Only thirteen months since this I created this website and now we can roll! Only fitting that the journey begins with a miniseries about wisdom. First up: a personal anecdote about my pursuit of wisdom.

I lingered at a trail junction with a wide open view to the east, far down slope from the majestic High Sierra.  I could see a town far below, with smoke rising from the chimneys of homes.  While wet snow continued to fall on me that morning, the sight of hearth and home looked mighty appealing.  I stood there reflecting, unaware of how critical that moment of my life would become.

I went on my first long distance hike of the Appalachian Trail looking for a challenge, eager to test the extent of my mental and physical endurance.  Some of that motivation still rang true for this thru-hike of the unfinished Pacific Crest Trail, tackled with three friends.  The first day challenged us when a snowstorm obscured our path and made hiking without snowshoes difficult.  The first few weeks challenged us because we got lost for a few hundred miles, just as the guidebook warned us.

Those weeks of uncertainty were well in the past as I stood alone and gazed longingly at the cozy town far below.  I began the current stretch traversing the High Sierra with a pack weighing 102 pounds, the heaviest I would ever carry on any of my long distance journeys. Not even that posed much of a challenge by that point of the thru-hike.  I knew I could take that side trail down to homey comforts with a peace of mind. I could finish the thru-hike if I still wanted.

While wet snow chilled me, I convinced myself that hiking to that beckoning town was a logical thing to do.  Instead, the wisdom of “it’s the journey” came to me that day.  Every journey provides more than just a challenge. One never knows what the most important learning and growth a journey might provide until that journey is over.  I averted my gaze from the pastoral town and continued hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail in defiance of the wet snow.

A couple weeks later the four of us were coming down from the mountainous High Sierra stretch.  My best friend Savitt and I misjudged the lack of water we now faced as we hiked down from the higher elevations. This forced us to hike on until dusk. Fortunately, the lack of moisture on the ground was met by a lack of precipitation from the sky.  We did not bother to set up a tent as darkness approached.

After our usual hot meal of mac and cheese Savitt and I laid in our sleeping bags, staring up at the brilliant stars.  Despite being close hiking buddies we infrequently shared the same tent or ground cloth due to group dynamics. Chatting in our relaxed state led to Savitt asking what would I be if I could be anything.  I answered I would be wise, which caught him off guard.  He followed up with scenarios where being successful at something would benefit me, prompting me to change my answer.  I countered that being wise would mean I could make the best out of any hand life dealt me. This includes a situation where I did not have the choice of pursuing the comfort of a cozy town.

I learned more about the trail, my comrades and myself by completing the Pacific Crest Trail journey. The experience and knowledge from the journey helps me even now as a full time care partner for my wife Cindy, the woman who eventually replaced Savitt as my best hiking buddy. Decades later my faith in the value of completing journeys for gaining wisdom remains.

Next up: Knowledge, Experience and Wisdom.

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