January Syndrome

Well its nearly here.

Every January we pull out the road atlas and start dreaming of new trails.

The Wonderland Trail, in Washington State, sections of the Continental Divide Trail in Wyoming and New Mexico, The Boundary Waters Trail, or a possible Alaskan adventure all come to mind.

There's several stages to planning. The logistics of getting there. Fly, drive, or god forbid, a bus?

If by car, where to park the car.

What's the best time to start, how long will it take to hike and what are the resupply points?

There's the gear choices, whether a bounce or drop box will be utilized to receive additional layers of clothing due to elevation .

Trail maps and guide and/or data books must be bought. Trail Journals of past hikers are a bonus.

But, most importantly, how much time, money , energy and pain are we willing to invest?

More than anything, the will must be there.

Commitment, bordering on obsession, makes a long hike possible.

J.W. Van Goethe said, "the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too...A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and material assistance.

Whatever you can dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. "

Stay tuned for the Trail Planning Page I plan to add to this Brawnyview Blog site.