august 24
day 107
26 miles
total 2,824
today was another difficult day.
lots of long, steep hills
and a lot of rough gravel roads.
but i cut off at least 12 miles
got to walk thru even more cool rock formations,
and, after a stint on yet another oregon trail bypass
found myself walking the main oregon trail.
while i walked that most famous of trails
i thought back over the array of historic roads i had traveled
many of them originally indian trails
and probably before that animal paths
boston post road
the great western turnpike
ridge road
the great cattle trails
the pony express
routes pioneered by the trappers and gold rushers
so many sections of old 20
the many passes i had gone thru.
i had walked in the footsteps of adventurers and pioneers
missionaries and
religious colonists
original americans
mastodons and camels
the history of a continent has passed beneath my feet.
and i wondered how much my journey has really differed from theirs.
for all the convenience of the modern world,
i never know what is waiting around the next bend.
i am never sure what i will find to eat
or where i will sleep
i am at the mercy of the elements.
sometimes cold
sometimes hot
sometimes wet
sometimes dry.
and i make my way only by the will to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
like so many before me
i am chasing a dream…
and if i manage to put my feet in the pacific,
with a continuous set of footprints leading back to the atlantic.
i think,
like all those who have preceded me
i will find it is not the destination that was important,
but rather the journey.
laz
Sent from my magic phone