How It Started
Yes. I am a bit of a Romantic. I choose to be so…… celebrating the ability to deeply feel my experiences. I ride the emotional highs, and dog paddle through the lows of this life. This hike will be ups and downs. I will go up and down too, as is my nature, as is all of life for each of us.
I must warn you, as Joan Crawford would warn you, to “hold on. It's gonna be a bumpy ride".
I hope to meet persons who are interesting….opinionated…….. and who have integrity.
Who find joy in nature. Who happily chase windmills. I hope to make new friends, to see new places, to think about things in new ways. I hope to learn.
I was introduced to the idea of long distance hiking, 40 some years ago, at an outdoor party, a kegger. I met a young man about the same age as me. His name is Bobby Knight….(No. Not that one.) the one that everyone at Harding High School, in St. Paul, Minnesota; called "Mouse". Which was short for "Mighty Mouse".
"Mighty Mouse", who had been a talented gymnast at Harding, was short……. and solid as rock. He was bursting with exuberance, filled and overflowing with life. Someone you don’t forget.
"Mouse" spoke with absolute joy, about an adventure that he had just completed.
That night "Mouse" was telling each person he talked to….. he was telling me, about a backpacking trip.
He was so full of this hike, that it just flowed out of him. He actually glowed.
My best guess is that he was talking about the Pacific Crest Trail in California. I think he said that he started at Mexico, and hiked North to Canada. Maybe he started even farther south. Argentina? He said he was the second person to hike it. Was he the second person ever to do it? Or maybe just the second person that year? I don’t remember. We were at a kegger, after all. By the time "Mighty Mouse" got done speaking to me, I was ready to strap on a pack and do it too. It just sounded so cool!
Then a lot of years went by. That happens fast. Around the year 2000 or so….. I read an article in Parade Magazine, about a long distance hiking trail, the Appalachian Trail. I still have that article somewhere, I know that I do. I don’t throw anything away. ( I am just finishing the task of storing my life’s possessions....... mostly my life’s memories, which are precious to me. So I can attest to the accuracy of that statement. Truly, I do not throw anything away.)
Anyhow, that was the first time I heard about the AT.
I was introduced to the idea of long distance hiking, 40 some years ago, at an outdoor party, a kegger. I met a young man about the same age as me. His name is Bobby Knight….(No. Not that one.) the one that everyone at Harding High School, in St. Paul, Minnesota; called "Mouse". Which was short for "Mighty Mouse".
"Mighty Mouse", who had been a talented gymnast at Harding, was short……. and solid as rock. He was bursting with exuberance, filled and overflowing with life. Someone you don’t forget.
"Mouse" spoke with absolute joy, about an adventure that he had just completed.
That night "Mouse" was telling each person he talked to….. he was telling me, about a backpacking trip.
He was so full of this hike, that it just flowed out of him. He actually glowed.
My best guess is that he was talking about the Pacific Crest Trail in California. I think he said that he started at Mexico, and hiked North to Canada. Maybe he started even farther south. Argentina? He said he was the second person to hike it. Was he the second person ever to do it? Or maybe just the second person that year? I don’t remember. We were at a kegger, after all. By the time "Mighty Mouse" got done speaking to me, I was ready to strap on a pack and do it too. It just sounded so cool!
Then a lot of years went by. That happens fast. Around the year 2000 or so….. I read an article in Parade Magazine, about a long distance hiking trail, the Appalachian Trail. I still have that article somewhere, I know that I do. I don’t throw anything away. ( I am just finishing the task of storing my life’s possessions....... mostly my life’s memories, which are precious to me. So I can attest to the accuracy of that statement. Truly, I do not throw anything away.)
Anyhow, that was the first time I heard about the AT.
Hiking it seemed really, really, cool. It sounded like a real adventure. I thought of "Mouse" again that day, remembered his blissful exuberance, and decided right then….. that some day, I would hike that trail.
About seven years ago, I read several books about hiking the AT. Bought some gear, and went up to the Superior Hiking Trail, here in Minnesota, to see what this "backpacking" was all about.
About seven years ago, I read several books about hiking the AT. Bought some gear, and went up to the Superior Hiking Trail, here in Minnesota, to see what this "backpacking" was all about.
I am no stranger to the outdoors….but had never backpacked. I discovered that hiking was quite different than reading about it, and talking about it. It was harder. I also found out that I kinda liked it. I suspect that it is deeply satisfying because of its simplicity.
First, It was Bobby Knight, "Mighty Mouse", of Harding High School, and St Paul‘s East Side. Much later it was that Parade Magazine article. And finally, it was reading about the journey of others along the trail, that sunk a tiny hook into my heart, and the barb held. Over time, the AT itself began reeling me in…..
That trail was calling me. I could hear it. And the call got louder and louder. I knew that I was going.
I have now happily retired early, and moved out of my apartment, home to me for 13 years. I have stored my belongings, and my precious memories that remind me of who I am.
I have abandoned all common sense……… and I am answering that call.
As my fellow East Sider, Herb Brooks would have promised me, "this is my time. I am meant to be here".
I am joyously AT bound.
First, It was Bobby Knight, "Mighty Mouse", of Harding High School, and St Paul‘s East Side. Much later it was that Parade Magazine article. And finally, it was reading about the journey of others along the trail, that sunk a tiny hook into my heart, and the barb held. Over time, the AT itself began reeling me in…..
That trail was calling me. I could hear it. And the call got louder and louder. I knew that I was going.
I have now happily retired early, and moved out of my apartment, home to me for 13 years. I have stored my belongings, and my precious memories that remind me of who I am.
I have abandoned all common sense……… and I am answering that call.
As my fellow East Sider, Herb Brooks would have promised me, "this is my time. I am meant to be here".
I am joyously AT bound.
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