Laura's Reply

Yeah, thanks for getting things going, Lizzy. I agree that it's time for us to start talking about the logistics of this trip :)

I am pretty flexible in the start date. The two options for next year that I'm thinking about right now are being a server, and working as a paraprofessional in the Denver Public Schools. The para thing will only work out if we're leaving later, it's something that became an option for me when I heard that Devon might be doing this grad program. If it looks like we're looking at leaving before the school year here is done, I would happily just look at jobs that don't have any specified ending date.

As for how we hike the trail; I'm pretty much open to anything. I agree with Loo that there is a certain amount of beauty in hiking the trail from end to end. But I know, too, that it is a harder way to do it, and that it would probably require a little more training beforehand. We could also, of course, start with low-mileage days, but I think you plunge almost immediately into the Hundred Mile Wilderness (almost 100 mi where the trail doesn't cross a paved road), and that's something that we probably want to be pretty prepared to tackle when we do take it on. So maybe a flip flop would make the most sense. I could pretty much be talked into anything; right now I just want to hike the trail with you all :) And I want to get a lot of hiking and backpacking in before we leave, which I know will be easier for me, in CO, than for the rest of you (depending somewhat, of course, on where you end up, Lizzy). Then, too, I'll be interested to hear Eric's impressions of the trail SOBO. His impressions might change our minds about hiking SOBO, one way or another.

For knowledge of the trail, I've checked out books from the library and done a fair amount of reading online. There's a website for hikers' journals at http://www.trailjournals.com that I've been checking out; you can read about people's experiences, and many people update regularly, even while they're on the trail. I've heard that the Thru-Hiker's Companion (that Loo has) is a must, but I haven't looked at it. My mom also gave me A Walk in the Woods recently, and I must say, I enjoyed it immensely, though it certainly paints an ambiguous picture of the trail.

My motivations are probably a little mixed. A lot of it is wanting to get to be with you all really intensely again. But I think that even if you all decided not to do it (which I know you won't), I would still go alone. I am really drawn to the idea of going on a crazy adventure, of doing something different. I've been working a desk job, really, for going on 10 months, and I want to break away from that. I'm learning about the things that I do because I want to and the things that I do because they're what everyone does, and I'm trying to really make that distinction, and I know that getting away from the working world entirely is, for me, a part of that process. I can very easily find myself sucked into this idea of a career path, even as I wonder if I'm ever going to have a "career" in the normal sense of the word. Plus, we were made to be in nature, using our bodies every day. Getting the chance to do that, even if only for 5 or 6 months, really excites me.

As far as if we could be using our time better by "helping people", going on a mission trip or whatever...I think that this year God has really been teaching me that I need to take care of myself and my corner of the world, as well as trying to make a difference on a larger scale. My tendency is to think too big, rather than too small. It's easy for me to overlook the fact that the way I treat the people around me makes a difference in the world, because there are these huge issues out there that seem so much more pressing. And many of those issues are really pressing. But until I learn to really love the people I'm with, I think that my efforts towards justice in the world are more about abstract ideas and feeling good about myself than they are about love and hope and joy. Right now, I need to learn to love, and that's not going to happen by focusing on the large scale. I'm hoping that, by taking the time to be with you guys really closely, closely enough for us to really get on each other's nerves, and disagree, and even fight, but to be doing that in a group of people who are really committed to loving each other with all our faults, and who already love each other, that I'll learn more about how I am in the world, and how that effects those around me. Living in community has started that process for me, this year. But if I'm going to become the person I want to be, someone who is really, truly loving in their interactions with people, I'm going to need to keep working on it. I'd say that, at this point, that process has barely begun.

So, there's my two cents. I'm sorry that there are so many long, convoluted sentences in this email. Hopefully you could follow it, more or less. I love you all dearly!

Grace and peace,
Laura