Today was spent at the ADZPCTKO (Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off) party. This is a great forum as a send-off to this year's hopeful thru-hikers, and it is for me a warm and wonderful reunion with friends who truly understand what it means to live in the woods for an extended period of time. With nearly 600 participants at this party in the woods, it is easy to feel as though in the grips of adolescent Attention Deficit Disorder...

After a similar experience at the kick-off last year, I vowed to operate a bit differently. I tried to seek out and spend more time with people who are really important to me. Like my friend Sue. Last year, with all the 05ers here, it was a big reunion for me that left some people that I care about kinda hanging back on the fringes... they were fine with it, but I really wasn't. It was a regret I had that I didn't spend more time with those who are the most important to me.

After dinner tonight, my friend Sue and I left the noisy throng, and hiked up to the top of the butte above the lake. It was a good test for my on-trail crutching technique, and it felt so very good to be on the trail and moving! I love hiking in the twilight of evening, and the temperature was just perfect, unlike the 92 degrees that blasted our faces with uncomfortable warmth when we pulled in to the campground. 92 degrees!

We met several groups of thru hikers heading out in the cool temperature brought on by the setting of the sun, and it was both exilharating and sad at the same time... I could feel the excitement and fear in their voices, which was truly energizing. At the same time, I know that I will not be joining them this year, which as a thru-hiker alumni, is a bit of a melancholy feeling.

I feel like I really did focus on spending more time with the folks who are important to me. And, for having these people in my life to share experiences, I feel truly blessed.