The Mouse and the Dead End

  Several months ago, as I was going into the Post Office, this little one was climbing steadily up the corner by the door. I knew right then, this was how I already felt, and I wasn't even into the final scramble to get ready for this hike. He's got three little feet solidly planted on brick or concrete where he can get a purchase, and the other one is sort of hoping that shiny metal, with nothing to hold on to, isn't going to do him in.

Does he look a little desparate to you? Definitely determined.

But where is he headed? Yeah... toward what one usually finds at the top of an inside corner... a ceiling. And what will he do when he gets there? If he gets there. I didn't stick around to find out.

Right now, even though I've hiked this trail once already and although there are pieces that have changed, there aren't going to be major surprises, I sort of feel like I'm heading with determination toward something that might be a dead end.

Did you know that for months I was telling the few people who knew about this plan that I was going to keep what I was doing a secret until I got at least the first month of the hike done? I don't really like all this publicity when I haven't even done anything yet. What if I'm headed for a dead-end corner, or a bad fall (did the mouse climb down, or did he tumble to injury or death?). A literal bad fall could do in the whole plan. (Nimblewill Nomad, who just completed the AT at age 83 admitted that he fell down a lot, but luckily never hurt himself badly)

So the little mouse has been on my mind since early summer. I know that the trail itself is not a dead end. It's in lots better shape than the last time I walked it. But there are lots of kinds of dead ends one could be traveling toward without knowing it.

On the other hand, I'd rather be traveling than thinking about dead ends.

In other news: I've officially dropped 5 BIG ITEMS. There are 3 left. They should all be finished tomorrow. Two are close, but are each missing one piece that will be completed with the errand run. The third item is just a matter of how much more I can get done. So, I'll get to cross it off no matter what. I did 13 small ones today so far. Sue came and helped today. Stacy is coming tomorrow. Monica will stop after work to see if I'm in good shape. ONE more day!

I'm going to say this a couple of times. I have the equipment to blog from the trail when I'm backpacking. However, none of that will work if I don't have a cell signal. There are places in the Manistee National Forest- where I am starting this hike- where there is NO service. If I manage to plop down in one of those, you won't hear from me. DO NOT GET WORRIED. If I can't blog at night, maybe I can at least put something on Facebook the next day. There are people hiking with me each of the first 5 days when I'm backpacking, and after that it's all day hikes through the winter.

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