On April 11th, 2020, I will begin hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon, and Washington. This ongoing series is an attempt to document the entire journey from beginning to end.
I am walking 2,650 miles to End Polio with Rotary International. Support my journey!
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Goodbye New Relationships
I have lived in Los Angeles for over a year now after having moved here from Seattle. In that time, I have met some fantastic people; people that I am proud to call friends. One of our worries about moving down here was making friends. The older a person gets the harder it seems to form new relationships. We have been extremely lucky and now find ourselves in a small, but tight-knit group. On April 11, 2020, I will force myself to walk away from these relationships. I know if they are meant to be then they will not succumb to the strain of distance. Still, I can’t help but find myself filled with some hesitance about allowing people to get too close in fear that my leaving might hurt them.
My Career after the Trail
I want to continue working in the nonprofit sector when I return to Seattle. Beyond the sector, I have no clue about the agency or the capacity. For me, this ambiguity is a little terrifying. I know the causes near and dear to my heart; cinema, music, youth development, suicide prevention, and homelessness. I also know that I am ready to move on from fundraising. I would really like to dive back into the world of communications and marketing. Between UCO, Kent Youth & Family Services, and Skid Row Housing Trust, it has become abundantly clear to me where my passion lies. Finding that “perfect” job and when to pour my energy into the hunt is sure to be something that consumes my mind between now and the PCT. In fact, I assume it will be something weighing heavily on my mind with every step I take northward.
Feeling Generous? Here is my Amazon PCT Wishlist…
AMAZON PCT WISHLIST
The Next Grand Adventure
Restless. I am constantly restless and fearful of settling. There will be plenty of time to sleep when I am dead. Long before the hike begins, I can’t help but think about what comes next. What is the next grand undertaking to be pursued after completing 2,650 miles between Mexico and Canada? That isn’t something I can answer at the moment. I do know I am ready to call Seattle my forever home. I am ready to buy a home and to find a nonprofit organization where I can invest serious long-term energy and focus. I also know that I will always have a wanderer’s heart. Something and somewhere will always be pulling me forward. Figuring out how to feed that feeling is yet to be decided.
Being Careless
The world is a noisy place. One of the reasons for taking this challenge on is the opportunity to quiet some of that noise. For much of 2020, I will be without cell service. I won’t be consumed by news alerts and the daily deluge of our continuously connected world. This is both a joy and terrifying. It is terrifying because I want people to care. Despite my best intentions, I want likes, shares, and comments. No matter what I do to quiet my mind, the feeling remains. One of my great challenges between now and the end of the hike is finding carelessness for caring what the outside world thinks. To do so, might be as hard as the hike itself.
Missing the 2020 Election
Gone for six months, I can’t help but think about all the things I will miss. Graduations, birthday parties, birth announcements, weddings, funerals, and the 2020 Election will be missed by me. The prospect of missing that last one excites me to no end. The presidential election of 2020 is sure to be a nasty one and I would rather escape all of the vile and ugliness. As a political junkie, that isn’t an easy sentence for me to type, but here we are.
Be good to each other,
-Nathan
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