Dear friends, it's been too long since I've posted anything new to this blog. My only defense is that the past couple of months have been so mercurial. I kept waiting for things to calm down so I could catch my breath, or at least, wait for everything to finish uploading to my life before I set them down again in this blog. But now that you have me front and center, I'm thinking to hell with whatever pops up tomorrow. I need to fill you in to the pertinents of the past 60 days.
I have a new date for my hike. My mom, who is hiking with me, thought May 31 would be too early and too cold in the season for the hike. And after confirming with several Facebook friends and blogs, I agreed I may have been a little too eager about setting a date on the calendar. So it was back to square one and submitting requests for a new date. And it was nearly impossible! (The earliest you can apply for a permit is 163 days out. So okay, say you want to start hiking the JMT on June 1. The earliest you can apply for that date is Dec 20th.) So on Dec 21st, I began the daily ritual of faxing in my permit request to the Yosemite Wilderness Center. Each day I'd open up my Outlook praying I'd find an email saying my permit request had been approved, only to find a permit rejection email instead. All my proposed dates seemed to book up the minute they became available. And I was beginning to suspect that since the Trail is so popular, other more experienced hikers had already developed some sure-fire strategy for securing a permit date that I didn't know about. So I got my mom to start faxing in daily permit requests to try to increase our odds. This went on for a couple of weeks before we finally, finally landed on June 17. (So if anyone has any dire weather warnings or snow predictions for mid-June, please keep them to yourself. I have a date and a reservation for a permit and I'm not changing it again. Anyone see the movie Mile... Mile & a Half? One guy in the movie said the hardest part of the John Muir Trail is getting the permit. No doubt!)
So I had listened to my friends and family about the iffy weather conditions of late May and changed my date to June 17th. The other person I couldn't ignore was my husband and his serious concerns about me doing the bulk of the trail by myself. Now from my perspective, I have no fear whatsoever of being alone in the wilderness to hike 220 miles. The way I see it, when your worst day is already behind you, what else is there to be afraid of? But my Dearest was looking at things more pragmatically. So after much discussion, hurt feelings, apologies and contrition, I agreed to table my full 220 mile hike till next year. Instead, I'll be taking approximately 10 days to hike the JMT back-country with my mom. I really believe I could gain the experience and equipment necessary to do the entire hike by myself this June, but not at the expense of Don's feelings.
So there you have it - my Big Confession to you all, and to all who contributed so generously to my Vision Quest. My hike has now been downgraded to the status of A Vacation in the Woods with My Mom. And considering the change in my itinerary, I think it's only right that I return all the money and gifts I've received from my supporters, with heartfelt thanks and gratitude, as soon as I'm able. More on that to come...
So there you have it - my Big Confession to you all, and to all who contributed so generously to my Vision Quest. My hike has now been downgraded to the status of A Vacation in the Woods with My Mom. And considering the change in my itinerary, I think it's only right that I return all the money and gifts I've received from my supporters, with heartfelt thanks and gratitude, as soon as I'm able. More on that to come...
What else? Oh yes - the other Oh, Snap! has been the state of my feet. This is what ankle impingement looks like:
... so I've been grounded, so to speak. I even traded in my Merrell's for a pair of Keen's with a wider toe box and more arch support. And except for my 6 mile trek around Catalina a couple of weeks ago, I haven't done any serious hiking for a while now and I miss it. I've got my eye on Big Bear though, so as soon as the snow melts a little and the trails become more passable, I'll be out there just as soon as my feet can stand it. Ha ha.
