pct day 41 - 06/15/13

i left nate's house and the lovely town of mammoth after a relaxing morning and got back to red's meadow by about noon.

something i have been conscious of during this hike is the potential for growth and evolution thru the interactions i may have with other souls. because of this, whenever i interact with new people, i check in to see if it feels like i should spend more time with whomever i meet.

i got a strong feeling to stay with some hikers who had just arrived in red's meadow shortly after i was dropped off by two generous and kind mammoth natives who were camp posting at one of the local campgrounds.

so i spent some time with marie, drama, and hooligan and thoroughly enjoyed myself. as i hiked out later in the afternoon, i got to this point where the trail did a sharp turn to the left. i couldn't quite make out the sign and then hooligan walked up and checked out the sign.

long story made short, hooligan and i took a wrong turn. several extra miles later, with my fresh and sore injuries, i found my way back on to the trail.

here is this theme again of the choice in how to perceive of and then act on an event in one's life. as with my recent accident, i could have chosen to be very upset and wrapped up in the pain and soreness of my injury and the hiking of needless miles. however, i shared a wonderful satsang with hooligan on our little detour . . .

if whatever the reason my mind comes up with to make sense of an event isn't satisfying enough for my ego, i always go back to a place of surrender. in my current state of consciousness, i do not know fully the reasons for this potentially trying detour, but i surrender in the knowing that there may be a larger picture i do not see. might i have been hurt by taking the correct turn and hiking more miles on the pct? is there someone i may not have met by hiking onward?

i currently do not possess the ability to know these things, but i trust and surrender that all happens for a reason and that therefore everything is always well . . .

just 3 miles from red's meadow to just after the pct/jmt split. 909 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)