Following Along

I'm having a grand time following along (via Google's maps and the photos people post on the trail markers) on Xena's hike. Today, after a pretty steep set of switchbacks, the trail crests and will give her this view of Echo Peak.

She had some cell reception after she got out of Little Yosemite Valley, so I know she ditched her pack and took a short detour to the top of Half Dome. She is somewhat off the pace to get all the way to Mt. Whitney. Today, if she can get through Cathedral Pass (9700 ft) and spend the night at Cathedral Lakes (always sleep lower than you climbed) she'll be somewhat back on schedule.

I'm assuming of course, that the schedule is the important part. Perhaps it isn't, since she is clearly doing some sightseeing along the way. If she ends up calling me from Onion Valley 18 days from now to collect her, that would be just fine. Sometimes its better to enjoy the journey than to be dead set on reaching a specific goal.

Xena Is Backpacking

I just delivered my wife to the train station. Later today she'll be in Yosemite, and tomorrow she'll start her three week backpacking trip on the John Muir Trail, traveling north to south, arriving at the top of Mount Whitney around September 29th.

This is zone 0 traveling through zone 5, for those of you who are learning about permaculture.

I am keenly aware at the moment of how much effort it takes to plan and execute the plan, while doing all the things you'd normally be doing, especially when your "normal life" is the sort that includes adding a bunch of stuff to your schedule already.

She worked more than full time, helped Caitlan find housing, helped Nicholas get enrolled in High School, and she bought equipment and supplies and cooked 3 weeks worth of dinners (with extra, for us to sample or share for dinner that evening) and she dehydrated all that food, and she planned out her days and her transportation.

I did help somewhat, with doing a little bit of her laundry and dishes and shopping. As I look around this morning, I can see the trail of chaos left in the wake of final preparation: food trays stacked about, waiting to be cleaned. Packaging and clothes and gear that didn't make the space and weight cut are piled into heaps. This will be a little bit more that I contribute to her hoped for success on this journey: cleaning up here at home, making sure this is all nice to come back to.

From now on when I see someone receive an achievement award of some sort, I will certainly be imagining the part of the story that often isn't told, of slotting the effort into the schedule of an already full life.