The Hard Part

I am using my phone to type this so please pardon any grammatical errors!

Yesterday I left our home in Joshua Tree to drive up to our house in Ahwahnee as I am flying out of Fresno this evening (just for the record - this was incredibly dumb on my part.  Sleep?  Who needs sleep?  I don't need no steenkin' sleep!).  Leaving my partner of 7 years and our six cats and one dog was emotionally heart wrenching.  Yes, I want to go hike on the A.T. and I am excited about it, but how does one leave the love of their life not even knowing when they are returning?

We both cried as I left and I struggled to not throw down my backpack and declare that I was staying...because I had to go.  I have to do this for me, even though it breaks my heart to leave my family.  So I left.

I am incredibly lucky that I have such a wonderful and supportive partner in my life that not only allows me to pursue my adventures, but is supportive of them.  She is staying behind to care for our home and all our animals (which is practically a full-time job) so I can have an adventure.  I am incredibly thankful for her and I appreciate everything she does for us.

In return,  I support her pursuit of adventure as Kate is a solo big wall climber.  I help carry loads to the base of her climb, belay patiently as she fixes pitches, and then tearfully see her off as she leaves the ground for a couple of weeks.

This is love, folks.  Helping and supporting one another even though it hurts your heart to let them go for a while.

The benefit is when we return to one another, happy and refreshed, and with a new and grateful perspective on life.  Our relationship is stronger because of this.

Thank you my beautiful, loving, and kind Kate.  You mean everything to me and I can't wait to come back home to you!

In other news, I got my pack ready to go the other day and came to the sad realization that my ultralight cuben fiber pack wasn't going to cut it for this trip - I was really having to cram it to get everything to fit.  It wasn't heavy, just bulky.  I stopped at REI in Fresno and, after about an hour of trying on many fancy bags, I found one that fit perfectly and would carry all my gear easily - the REI Crestrail.  As a bonus, it was about a $100 less than most packs its size.  I had an REI pack a few years ago and loved it, but it wasn't very durable.  Supposedly they have fixed this issue so we shall see.  Unfortunately, I had to miss dinner with my friends so I could figure this out so thank you Matt and Jennifer for your understanding!