Happy New Year everyone, I truly cannot believe it’s 2017. As I look out my window to see snow on the ground and the east winds blowing strong, I can’t help but close my eyes and transport myself back to summer days lounging by a lake in the woods. What a glorious freedom we had walking day after day in the warm summer sun, without a care in the world… Our lives stripped down to the bare necessities: FOOD, WATER, SLEEP, LOVE. While I miss the raw simplicity of trail life, today I am content to sip my coffee from within these sheltered walls, next to a warm fire and reflect on the year that was 2016.
Life back in civilization is a busy one. The transition back to work was relatively smooth, the people I work with are great and I enjoy the work I do. The most difficult reality I struggled with was driving. I forgot how much time I spend in cars for work and life in general, anywhere from one to four hours a day! Do you know how many miles one can hike in that time span? How many streams, alpine meadows and waterfalls one can pass by? The opportunity to experience life one step at a time is something we rarely give ourselves the chance to do in the fast paced world.
Don’t get me wrong though, I enjoy driving and still marvel at the places they can take us. Just last week I traveled for work to private timberland in the coast range, west of Forest Grove, to harvest sword ferns that will be later transplanted to various restoration sites in the Metro area. Thanks to a recent clear cut we could see Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St Helens and just the peak of Mt. Rainer all in a single view. It may not be the untouched wilderness of the High Sierra’s, but it’s still a mighty fine view.
Our movement through space is often hard to visualize. Especially if your path has no defined beginning or end. Over a span of 117 days during the summer of 2016 Lesley and myself hiked roughly 1665.1 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, plus a few detours here and there. We didn’t always head north or south, but every single day we traveled from a point A to a point B. Thanks to daily note taking, map reading, my trusty GPS and a mind like a steel trap I was able to compile a daily travel log of our travels on excel and I created a map on Google Maps for those who want to retrace our steps and see every single campsite we had this summer.
As the snow and ice finally start to melt here in Portland, the slow progression from winter to spring begins. This unexpected winter vacation has provided me with ample time to reflect on where my path has taken us in 2016. It has also inspired me to dream about what can be possible in 2017. But as always never stray too far into the future or too far into the past. Stay rooted in the present and be true to your inner self. PEACE
Topo and Chia
The Anderson Chronicles 
Nice recap of your journey on the PCT and the joy of working in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. Great writing Jord! Love to you and Lesley.
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Thanks . We really enjoy reading.
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Hey Lesley & Jordan —
Nice follow-up to your PCT blog, continuing to the present. Why not consider a slide show of your favorite pix from the great adventure, possibly with ID info?
Andrée is home recovering, slowly starting to feel better, though with sore throat from the tubes they poked down her throat. But cause of major health problems of last couple years was diagnosed and treated.
BTW, I hope to have lunch with your Dad, Jordan, on Saturday at Brookfields, on his way north to Portland from Paso Robles and a friend’s house in Plymouth. Hopefully he’s quite used to driving in the rain…
— Dad.
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