decide what equipment needs have changed; what should we have taken, what could we have done without. Most often, it’s what we can do without. There’s joy in deprivation (we try telling Pam’s kids this as we take away financial support—there’s definitely joy in providing deprivation).

Everything you have, everything you need, you must carry on your back

Not to be overlooked, even though I have alluded to it, is just total immersion in nature. We have seen things far from roads and cities that the average person just doesn’t get to see. Granted, there are rural towns that have more wildlife in them, but nothing beats the thrill of walking down a trail and having a bear pop out a few feet in front of you (it definitely allows you the opportunity to test your bowel control to the fullest). Or to hear munching outside of your tent to open it up and see 3 moose eating a few feet away. Or to yell at the person in the tent next to you that it’s too early to get up yet they keep shuffling their gear until you open up your tent to discover a porcupine in camp.

When was the last time you saw a goat climb a tree?

And the beauty! To be in a valley with glaciers towering for thousands of feet all around you. To walk in tree groves so old and huge that it hurts your neck to try to look up to the tops of the trees. The smell of virgin pine forests. To lie on your back and see the starry sky at night from the bottom of the Grand Canyon with zero light pollution. To hear glaciers move and see the rocks tumble from them. To run across people you’ve never met before and be instant friends because of shared interests. Even though we may hit the backcountry for solitude, it can easily be shared.

This wasn’t even the pretty side of the valley

Who Is “Easily Forgotten”?

I am! Ask anyone who has ever met me and the response will be universal—“Who?”

My first, and sadly most recent accomplishment, was learning to walk. From that time on, everyone has told me to sit down and shut up. But this is just the milestone that one needs to enjoy backpacking—I peaked at 9 months of age.

I grew up in a city of distinction–Decatur, IL. “What distinction?” you may ask. There are two, actually. When you get within 20 miles of the city, you will notice a distinct odor; the smell of burnt soybeans (often confused with an open sewer). Decatur is the self-recognized soybean capitol of the world due to the presence of ADM and AE Staley (now a division of Lisle and Tate). The second, most telling distinction, is to be the absolute last city in the entire United States with a population of over 80,000 residents to get access to the Eisenhower Interstate System. To say that the city is forward thinking misses the mark.

In my former life, I attended 12 years of Catholic School where there are only 2 possible outcomes: 1) you swallow the cool aide, become a Republican, attend church regularly (Christmas and Easter), tithe your 10%, and congratulate yourself on being open and accepting even though the only minority you know is the janitor at the company you work for even though you’re not quite sure of his name, or 2) you get Religion beaten out of you so you get the hell out of town and learn that there’s more to the world than the Midwest, and only go back to visit family. It’s safe to say I fall into category 2.

When I was 10, I accidentally went to a talk about UFO’s which was being held by the local Boy Scout Troop. This led to me joining the troop where I was introduced to primitive camping and backpacking along the way to getting my Eagle Scout. Boy Scouts allowed me to get to know other kids who didn’t necessarily fit in the “main stream.” I eventually got a job working on scout camp staff every summer from the time I was 14 to 22. My camp staff job allowed me to camp anywhere from 7-9 weeks every summer and then I would use what money I earned to go on a 2 week trip before school restarted. Twice, I was lucky enough to go to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico where the emphasis is on backpacking.

I attended several Universities and Colleges (freedom, sex, and alcohol being unknown to a shy kid in a Catholic School provided many diversions to academia) eventually graduating from Southern Illinois University with a BSEE in 1988—seven years after graduating HS (but they were a fun 7 years!). After graduation, I got married and immersed in the corporate world and pretty much lost my connection to the outdoors. After the death of my sister and 16 years of marriage (divorce precursor—extended time with me; coincidentally, my ex-wife forgot my name when I ran into her one time) a great friend of mine, Steve Johnson (his real name and not a pseudonym representing the most common name in the USA), from Boy Scouts/High School invited me to go on a 2 week back packing trip with him to Washington State.

Steve showed tremendous patience with me. Over the years, I had ballooned up in weight to over 270# and had the cardio capacity of an 80 year old man. We went to 3 National Parks in those two weeks; Mount Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades and spent 2-3 nights at each park. Steve has the ability and fitness level to walk the same speed no matter what terrain; uphill, downhill, rocky, level, it doesn’t matter. With breaks, he can walk in the 3 mph range. With breaks, I could walk in the 2-300 yph (yards per hour). Steve would wait at every switchback until I showed up—he never left me behind or ditched me. I promised after that I would get in better shape or I wouldn’t go backpacking with him again.

Enter Crossfit. When I got back from Washington, I joined the SIU Rec Center and started spending time on an elliptical 5-6 days a week. I managed to get down to 240# on my own and then got a personal trainer. When I started working with Joanne, I still couldn’t do a sit up. She worked the next 20# off of me and then handed me over to some friends of hers that had started a crossfit box. The first time I went there, they were doing “Filthy 50” (look it up)—I was hooked from day 1. I couldn’t even come close to doing a Dirty 30 after my intro sessions were over but Randy, Jasmine, and Kelly changed my life. In the course of 4-5 months, they got me in the best shape of my life. By the time I went on my first solo trip to Nepal to hike the Annapurna Circuit, I was down to 175#.

After I got back from my 5 week trip to Nepal and Bhutan, I knew that I had the hiking bug, but I wanted to have someone to share that life with. I eventually met Pam. She claimed to want to backpack but had never had the opportunity to do any because of raising a family, work, etc. She was also recently divorced. I also continued to do Crossfit and tried to entice Pam into joining the cult, but she has resisted over time even with a few forays into the realm. At one point through Crossfit and series of gall bladder attacks (eventually leading to the little bastard’s removal) I was able to meet my goal of losing over 100# and got down to 165# but this kept leading to people asking me if I had cancer (I’m 6’1” almost 6’2”) so I decided I’d put on some weight.

Romantic devil that I am, I got Pam a backpack for Christmas one year and we planned our first extended trip to Scotland to hike the West Highland Way—the rest is history. Since then, we’ve hiked rim to rim in the Grand Canyon, did the Gray Wolf Loop in Olympic National Park, took my brother-in-law with us to Isle Royale National Park and gotten him bitten by the hiking bug, hiked the 4 Pass Loop at Maroon Bells in Colorado, and most recently, hiked the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier. Details of all these trips and more are located in this blog.

I have never really been a big fan of our corporate owners but I’ve reached my limit with this past election cycle (but I was already headed in that direction). Over the years, when I worked directly for a company, I would be out of vacation by the end of February having used time paid time off as soon as I got it because I was so burnt out. Fortunately, Pam’s kids are finally old enough that we are just an inconvenience to them (when they don’t need money) and she also is fed up with her work in the healthcare field where the emphasis is on see more patients and screw the quality of care. As a result, this past year, I have liquidated all of my possessions and land (I had bought a small farm in Southern Illinois—twice, thanks to divorce) with the exception of my camping gear, clothes, and some tools that I’ll need to build us a house some day. Until then, we hike!