Qsquest 15 - Pacific Crest Trail Journal - 2015

Know Thyself

Yesterday was tough. My legs and feet are fine but my motor isn't adjusting to the heat. I am finding what was very doable at home at 60 degrees is impossible in this heat. My body's heat tolerance has changed a bunch in the five years since I was last here and I don?t know how I could have anticipated that. I thank God I met Jarrod when I did because there is no one on the trail and the thought of getting heat stroke with no one around for miles, or days, is scary. We haven't seen anyone else in 3 days.

We are headed for 100 degrees plus up the trail so things aren't getting better. Jarrod has to wait at Warner Springs for the Post Office tomorrow so I will once again be solo in this heat and that concerns me. It appears I am on the verge of crossing over from the land of the delusional to the land of the foolhardy and I have decided that is a risk I am unwilling to take. There is so much more ahead in my life.

This heat has accelerated my discovery of the physical limits I knew were coming some day and I can't fix it. So I have decided to face reality and move on. I have many interests and when I retired I chose to focus on those things that were the most physically demanding first, i.e. long distance running and hiking, and then move on to less physical activities later. It appears that I have reached that transition point. I have run Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, Portland, Boston and several other marathons and I have tread nearly a 1000 miles of the PCT so I have no regrets. Short runs in the country, day hiking, and car camping with family are fun too.

As I tell my kids, I wasn't born with a rearview mirror; so I will turn the page on this chapter of my life and plunge excitedly into what is next. I feel as though I have crested a hill and a new land lies before me full of interesting new acquaintances and adventures. I wonder if photographers and kite designers are as fit as PCT thru-hikers.

Entry 46 of 46
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