[pct-l] Good Will to All

[William Schoenberg <wschoenberg@home.com>]

In a little over three weeks, I'm going to be on the trail- a dirty,
vulnerable monkey with matted fur. I'm making my peace with all my fears
and anxieties: the bears, rattle snakes, poison oak, ticks, scorpions,
spiders, biting insects, thieves, red-necks, no water, loosing my way in
the snow, being cold, getting wet, fording creeks, sore feet, injuries,
hunger, exhaustion, not so nice people... Ray Jardine is my role model.
I hope to finish his book before I leave. He's a world class athlete, an
expert back-country pimp-daddy, an engineering mind. I prostrate myself
to his accomplishments. If I meet him along the trail I'm going to watch
him like a hawk and glean as much from his experience as I can... But a
little voice in my head is telling me that I've got to dig through all
the layers before I strike gold; I've got to go with what I know, and
stretch myself a little more. Change as I go. Get lighter. If you see me
on the trail with my load hauling pack, please don't make fun of me.
It's what I got and what works for me. It's too late in the game for me
to change to that ultralight. There's not enough time to make radical
changes, only gradual ones. I'll try to help my trail brothers and
sisters, not drag them down with my personal problems. It's a long way
to go. I probably won't make it. There are too many things that can go
wrong. All I can do is prepare and put myself in a position to finish.
Good will to all. See you on the trail. Bill.
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