I don’t know if I just need a change of scenery or if I’m actually seriously considering doing this….

But for YEARS I’ve talked about wanting to thru-hike the AT. For those less familiar, I’m talking about a 2200 mile-long hiking trail through the Appalachian Mountain Range (otherwise known as the Appalachian Trail) – the longest ‘hiking-only’ footpath in the world. It meanders through fourteen different states, beginning in Georgia and ending in Maine, and takes a thru-hiker between 5-7 months to complete. That’s 5 to 7 months of non-stop hiking, Every. Single. Day.

For an avid hiker this would be an arduous task. For me? Well, let’s just say it would definitely be challenging to say the least. Let me give you some background.

I don’t hike every chance I get. I don’t backpack, day-hike or wander through the woods on a regular basis. I don’t own an RV, or visit campgrounds. When I go to the park, I sit in my car and read. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy being outside (probably more so than the average person does) and can happily wander aimlessly from place to place taking photos, jotting down ideas or just listening to the sound of the wind for quite a long period of time and be perfectly content doing so. But I’m definitely not what you would consider an ‘outdoorsy’ person.

Here’s an even better description. Several years ago, on a whim, I picked up the January issue of Sierra Club Outings magazine. For months I poured over all the descriptions of the trips they offered; all the beautiful images of blue skies, snow-capped mountain ranges and wildflowers really spoke to me. It was so inspiring. The Sierra Club offers trips for every type of outdoor enthusiast too; whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned backpacker, if you prefer day-hikes or want a guide-led outing – they have trips for every level of skill and/or interest.

I decided that I wanted to do this.

But strangely enough, no one I knew shared my interest of roughing it in the wilderness to experience this kind of beauty up close and personal. Weird, right?? So, obviously, if I really wanted to do it, I’d have to do it alone. And, since I wasn’t sure I’d get another chance, I decided I needed to do it “right” the first time. You know, skip the day-hike nonsense or Sherpa assisted style trips and sign up for one of those week-long, cross-country, backpacking expeditions – into the wilderness – at elevation – in the Sierra Nevadas – oh, and with total strangers and with absolutely NO EXPERIENCE WHATSOEVER. And when I say I had no experience, I mean I had NO EXPERIENCE. I had never even camped in an RV, much less carried all my belongings in a pack on my back for a solid week.

Now, you might think this sounds a bit crazy and, honestly, I would have to agree with you! But, I was not to be deterred.

I spent a considerable amount of time reading up on all-things-hiking, compared products and did my research, then bought all the gear I needed. I ordered hiking boots from some far away outfitter (hoping they’d at least fit) followed the instructions that came with the tent for weather-proofing the seams, practiced setting it up once, stuffed what needed to be stuffed into stuff sacks (those things are TINY!), packed up all my new gear – including the external-frame backpack (that I actually did try on before purchasing) and stuffed that all into a huge canvas duffle bag and flew to San Francisco to meet up with the group of total strangers that I’d be spending the next 7 days with. Fortunately for me, at least, some did have actual hiking experience.

But, at the top of my list, and what I considered to be THE most important reason for the whole trip – was that we were about to explore the beautiful Ansel Adams Wilderness!! I’d even bought a tiny, new camera to document it all with.

It was all so exciting!

At first.

In the car.

On the drive up to the mountains.

Within 30 minutes of leaving the parking lot, however, while on the steady, altitude-climbing-elevation-changing switchback from hell, and while carrying approximately one-third my total bodyweight on my back, I quickly realized I had made a horrendous mistake.

A seriously, horrible, horrendous mistake.

Panic began to set in.

My mind was spinning, my legs were wobbling and I was feeling more than a bit faint.

I immediately began to formulate a plan.

IF I TURN AROUND NOW I COULD MAKE IT BACK TO THE PARKING LOT BEFORE DARK AND HOPEFULLY FIND A PAYPHONE TO CALL A CAB TO TAKE ME BACK TO THE SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT.

That was my plan.

I am not exaggerating in the least when I say this. I wasn’t worried about the distance or the cost – I was only concerned with getting back to the place where the airplanes were that could take me home, while there was still some glimmer of hope of being able to do so. I truly believed taking another step up that trail might would have very well killed me. And if it took me ten years to pay off the credit card I would have to use to pay for that cab ride (roughly a three hour drive) well, it would be worth every single penny.

But then…

suddenly

without any fanfare at all….(no trumpets blowing, no angels singing, no parting clouds)

a miracle happened.

One of my trail-mates noticed I was wearing my pack all wrong. In less than half a minute she’d cinched up my pack’s lower strap so that all the weight suddenly shifted from my shoulders to my hips allowing me to carry the weight much, much more easily. And when I say it was like a weight had been lifted, I really mean it – a huge physical, emotional, metaphorical weight had been lifted right off of me – just like that.

And it quite literally made all the difference.

There. Was. Hope.

I’m not saying this turned me into a super-hiker or anything like that – but I am saying the relief was palpable; I was actually able to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel; it wasn’t necessarily a bright light….but at least I could see it! And although I still had a couple of days ahead of me before I would begin to feel even somewhat capable (as hiking goes) I was at least able to keep up with the group. (I had also read that mountain lions, on prowl, would seek out the weakest and slowest member in a herd…) — but….I really do believe it was my new-found optimism that spurred me along making that week one of THE most memorable ones to-date (dare I say life-changing) and one that I would not soon forget!

It. Was. Amazing.

And that leads me to the point of this post…

Thru hike?

The AT?

Me?

Seriously??

This past year I set three primary goals for myself: a fitness goal, a financial goal and a creative goal.

They were significant goals too (in my opinion) considering I’d never had much (i.e. any) luck achieving anything even remotely close to them before and I devoted nearly 100% of my time working toward them. I had to. I didn’t give myself much/any wiggle room to do otherwise because I knew my track record with goal-setting all too well. If I took my eye off the prize for just one minute I knew what would happen and what always did happen in the past. It simply wasn’t an option this time.  
After the year was up (actually, it was more like 10 months) and after successfully achieving all three goals I’ve come to a few conclusions about goal-setting in general.

First, let me clarify a couple of things: A) I definitely expected to have more of a “TA DA!!!” moment on completion, and B) I really expected to have more of a “TA DA!!!” moment on completion!!

I mean, seriously! I worked really hard and relentlessly so!

The TA DA!!! moment never came. I’m still very happy I completed the goals and would definitely do it all over again knowing what I know now but I was more than just a little perplexed by the lackluster finish.

I recently read that as we make progress toward our goals, our goals will continually change. They will increase to become deeper and more meaningful. A good example of this would be the goal to lose weight. As you work toward your goal and once you achieve your goal, you find yourself at a healthier place from where you first began. You’ve lost the weight but now see a bigger prize on the horizon. You’re no longer satisfied with simple weight loss – now you may be considering a 5K or a weight lifting competition.  The simple weight loss goal may propel you to set your sights even higher and possibly in a more long-term/life-changing way. And…as an added bonus: we’re no longer left contemplating the question, “now what”.

You begin to see a bigger picture. It’s a picture full of possibilities and one that offers the potential to serve as a jumping off point instead.
And there is something really intriguing about having a goal out there on the horizon waiting for us; something new to set our sights on, just barely out of reach, but not too far – so that we have to stretch a bit further, focus, plan and get excited about something once again. 

In retrospect, there really is no reason to celebrate with a TA DA!!! moment as if it’s the big finale; instead of the usual, “now what” we could say, “what next?” and start making plans – reminding us, yet again, that it truly is all about the journey. 
The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mode of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change; happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up. –Charles L. Morgan 

“I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.  I want to be light and frolicsome.  I want to be improbable, beautiful and afraid of nothing, as though I had wings.” – Mary Oliver

  

Ran across this quote…thought it worth sharing!



I’ve been dabbling a bit with digital art; composites mainly, where I take a photograph from my camera roll, transform it into something else by applying different apps, most times blending with another image, and then refining that result. Sometimes the process varies but usually not by much.  

I do this on my iPad.  I limit myself to images already on hand and most always use only one or two – sometimes three apps.  And since I’m already traveling light, I prefer not to bother with using a stylus.  

The workflow is simple and the process very relaxing; I’ve never been so productive! Changing my method of approach has been a real game changer.

I walk into my studio (it’s recently been organized) and I can see all the tools and supplies everywhere I look.  My big studio table is clean and clear and ready for art making.  But sometimes that can be a little overwhelming – even a little intimidating. What do I do first?  The idea of a big, white canvas sounds more like a lot of loud, white noise. More times than not, I just turn around and walk right back out of the room.

I read somewhere that having too many choices can paralyze our ability to make any choice at all and that couldn’t be any more accurate – for me anyway.  

That’s why I think this limited approach works so well – especially for an artist with limited time to spend in the studio.  

And then the thought came to me: “Limitations can be very freeing”.  

As odd as it sounded at first; I was quickly able to see how much it really makes sense.

Limits are put into place to keep things in check.  We set boundaries for our kids, we put up fences for our pets…we set boundaries all the time. 

   

This limited way of working has definitely put the emphasis on the creativity part – I’m now working with only what is available at hand (my existing camera roll) and limiting myself to using just a couple of apps.  I now have to be more creative with what I have, and in the time I have to use it.  One thing I do know is: my productivity has greatly improved.    

But should that really be a surprise?  

Isn’t that how we do most everything else?  Isn’t that how we all spend our days; multi-tasking to meet multiple goals in an already tight schedule?  

Maybe it’s not such an odd thing after all.  Maybe I’m just part of a new evolution.  

And that puts a whole new spin on things!  

 

Right now I’m working on self-publishing a book of images, interestingly enough called, ‘Spin Cycle’.

Funny how things work!

 

Traffic is really Slo Oh Oh!