living thankful

In some crazy, weird, mixed up universe 

it has been a year since I took this picture...

I was standing near Springer Mountain, heading north, all alone... with no intentions of thru hiking, no plans to walk for months, just a desire in my heart to take a few weeks and do a little walking in the woods before I returned to my crazy life in Ohio. 

This week a guy sent this picture to Patrick and he shared it with me.  It was taken a couple of weeks ago north of Superior, AZ.  Because those little steps on an unknown journey off of Springer Mountain a year ago took me 2000 miles up the east coast and then 365 miles through the Arizona backcountry.  Because some days my life makes little sense, but I am learning and seeking to be thankful every day.

It has been a tough couple of weeks, mixed in with a beautiful journey through northern Arizona and the Grand Canyon... a trip where in my solitude I had a lot of time to think about things, to contemplate the future, to reassure myself that risks are worth it and journeys can change you even when they don't end up like you think they will.  It's time for change... and change scares me sometimes... but I am SO thankful and so ready.  It's a great big world, full of endless possibility and I am ready to see what is next.

In honor of this crazy year... this year that has been full of surprises and beauty, disappointment and hard times, joy and laughter... In honor of this ridiculous year I thought I'd tell you some things I LOVE.  

(You're welcome!)

I love...

-mountains.  Big ones... and even though I am SLOW, I love climbing them.

-simple joys of living in the wilderness... eat, walk, eat, walk, eat, sit, sleep, repeat.

-campfires with friends, far from city lights.

-town days and the first song on the radio after days of singing to myself.

-silence.  Stopping mid stride in the middle of nowhere, seeing nothing made by man and hearing no one else.  Beautiful silence.

-walking and walking for hours alone, to turn a corner and find someone waiting on a rock in the shade, snack time!

-snuggling up in the tent with the rain fly off and watching the stars.

-gas station donuts, the perfect gift

-friends.  Friends for the journey and friends who wait patiently at home and welcome me back.

-dreaming... of the future, of trails to hike and places to see. Beautiful dreams.

-the convenience of town life.

-looking at my car and thinking, its not that far, maybe I'll just walk

-a good rain coat and a warm sleeping bag

-flip flops

-coffee... hot, cold, in the woods or in the city, shared with friends.

-solitude, prayer time, life that isn't so distracted by modern convenience.

-many many many more things... but the reality is this, so many of the things I have discovered that I love in the last year are things that apply to life even in the "real world".  Truth is that learning to slow down, to live intentionally, to embrace opportunity and to breathe deeply every day... I can do that even when I'm a city girl.  

Life is beautiful.  I am thankful.  I am blessed.

In the belly of the Grand Canyon

If you decide to walk to the bottom of the Grand Canyon when the North Rim is still closed, everyone will mostly be on the Bright Angel or South Kaibab trails. They won't head north much out of Phantom (the campground/cabin area by the river). But, if you still head north another 7 miles you walk up through the 'Box', where the canyon is narrow and beautiful. If you keep going you will get to Ribbon Falls AND if you are really lucky you have passed the few other people headed that way to climb up behind the waterfall all alone.... And you get to have this all to yourself.

Cause life is beautiful, even when it's unexpected.

Frustration

Current location: Superior, AZ
Accumulated miles: 295

The last 7 days I have been hiking in the Sonoran Desert and into Tonto National Forest. Holy cow is it pretty out here!!

We've had some pretty cool days walking through desert fields full of cactus (and cow poop!) and along steep canyon walls. We slept one night in a "forest" of saguaro cactus (those huge ones), and on top of amazing mountains. The picture is from our campsite on Easter Night. Truly beautiful.

But this week hasn't been all beauty and bliss. There are dozens of miles between water sources (and not all are fit to use when you finally find them) so my pack was heavy with 7 days of food and 3 1/2 liters of water. The days have been extremely hot, with temps in the mid to upper 90s... And the walking isn't always easy and fun (7 days without a shower ain't pretty either!!).

This week (the weekend especially) the heat really got to me and we even had to sit for a few HOURS on Sunday in hopes of cooling down. I know this frustrates Patrick as much (and probably a lot more) than it does me. It's hard. I pride myself on being a "roll with it" girl, with being tougher than a lot of girls, on being able to handle anything. Yet on Saturday and Sunday I had my pride handed to me in a big way. I am frustrated with myself and feeling weak.

I know I am stronger than that... And I KNOW I can handle it... I just need to get used to walking in the heat. It will come... And hopefully both of us have enough patience to wait... Because I know this is where I want to be... Even if it didn't seem that way while I was pitifully sitting under the tent mid afternoon!

So, that's my week... INSANELY beautiful and frustrating... And humbling and hard. Hey, I guess this hiking thing is supposed to be a challenge... Here's hoping I'm up to it... Cause this girl BELONGS in the wilderness

Thinking weird thoughts...

Current Location: Oracle, AZ
Accumulated Miles: 200!

Well, we rolled into Oracle on Monday afternoon in the COLD wind, after a night near 9000 ft (near Summerhaven and Mt. Lemmon), where my water froze in the bottles! Not solid mind you, but enough that there was still ice 14 miles later when we walked into town.

Have you ever seen those old motels beside the highway, with the individual a-frame cabins/rooms? They always look a little creepy but at the same time you wonder what it would be like to stay there? Fun.... That's what it's like... But I live in a tiny tent in the woods, so I have pretty low standards!!

Thinking weird thoughts? Yup... People often ask me what i think about when i am alone with 'me' for hours on end...When you hike 200 miles through Arizona the trail isn't really full if people. In fact I saw about 15 people on Sunday when I was lost headed to Summerhaven and that's more than the # of people I had seen on the trail hiking cumulative! Crazy. But when one is alone waking, sometimes you think about strange things. SO... Here's what I think about while I hike...

I start my day thinking about the miles to come... Water and food for the day. I follow that with some prayer time, sending love and prayers for all my friends and family. Then I think some more about food and water and when I will find a good rock for a break. Then I just think about random things like family or memories from Brazil or church, or my friends and customers at Kroger and the 'bux. After lunch? Hmmmm...

I think a lot about the future, who I want to be, where I want to channel my energy, what I will do and where I want to be. I also think about random things like what my dog is doing or if I might go back to school.

Being along with yourself and your thoughts for such a long time could be pretty overwhelming... But it's actually really good. Sometimes I get to the end of the day and realize I haven't thought about anything at all!

While I look for meaning and listen for what God is teaching me in these quiet times, I also am learning to simply enjoy the silence... To let all the craziness drop from my mind an embrace the peace that comes in the quiet places. I am blessed.