“Not all those who wander are lost.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
I am equally envious and excited when I hear people taking off on adventures I have also yearned for. Example -for years I’ve longed to hike the Appalachian Trail. The AT runs from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine; is roughly 2,200 miles long and passes through 14 states.
I have watched every documentary I can find on the subject, and each time I sit for hours afterward trying to plot out the HOW. And, how is a huge thing! It takes 6 months to hike the trail from end to end. Six months –time away from family, jobs and paying the bills each month. It also costs about 4 thousand dollars to finance the hike. Finding a solution doesn’t seem possible. Perhaps it is something we will postpone until retirement –like icing on the cake!
The fever hit again this morning when I came across an article on Yahoo Travel. It is a great piece written by Julie Fast about the tragic loss of a friend and her quest along the Appalachian Trail. The Amazing People I Met While Hiking the Appalachian Trail Changed My Life. Julie Fast. Oct 06, 2014
Finding peace in nature helped me to heal. (Photo: Julie Fast)
However, as much as I long to hike the AT, my favorite film/documentary about just getting out and experiencing the world remains 180° SOUTH!
THE TRAILER http://www.180south.com/trailer.html
The film documents Jeff Johnson’s 2007 adventurous trek from California to Patagonia, a trip based on the earlier expedition of environmentalist Yvon Chouinard and his friend Doug Tomkins (founder of The North Face), taken in 1968. Johnson’s expedition is meshed with footage from the first one. A third component of the film is the inclusion of existing environmental issues discussed by Chouinard and Tomkins (almost 70 now) who continue to live their dream and relish a personal relationship with nature. Doug and his wife Kris own and live on a 2.2 million acre reserve in both Chile and Argentina where they concentrate on a “defense of nature”. http://www.conservacionpatagonica.org
The film is indescribably good. Appealing to both my love of the ocean and the mountains, it makes my heart yearn. When I’ve had a really bad day I listen to the soundtrack in my car. I’ve watched the documentary so many times that the association the music provides makes me happy within minutes. In my mind’s eye, I can see Rapa Nui!
I know exactly what I’m watching when I get home tonight –right after I make a huge cold cut sandwich~
*****
ELIZABETH MOZLEY
@ElizabethMozley & @CentipedeYAread
And on Facebook – We Share the Same Sky, author Elizabeth Mozley
We Share the Same Sky, a memoir
Elizabeth Mozley Partridge, Alabama Author 
I LOVE that quote by Tolkien. ❤
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