Hi Everyone. I haven’t posted in a while and I wanted to let you know that I just finished a series of videos on my CDT thru-hike attempt last year. I didn’t finish that hike, as you all know, and at first I wasn’t going to do anything with the video footage. However, about a month or so ago I started re-examining some of those videos and decided that I really wanted to preserve the memories of that hike. I love looking at photos, but videos bring memories to life in a very different way. So, I decided to do it. What came out of that exercise was a 21-video series, and a really good, hard look in the mirror for me in terms of why I didn’t complete the hike. The intro video delves into that.
In addition to documenting the journey itself, I published a CDT Gear Retrospective video describing what gear worked for me, what I would change, and some overall comments on the gear I chose to bring or added along the way. It took me a year to do it, but I finally followed up on that initial gear video I created that gave an overview of my CDT gear. That was actually a pretty bad video :-). My voice was really going in and out right before I left for the trail….
I hope this note finds you all well and healthy, all things considered. These are definitely tough times we are going through. I feel for those who planned thru hikes this year, leaving jobs and saving to take the road less traveled and embark on the journey of a lifetime. It’s yet another reminder that the trail of life can be just as unpredictable, and unfriendly, at times, as the trails we hike through the wilderness.
I’ve been fortunate. I found a job in November and am still employed at the moment, which I am very grateful for! All things considered, I feel pretty lucky. Another reason I decided to make these videos is that, during this time of spending a LOT of time indoors and away from people, I have been missing adventures like the trail. As a result, I’ve been watching other peoples’ old YouTube adventures, I watched a documentary on Netflix about the Barclay Marathons, etc. etc. So, I figured now was a good time to publish my own videos. I’m no YouTube guru by any means, but I hope that others will find some value in having something to (hopefully) inform, inspire, or entertain.
I’ve been keeping very busy with work, but also enjoying not commuting in crazy traffic, and in general the unintended luxury of what feels like a simpler time. More complex, but also simpler, if that makes sense. Take care of yourselves and I hope that we will all be able to get back to all of the adventures of life that we might not be able to entertain at the current moment. In the meantime, I’m going to play with Lucy the Cat on the porch, watch birds take clumps of her hair for their nests, and enjoy some cold iced tea on this lovely, warm Sunday.
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