While I have become very nostalgic about the trail and have an intense desire to just “drop it all” and go hiking, because the “mountains are calling,” reality sets in on a multitude of fronts. I have a family to take care of. I battle rheumatoid arthritis that, though the medication is loosely keeping it in check, strenuous activity causes it to flare. I have a mission that far outweighs the self discovery of yesteryear, namely to name the name of Christ - publicly, now as the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church. And while I intend to have my family join me in a “short” (nearly 16 mile round trip!) Hike to monument 78 from the Canadian side this summer (at least to say that I have been at both ends of the trail), I really wonder and ponder if there is a way to take longer time, do shorter days, and still have the strength, the stamina, and the presence of mind to finish those approximately 187 miles. Now, unlike in the foolishness of my youth, that seems like a daunting task. It may well be a task I also may need to pursue on vacation sometime. Perhaps it can become a family sort of outing as well. Or perhaps it will forever be nothing more than a continued desire in life.
I have no doubt that there would be many who would argue that it would simply be a foolhardy venture at best. And in some ways, the PCT has become a freeway now, thanks to Cheryl Strayed’s book where she purportedly “finds herself” (stopping far short of truly making any substantial self-discovery in my opinion) and thus creating a glut of wannabes who all want to “hike the PCT.” I recall how before I began, I was gung ho, and knew there was nothing that would stop my from making the entire journey. Then as I stood at the Mexican border and the temporary PCT, I looked north and all I thought of was that first step of millions (3,437,280 to be more accurate) that was about to begin. And soon thereafter I discovered that I could either enjoy the trip, or get to Canada, but not both. Not for me. And now with the glut of hikers all clamoring for the crown jewel of the national trails system, I find myself drawn toward the Continental Divide trail as a possibility for our family as it is a short day’s drive from here in Wyoming.
So while my ventures on the PCT that were written down over the years are now fully entered into the computer from the original logs, I suspect that this journal is not over. Not yet. Not as long as there is breath and the desire in me to continue. Despite hiking in Montana and damaging a nerve in my low back. Despite the attack on my joints from RA. AND... despite the advancing age and generally poor physical condition I now find myself in.
In a way, perhaps it is appropriate that the final day's journal entry re-attempting Stevens Pass to the trail’s end was never completed. Who knows if literally I might one day sooner than later complete that portion of the journey? Or more appropriately, it serves as a metaphor for life itself and the lessons that need to be relearned from the PCT over and over - that those lessons are never fully learned until my last breath is drawn.
One of those lessons was in my persistent prayer in those days of 1988 - our daughter that my beautiful wife and I have turns 8 tomorrow! Though it took 16 years after for that “right one” to come along, it was my wish then and is my joy now. Newer and better things... Newer and better things! All through the power of prayer and the belief in God who saves us through the redemption in Christ Jesus.
For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. - Romans 1:20
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