These days, they have a term for everything and Bucket List is a term which is thrown around. It comes from the Jack Nicholson movie, I suppose. I found that movie sad and depressing but the subject is intriguing.
It's funny. As one goes through this life, their list undergoes transformation. You may accomplish 50% of your list. About another 40% you lose interest in doing because you decide it was stupid, or a waste of time or too much money involved, or it was just too much of a hassle.
Let's face it. I am in my sixties and I have some physical things that limit the contents of my bucket. Ha, ha. I just had a mental picture of a guy walking along carrying a bucket with holes in it and water springing from the holes. A picture is worth a thousand words.
One of the items on my list was simple enough. I wanted to see the Grand Canyon. I did that and wouldn't take anything for the experience. Nowadays, you have to ride a bus into the park, I understand, and it is much more crowded. Another part of my list was related to this, in that I wanted to raft the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. At one time I actually had made the plans to go, had the money and time, and changed my mind at the last minute. Now, I have to a large degree lost interest in that. I have rafted a lot of white water and after a couple of scary moments, I felt that my thrill seeking days are about over. So, the Canyon accounted for part of the above-mentioned 50% and the 40% as well.
I wanted to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. Did that. I wanted to catch my own wild horse, break it and take it home for myself. Have not done that and have lost interest. God, how could I watch him stand at a fence and look off to the west in the evening with that wistful gaze? No, that one goes in the 40% bracket.
One of my interests has been back-packing. Of late years I got out of that hobby because the trails became more crowded, more undesirable types in the woods etc. But, one of the things on my list was the desire to hike the Appalachian Trail. Many of you know that this trail starts in Georgia and winds its way to Maine, over 2100 miles. Every year several thousand people start walking it and a few hundred finish the journey about 5 months later. They usually do it from late March through October.
Like much of our bucket list, The Appalachian Trail was something that I had only a vague ideal about. I thought as a young man, "Cool. Someone just marked a rather long trail through some of the most lovely country on earth. I'll walk it." Heck, come to find out that there is like a whole subculture involved in this thing.
I recently got the e book Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman. It has been a revelation to me about the trail. Paul was a 'Through Hiker'. He set out to do the entire 2100 miles, rather than a piece. Heck, I have done a little tiny piece here and there while walking other trails. But there are web sites devoted to trail lore. You can go on line and read the journals of hikers as they post from the trail. I went to the web site and saw a young woman who had posted far more times than others and read a lot of her journey. She has 693 posts, complete with pics! She has the nick-name of Poppins, derived from her penchant for umbrellas. This is on Trail Journals, by the way.
So, with the help of Poppins and Stutzman, I have learned that hiking has changed over the decades since I was young. It is organized. Hiking was to me an opportunity to get away from people and commune with nature. I'm sure it still is, to a point, but some things I saw from my studies may well put this item into the 40% category.
1) It's crowded with thousands of people.
2) There is gossip, nick-names, teasing, cliques and all the other social B.S. that I hate, which makes me a loner to begin with.
3) There are shelters to stay in that are often crowded. Odd to have shelters on the trail. I more expected to rough it, and I'm sure you can.
4) Exhaustive planning for these trips goes on, with 'way' places on the trail. People leave caches of supplies for themselves, mail supplies ahead. There are hostels in near-by towns and ministries that cater to the hikers. Former hikers, and others, leave gifts on the trail, like a thermos of coffee, for instance.
5) Specialized gear for hikers has evolved and is expensive. Wrapping a can of Coke in aluminum foil and taking a few sandwiches for a day trail is more my style.
6) As I get older, sleeping on the ground is not so appealing.
7) When things get organized and crowded, they get regulated. When I hiked a lot, I always carried a pistol in my back pocket. It is a basic right to protect yourself and I always felt more comfortable being prepared. Nowadays, they want to insure that any criminals won't get harmed by normal people so they frown on people carrying weapons. This is one reason I quit hiking.
8) My physical limitations have made this trip less appealing, though people in their 70's have made the trip.
They claim the trip to be life changing and I have no doubt that it is. I am positive it is beautiful because I have seen a lot of the country myself. Mr. Stutzman had just lost his wife when he did the trip and he was searching for peace. His story touched me, as I am devoted to my wife and can not imagine having to out-live her.
Poppins journal was more of a light-hearted look because she had the zeal of youth. Excitement is cool. Youth is cool. I liked getting the perspective from a guy my age and from a young person as well.
I could talk about a lot more of their observations, but the post is already long. Suffice it to say that this particular item on my list is teetering on the edge of the 40%. When I talked to my buddy, The Zen Squirrel, pictured above, about the trip, he had some pointed advice.
"Don't expect me to go with you, CE. There are plenty of acorns, here at the green retreat."
I'm CE Wills.
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