PRELUDE
Consider placing half your body weight in a knapsack. Now strap this load to
your back. Begin to walk on uneven ground. Imagine further a foul weather day in
the midst of all this. Finally, after taking 500 steps, stop.
You have just covered three-tenths of a mile on a simulated segment of the
Mexico-to-Canada Pacific Crest Trail (or PCT). You now have exactly two
thousand, four hundred fifty two miles left to hike, although you don't know
this at the time. All you really know is the "trail" which is immediately in
front of you. At times during the entire hike you will count the seconds, one by
one. By the time you finish hiking, nearly fifteen million seconds (just under 6
months) will have elapsed.
This was my journey in 1981.
Even though I hiked this entire 2,452.3-mile-long footpath solo, there were
others who walked the entire trail that same year. I have nicknamed those I met
along the way. Perhaps you will see yourself in one or more of them. One in
particular, who walked well in front of me, revealed himself only after the
trail's end. Then as we met and discussed (on subsequent visits) other deeper
aspects of the trail, I came to realize he was the only one who truly understood
my journey, with all of its unique planning aspects, emotional upheavals and
so-called mini-accomplishments.
You will meet him in the epilogue of this book.
In this particular account, all seconds and tenths-of-a-mile have not been
depicted (in order to keep it shorter than an encyclopedia set), even though the
surrounding details are accurate. Yet for the most part, after all those
millions of seconds, I found on the easel of PCT dust, not a trail-long book,
but rather a painting depicting the corridors of my own soul.
Picture yourself as that one, for a moment.
We all find ourselves alone - even in a crowd, at one time or another. In fact,
as we read any book, it is nearly impossible not to be alone. Indeed, when all
is said and done, we must all face solitude by coming to grips with the
individual we see when we look in the mirror. This at times we are forced to do,
whether we want to or not, as we hike our own daily pathway.
One point of note here: In 1982, I "knew" I would write a book about all of
this. Years later (details sufficiently faded), I knew I would NOT write a book
about all of this! Then, after throwing all my journals away, and having them
resurface in an uncanny way years later..., another journey began.
This book is the result.
So come along with me on this trail. I am certain you will see things you have
never seen before.