Moving Quickly in Many Directions

Whew… Taking a moment to process, reflect, and offload some thoughts on life.  Since exiting the bliss and simplicity of the trail, we have found ourselves driving more miles than we would like while sorting out all the odds and ends of returning to civilization.  Aside from brewing up new adventures, we have been rejoining our Outdoor community while also dabbing in new work scenes.

We both worked two weeks at Camp Tuolumne Trails school in Groveland, CA.  We were so excited to be back in Yosemite Valley.  The falls were just a trickle, as were the crowds, which made it enjoyable for the students.  We hiked up to Mirror Lake, beneath the face of Half Dome, and played in the sand of the seasonal lake bed.  The students enjoyed themselves and we were happy to be working and sharing the joy of the outdoors with students again.

After Yosemite, we have found ourselves traveling back and forth between Santa Cruz, the Bay Area, Jackson, and Sacramento.  We decided to take out a canoe I purchased last year for an overnight paddling trip on Bear River Reservoir.  We spent one chilly night camped on the shores after a day of paddling and fishing.

Amongst the travels we managed to both gets jobs with the largest and oldest outdoor co-operative in the world, none other than our favorite store, REI.  We are both training in our respective departments, at two different stores in the area.  Fortunately, we have managed to enjoy the beautiful fall weather by getting outside and riding bicycles.  Melissa is new to cycling and as I predicted, she is hooked by the feel of the road and the wind in her hair.  Sounds cliche, but cycling has a way of letting your heart and mind feel free, similar to hiking.  She laughs as we travel greater distances at faster speeds.  Our longest ride together still just barely cracks the longest day of hiking on the trail, but I imagine it won’t take long before I’ll be chasing after her, like I did on the trail.

The holds of society have settled in, but the strength of the trail is still strong.  Not a day passes by when we aren’t remined of the glory of the PCT.  We recently recieved a touching email from our previous director at the Great Basin Outdoor School, one of our supporters and soon to be recipient of scholarship funds. Dragonfly said, “Hold on to the wildness of the trail! Let it glow like an ember in your heart, even when retail and the like try to convince you to let it go!”

As our embers glow, we continue to work hard on developing our backpacking school. Changes are-a-comin’ very soon to our site. As always, stay tuned.

~ Swift