Where Have I Been?

I thru-hiked the 165 mile Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) on my two week vacation (Sep 6 to Sep 20).  I hiked with a group of 12 hikers and 4 guides.  I did this for safety, since this was my first long trek. But it turned out that the people were the best part of the hike.  Even though it's hard to talk to people when you are strung out along the trail, you are all together in the evening in the "kitchen" and you form fast friendships.  It was a great group of people and now that it is over, I miss my "trail family".  I put together a twenty minute DVD slideshow which I mailed to everybody and I also posted a three minute YouTube video.  The scenery was amazing and it just confirmed to me that I have chosen the correct "empty nester" avocation.  My gear worked out great and I had the lightest pack of our group.  People thought I was crazy, hiking in my 9.3 ounce Air Terra Kiger Trail Runners, but they performed admirably.  I will admit that I had "tent envy" as I was cowboy camping or camping under my tarp.  For that reason, I bought a cuben fiber Solomid XL tent from Mountain Laurel Designs.  I expect to get it in the mail any day and I can't wait to try it out.

I have not hiked much since the TRT.  Work has been busy, gearing up for a huge software "Winter Release".  Now that I am done with this, I plan on slowly getting back into shape, so expect more regular blog entries in the future.

What is my next challenge?  I'm not sure.  Some candidates are the Wonderland Trail (93 miles) around Mount Rainier, the Timberline Trail (41 miles) around Mount Hood, the Mark O. Hatfield Trail (56 miles) from Multnomah Falls to Starvation Creek State Park.  Eventually, I want to do the Colorado Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, etc.

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