At Home on the Trail

by Mandi Davis

I am home yet again, another long blessed week on the trail. Sipping on Yerbasanta from my little tin cup, enjoying the laughter that surrounds me tonight, the warmth of the fire grabs a hold tight while the moonlight rest oversight....protecting, so peaceful, so calm....who would of everthought life could be so powerful, so uplifting, so absolutely amazing.

I know not what I'm told rather than what I experience myself.
I will learn to mend a broken heart, and take the lesson to be taught.
I will fight strong and fair to not win, but merely stay alive for freedom of bondage.
I will fear my next step to only gain the confidence to carry onward.
I will learn to push judgment aside, for I need to dig deeper inside, before knowing someone for who they really are.
I will ponder my thoughts before jumping to conclusions or decisions.
The eyes I meet are of all kinds: joyous, sadden, unsure, lost, insecure, free.....I must not judge thee...
I will learn to look deeply into the eyes I meet and greet appropriately.
I will learn patience and use it when needed.
I will think and wait before rationally speaking aloud.
I will hold my head high and challenge my strengths.
I will focus on strengthening my weaknesses, but not before learning what they are.
I will let go of the little things, for life is worth much more than carrying around a heavy heart.

For I know over the years any tears I shed, will fade, only to come back again.
I will learn to forgive the presence of evil shadowing over me, for I shall have no hatred in my heart to burden me.
I will deal with death and accept it as a part of life, but not before experiencing the mourning that shall be expected.
I will look everyone in passing directly in the eyes.
I will learn when being taught.
I will listen when being spoken to.
I will learn something new at least once a day.
I will not let the effects of life I cannot control bother me, for the energy is not worth losing.
I will live in the right now, rather than worrying about the future or regretting the past.
I will be appreciative yet tentative when being gifted advice from another.
I will steer away from those who I feel may harm me in anyway.
I will be thankful for each awakening day.
I will learn to not repeat the mistake twice.

I will overcome any and all obstacles that attempts to burden my journey in life.
I will learn to accept a compliment and thank them after.
I will keep in mind everyone's needs are different, therefore handled differently.
I will rest daily and awake refreshed.
I will nourish myself to gain energy.
I will not avoid a challenge yet simply defeat it, more importantly ask for help if need be.
I will listen to any suggestion that is told to me, even if I decide to take it or not.
I will heal when wounded and overcome any hardships.
I will laugh more and spread it onto others.
I will to practice being selfless rather than selfish.

I will donate my time to anyone in need of it.
I will remember my time in this life is only to expire upon death, and until then I have all the time in the world.
I will hope to gain only friendships rather than enemies.
I will learn to be still and tell myself I love me at least once each day.
I will learn that world peace comes from within.
I will pay it forward when I am in means to do so.
I will not be carved form stone, but instead instill the real me.
I will know hunger to feel full, as I will know thirst to feel hydrated, learning that the craving for something so badly can be quicklychanged for better or for worse, depending on the craving.
I will surrender myself and live free.
I will ask for help if need be.
I will know happiness where there once was sadness.

I will respect one's humility for I have my own to share, to know humility is only to grow stronger.
I will take time to accomplish my goals, for my dreams could be a reality.
I will learn to always be kind even though I may not be receiving kindness back.
I will respect one hopes and dreams even if I feel they are distasteful to me.
I will encourage others to follow their dreams.
I will follow through with my words spoken.
I will save at least one dollar every day.
I will light up any darkness by striking a match to a candle every day.
I will find in deep within to forgive myself for any wrongs I may have caused.
I will accept and learn to forgive anyone who has wrongedme in the past.
I will accept and understand that I am not always right.
I will remember the innocence of a child and the wisdom of my elders.
I will learn to keep my thoughts, feelings, and input out of other's disputes.
I will only teach if I am in knowledgeable to teach it myself.

I will remember my ability to choose.
I will understand the difference between empathy and sympathy and use it accordingly.
I will be courageous to face my smallest to biggest fears.
I will lighten my load by writing on a daily basis.
I will remember everyone does not think on the same level.
I will understand that everything I just wrote is to be practiced daily and will not happen overnight, for it is a lifelong process ofactually doing so every day.
I will be graceful in my walkings from this moment forward!
I know that this is not the end to my writing but merely a chapter to my book.

Written on 4.8.09 by Willow Otter by the River (Mandi Davis)

Getting Ready for Another Trail Week

Cooking lentils on a campfire

For a TrailWalker, the days before going back on the trail can seem to blend together like one big day. You feel like you are on vacation, because in a way you are with 6 days of no work, but then on a Tuesday night - just before going back to the trail - you suddenly stop your lazy canter and begin packing. For experienced TrailWalkers the packing usually starts late at night when your roommates are done talking. For the new ones packing started the day before when you were going to the Army Surplus store to buy a better pair of shoes or some more bandannas or whatever you missed while on the trail last week.

The gear is usually left in the same places: back porch, under the bed, or in the corner of any room in the house where it won't get stepped on. The back porch tends to be the most popular spot for leaving gear because if you have roommates they usually don't like how it smells (lots of campfire smoke and some kind of strange funk, thought to be caused by body odor we get from living off of lentils and rice).

The experienced TrailWalker usually has packing already worked into a system, and it's a matter of just wrapping the usual things in the burrito (Anasazi slang for a military bivy sack) and taking it with you to the office in the morning, where you finish packing after getting your food pack.

The best part about going back on the trail is finding out which group you'll be in. Will it be the boys group? The girls group? Sinagua? Which other TrailWalker(s) will you be partnered with? And the next best thing about going back is the anticipation of what the hike is going to be. Following a stream or following cow tanks? 15 miles or 30? There is always something new.