Preparation H (H for Hayduke, that is)

Escaping from the confines of society to embark on something as grand as the Hayduke Trail requires an overwhelming amount of concentration. Ironically, in order to effect one’s escape, those aspects of society that proved so intensely mundane and which, in part, motivated the escape in the first place, must be now considered top priority. Pay this bill, pay that person, set up payments for future bills, clean the damn house (the whole damn house!). In short, you must prepare for continuing membership in society even while in absentia. This is just one of the contradictions that we face when we aren’t really escaping for that long. We could just say “screw the entire thing”, but something tells me this wouldn’t produce the best outcome. We will be tethered in many ways on this hike. As we walk through canyon after canyon in blissful desolation, we are also walking a line of balance between temporary isolation and return to a permanent society. This optimum was beautifully elucidated by the story, Into The Wild. You should take in this movie or read the book if you haven't had the chance.

Add to this confusing set of obligations the enormity of preparing for a 75-day hike through North America’s wildest canyon country, and you have the makings of a very stressful episode. In addition to the monotony and sheer exasperation of cleaning and moving both our apartments, we were pressed to get the resupply boxes packed and scheduled for shipment-- the dates for the national park permits being the main moderator here. In the end it took 36 hours longer than planned to accomplish this. We considered taking the first section through Arches NP out of the picture but this did not sit well from a philosophical perspective. Also, I figured that this trek through Arches, being described as one of the easier stretches of the Hayduke, would serve as an important initiation into hiking and navigating this terrain. And let’s not forget that we are really here to experience the beauty of the area not from the usual tourist’s vantage point.

We ended up attending a 50-year birthday party for a good friend in Vista, and staying an additional 2 days at his house. The occasion was merely a good excuse for a reunion of sorts among the Ocean Beach crowd from 25+ years ago. Ironically, I was resistant from the start to attend the nostalgia party because of the ostensible intransigence of our trail schedule. Add a dash of reality and we’re there for the weekend. It was great to see everyone-- ­the reminiscing, drinking, and playing of bluegrass was a much better way to initiate our escape from society.