Ambition & Acceptance: Pacific Crest Trail

I don't know what brought on the desire to strap on a backpack a fraction of my weight and hike, but this weekend I found myself researching the Pacific Crest Trail. Actually, scratch that. I know exactly what brought on the desire. My omnipresent wanderlust spirit and my current read, Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

Now, I understand you may toss this as just another "Silly Cybill Notion," (I should really coin that term), and it may be just that, regardless, isn't it a great one? There's so much adventure in the idea of hiking the more than 2,000 miles from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. (Okay, there is also a little crazy in it, but there's always a level of crazy in any adventure.)

I should probably confess that I have no desire to hike the entire PCT. I'm ambitious, yes, but I also accept my limitations. (My balance of ambition and acceptance is a bit skewed, but it's there.) With my limitations and physical capabilities well in mind, I've narrowed my research to a small portion of the trail located in Oregon. Oregon is the location of choice for a number of reasons. My cousin Kate and her fiancé Paul live in Portland. I have plans to attend their wedding in June and the fact that Kate was a nurse in the Army and Paul's a firefighter help too. (See, I told you I have a balance between ambition and acceptance.) Now comes the stage of planning that take time, finances and all that adult responsibility stuff into account. Not exactly ready for all of that, just yet.

Clearly my plans to take on the PCT are in the early stages. It's in the fetal stage at best, but they're there. They've found their way into my mind and will lay dormant but will not die. It was the same with my plans to study abroad in London. It took a couple of years, but they were realized. Perhaps my plans for PCT will take a couple of years as well, but remember my balance of ambition and acceptance? Well, let's just say my scale leans heavily on ambition.

Sincerely,

Cybill

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