Days 39 to 51: Reflections on the Desert

May 5 to May 17

Mileage 0

When I reached Kennedy Meadows on the 4th, word at the store was to not attempt the Sierras just yet so some people planned to head north toward the Oregon border and do some of those sections while the Sierra melts. For me there is a poetry in walking the trail continuously north, and it’s definitely time to go see Seva, so I’m taking a couple of weeks off, returning on the 22nd. Teton, Still Smilin’ and Olaf have decided to do the same. Terrence and Phillip went north to stretch their legs by hiking all of Oregon in these two weeks and then return to join us (they ended up snowbound up there too and are now also take a long multi-zero rest).
The Finns headed to Ridgecrest to sit in a hotel for a couple of days and wait out a storm system, then they hit the Sierras, successfully making through Kearsarge Pass the last I had heard.
I must say that so far I’ve found happiness, friendship and a sense of calm, or perhaps a sense of simplicity, on the trail that I haven’t had in some time. The biggest negative is the fleeting interaction with some people who feed my mind, perhaps even my soul, and it’s the hardest part of the trail to me. It’s like my life in fast forward as I’ve moved from place to place and left so many people behind who were special to me in unique ways. But I also count my blessings. Teton, Olaf and Still Smilin’ are taking the time off with me and Terrence & Phillip are also joining us for the Sierras; this pleases me to no end as I’ll be able to share this most special part of the trail with these guys who over a short time have become friends.

I will miss the Finns. The PCT is filled with the young and the retired, but the Finns were closer to me in age (a bit younger at mid-30’s but generally the same) and had all the same issues that a mid-life person has.

As for lessons from the trail, the requirement to carry your possessions such distances does indeed make you rethink what is really necessary. Your possessions are a burden on the trail, and so their benefit must absolutely outweigh that burden. This is true in normal life as well, but the burden is less noticeable in the short-term and it’s easier to be convinced that the benefits of your possessions outweigh the burdens; on the trail it becomes a simple analysis of weight versus utility, and few items pass the hurdle.

A lot of people believe the desert section is the least beautiful, some going so far as to say skip it; if that is the case then the rest of the trail must be beyond remarkable as I found the desert to be beautiful – a blend of so many extremes. Now though, I’m looking forward to hiking across the Sierras.

And a couple of photos from walks in Alaska: