Hearth and Home

There is an old saying amongst cowboys, "a horse always walks faster when they smell the barn."   in other words the trip home is always faster.  I couldnt agree more.  it has been almost six months since I have slept in my own bed and i am looking forward to a good meal from my own kitchen, a bike ride around my town and a run in my local mountains.  the truth is that ecventhough i will be happy to get back home it wont be long until i feel the pull to ramble again.  last night i had already began entertaining the thoughts of a new adventure and cant wait to begin looking at some maps and making some plans.  hoplessley addicted to roam.  The continental divide trail has long been on my radar as the next long walk. The pacific trail which stretches from Mexico to Canada along the west coast of the country pales in comparison to the substantial distances and challanges the CD would provide.  Most of the trail is non existant and you are simply navigating along a route from point a to point b and are often just taking the path of least resistance.
  Few things on earth demonstrate the importance of simplicity and priority like through hiking.  For those folks unfamiliar with the term it simply means choosing a long trail and walking it.  It can be a metaphor for life, a huge adventurous endeavour a daily contemplation by foot or whatever you choose to make it.  It is a love of movement.  Storms, wind and secret places you can not drive to.  There are 3 long trails in the united States.  The most well known being the Appalachian trail stretching from Springer mountain a Georgia to mount katahdin Maine.  This is the oldest of the three and by far the most popular.  The pacific crest trail as mentioned before is a trail meandering 2600 miles through deserts and high mountain passes.  Running from Mexico to Canada it traverses the states of California, Oregon and Washington end to end.  Its difficult to realize the scope of distance until you travel it on foot.  There is nothing like it.  The third and newest trail is the continental divide trail.  It begins on the u.s. Mexican border and traverses the spine of the rocky mountain crest all the way to Canada.  It is the longest of the trails at around 3200 miles.  It has the most notorious weather and difficult route finding of all the trails.  What an adventure it would be!