First Steps

I spent a lot of time preparing for those first steps along this new trail and I want to stress the importance of starting with a good foundation: in this case, good, well broken in boots. Over the next few days my feet will carry a lot more of burden than they are accustomed to and if my boots aren't right the trip will not go well.
I had spent a great deal of time making sure I had found the best foundation for my trek, and they now felt like old friends, waiting to guide my step in safety and comfort. Good boots are good therapy. I examined boots carefully to find just the right fit: neither too tight nor too loose, did my heel feel comfortable, was the sole strong and safe, and what might create those painful hot spots. Did they breathe properly and would my feet be dry and comfortable.
It was not a quick or impetuous selection, but one that finally eliminated all the lies your feet and eyes mislead you with; such as, those are the best looking, or these will stretch and fit better later on, these are so expensive they must be the best. Though there will be several pairs of boots that might do the job, only one true foundation is right to begin this trip.
Finding your foundation first is perhaps the most important part of the unburdening process that will take place along the trail. Releasing a breath and replacing it with cleaner, fresher air.

Trail Heads

My journey began on a pleasant day in late Winter, just when it appears the choke hold of ice storms and freezing temperatures have lost their grip. It starts in the morning with one of those invasive medical procedures that one has to have after reaching a certain age of maturity, but never looks forward to, oh sure, it is all very professional and impersonal for everyone except the patient. But the real trail head comes in the evening, when my wife of 25 years marches in and explodes in anger for two hours and tells me she is considering divorce. At that point everything begins unravel like a badly knitted sweater, life seems as disorganized as that lifeless mass of yarn. It will take another two weeks and a short hospitalization for depression, on my part before, she will finally announce her intentions. Until then she will make my coffee and kissed me goodbye to disguise her decision.
The next five months become a blur, a hypnotic wave of one crisis, anger, and chaos swirling into the next. A hospital stay, preparing the house for sale, therapy, finding somewhere to live, terms, finding a part-time job and all the crushing emotions that the demolishing of a relationship incurs become part of daily life.
I want to stand at this trail head and look around at the dappled sunlight passing through the pine trees and illuminating the rich, thin black soil. A Stellar Jay flits from branch to branch, seeing if there is any possibilities for a meal, but all around me there is silence. The trail is a rising one that will slowly bring me to a summit, rocky and well trodden. Backpacking is a journey of the mind and feet, top to bottom it includes the whole being, nothing is left out. It is also a journey that becomes lighter with the passing of the days. It is with these thoughts that embark from this trail head and hope you can join me along the way.