It has been five months since I have finished my hike on the CDT - God I miss the trail. Like some haggard war veteran, I daily experience flashbacks from the trail, but these flashbacks are pleasant. My mundane work is offset by memories of
360-degree views from a high peak in Colorado,
supper around a camp with George, Chance, Luna, and So Far in Montana, and
beautiful sunsets in Piedre Lumbre section in New Mexico.
It's these visions, however, that are haunting me. So often I wish I could just throw everything in a storage unit and go running off to the mountains for the summer to re-live all those pleasant memories from the trail. Reality is that I cannot. I need to find a vocation that will bring me inner-peace, happiness, and a sense of purpose, and running off to the trail is a bit of escapism. Nonetheless, the trail calls me.
This summer I am going to explore a vocation that has to do with the trail, as I dedicate a few weeks of my life to trail building and maintenance. Today, I got in touch with a volunteer coordinator with the
Pacific Crest Trail Association, and we talked about me helping out a trail crew near
Burney Falls State Park.
If there is one thing I lack in my trail experience, it is serious trail work, so I think I will go for it. Perhaps through the experience, my relationship with the trail will be transformed to a whole new level. Until that time, I will continue to daydream about windswept vistas, roaring creeks, and
living in a tent.
