Where I go to Think...

Why am I even thinking this way?? Do it again? WHY???

I've always hiked a trail with "one way" going off in my head...There is no return and once I've gone over a trail, there needs to be another trail to get me back to where I started. I prefer loops. Start here, end there, walk or get a ride back to my vehicle. Yes, in the early days of hiking, I would pack in and pack out the same trail, but soon I became bored with seeing the same trail again, just in reverse.

To do this hike again filled my brain with excitement for some reason. I think it's because I can do it again so much "better" than the first time. I don't need 90 pounds of "stuff" to carry. I can drop half the weight and actually get more quality mileage on a daily basis. More pictures, more videos, more adventures that were missed last time because of "weight restrictions"! SURE! Piece of cake!

Having spent some time picking my friend Andy Finch's brain about "going public" with my history hiking adventures, we came up with a plan to get this stuff out there for you to see. I want YOU to be inspired to go on a hike. I want you to get excited about HISTORY! I want you to raise a family that goes outside and breaths fresh air as opposed to them sitting in front of a monitor "gaming" for hours at a time! Am I out in left field about this? Perhaps, but until the voices tell me for sure, I'm going to hike and share! Whew I feel better now. So, it's settled, I'm hiking the first leg of the Transcontinental Railroad again. My body can hardly wait...

Now that I've completely lost it, I need to start getting in some kind of shape so I can, yet again, survive this insanity I've bought in to. I started by treadmilling for one hour at the steepest the treadmill would go(15) and walking at 2.8 mph., which seems to be my normal(whatever that means!) walking speed. My pack has a twenty pound weight inside and I have a water bottle to drown myself with, when reality strikes and I realize I'll NEVER be able to do this again!

I followed this routine for a week, then added ten more pounds. I also hike the trails above the house which offer numerous hills to climb along with flat areas and options so we don't get "bored". My awesome wife drags me along the trails, and my dogs try, oh so hard, to trip me at every turn! My treadmill tells me what IT expects from me as well as letting me know my heart rate with readouts like- "you're still alive?" or "is that all you got?" or sometimes even "is that your heart that just exploded?". I really think it likes me a little! Anyway, my shoulders hurt from the pack, my right knee acts like it's ready to give out, and my ankle goes in and out of consciousness hourly. I'm beginning to build confidence in myself! As long as I take a gallon size jug filled with Ibuprofen, 100 or so opiate pain killers, and aTENS unit with fresh batteries, I should be just fine!

TCRR Way back there

As the hours tick away, I realize I'm in way over my head! Yes, I've done this trip before, but, I went in knowing very little about where I was actually going! Ah, the joy of cluelessness!! I went in with a pack way too heavy into the unknown. AWESOME!!! Now, I cringe a little as my mind recalls some of the places I'll be heading. This is probably the scariest hike I've ever been on. Trains don't stop...they can't dodge... I know the sound seems so loud as they pass by, and the tracks actually sing a little, but there are spots that I don't want to be when a train goes by. There are places that are just plain eery! I will try so hard to capture these places on video in a manner that will convey the feeling that comes along with being there.

Last trip was a practice run, I guess. I now have much better equipment for documenting the journey and I do have a better sense about what to film and what not to film. I am also on facebook this time so I will be able to keep those that are interested informed.

I'm not backing out or saying I'm scared, I'm saying this is a rush that is probably similar to base jumping, skydiving, drag racing,... you get it. Everytime someone gets to that "starting point", they get that feeling in their gut...me too.