We monitored the results of the 2004 New York City Marathon and compared finishing times by age. What we found is that starting at age nineteen, runners get faster every year until they hit their peak at twenty-seven. After twenty seven, they start to decline.

So here’s the question — how old are you when you’re back to running the same speed you did at nineteen?

The answer: 64!

A good story and useful information—what more you could ask for. I couldn’t put it down.

My days of shelling out 700 dollars a hike for footwear are over.

These guys do 100 mile runs wearing homemade sandals. Their energy drink is chia seeds dissolved in water with lime and sugar added. And their energy food is pinole(roasted corn flour with sugar added, I believe). I think pinole is going to be the next corn pasta on the PCT.

One Sunday afternoon we joked around about setting up a web page for my brother, an alcohol swilling sea urchin diver.

We laughed as we picked out a big background image that would be slow to load and yellow print that would be hard to see, as was custom in those days.

Then we set about to write a poem for the web page. This is that web page– Itcin’ for Urchin 1996 World Wide Web gold.

I have to go out and scratch up little patches of snow to make water.

I went to Portland 3 weeks ago to welcome my granddaughter into the world. I’m hoping we will be hiking a long trail together when she is 11.

I have started a Grandma’s book of the month club for her. Well, more like books of the month since she is only 3 weeks old and so far I have sent 11 books. I’ve had a great time reading book reviews on Amazon and picking out books to send her.

My computer is still messed up, but now I have adjusted to life with a screwed up computer; which is too bad because it’s still under warranty. For me, I’d rather get ripped apart by a Grizzly then have to deal with customer service.

So that’s what’s up. I’m hoping life will improve soon or at least get more interesting.

I was at my sisters and she gleefully produced an ad for a Mervyns white sale and a coupon for 20 percent off at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.    And that is how I came to enter a mall for the first time in 15-20 years.    And how I came to own bedding.

I bought a set of jersey sheets, a fleece blanket and a cheap down comforter.

Even though I’m an active sleeper, all my bedding stays in place and my bed is still made when I wake up.   I think it’s because the jersey sheets stretch when you pull on them instead of coming undone.    Also they aren’t slippery so the blankets stay put.

They’re also warm and feel good.

They’re not expensive—I paid less than 20.00 for a top sheet, bottom sheet and 2 pillow cases.

I’m not back on the trail nor am I dropping out for a bit.

I have un-monkeyed it and it shouldn’t happen again.

To wring out the piece of clothing, I throw it over a tree branch that hangs over my deck and wring it out by twisting it like the illustration shows.

The illustration is from a book called Living on the Earth.   I’ve had this book since I was twelve.    From baking bread to building a home, nothing takes more than a page to explain.

That’s the way things should be—if something takes more than a page or two to explain you’re probably making it too complicated.

Sun and snow today which are two commodities I haven’t seen enough of this winter. And since sun is my power and snow is my water source, they have been sorely missed.

I bought my Macabi hiking skirt in 2004. I tried hiking in it on the CDT but my legs would get burned when I laid down for a nap and I got some chaffing between my legs.

I see many thru-hikers wearing them though, men and women, and they love it.

I wear mine all winter long with long underwear underneath. It feels warmer to me than pants. I also think there is something about wearing a skirt that is good for flow.

There are snaps to shorten the skirt. There is also a clip to make the skirt into pants or shorts. The shorts thing doesn’t really work because it’s still really easy to expose yourself…. maybe I was doing it wrong.

If it rains, you can shorten the skirt with the snaps and wear a trash bag skirt over it or put on rain pants and pack the skirt away till it stops raining.

One thing you need to be mindful of when wearing this skirt—don’t stand next to any heat source or it starts to melt and burn. I have little burns all over mine from standing near a campfire, a propane heater, and even just standing next to a wood stove.

It snowed all day yesterday. But it’s supposed to warm up today so it might turn in to a big slushy mess. I better act fast if I want to harvest all that water.

Yesterday while I was out snowshoeing I saw a guy plowing his road with a big wooden V that he drags behind his pickup. He has a full size pickup but it’s not four-wheel drive. He puts a bunch of weight in the back of his pickup. First he drags the big wooden V going down hill and then drags it back up. It does a good job. It’s a cheap way to plow a road.

So far my road isn’t plowed which is the way I like it. Eventually the guy that lives furthest up the road and has to go to work will pay someone to plow it and I’ll contribute to be neighborly not because I want the road plowed.

Maybe when that guy retires we can stop plowing the road. I doubt it because most people can’t stand staying home.

Chicken soup for a sick person:

1. A lot of chopped fresh garlic
2. Some grated fresh ginger
3. small can of chicken
4. Some “Better than Bouillon” chicken soup base
5. Water
6. Cook until good
7. Add some fresh lemon juice

Enjoy and heal!

To mix natural peanut butter so there isn’t  that huge layer of  oil on the top, you turn the jar  upside down.    Then every time you  go by it, turn it over again and it mixes itself.

It works.

This is how I run my laptop directly off my DC battery power. I connect a 12 volt cord to a battery. For my solar system I have gel batteries but when I go up to my other cabin I bring a deep cell battery. Red clamp on positive/ black clamp on negative.

Then I plug my DC power adapter for my computer into the socket.

There is a different DC power adapter for every laptop.

If you don’t have a DC power adapter for your computer you can plug a little inverter into the socket and it will run your AC laptop off of DC. They have an annoying little fan that eventually stops working so I don’t like using them.

That’s why I haven’t been posting lately. Because of that and because I took a ride from a sick neighbor and got sick.

For awhile I thought I was going to die. Even though I wasn’t that sick and was still walking 5-7 miles a day.

Every time I get sick, I think I’m going to die. I say, “Crow, you’re about to the end of your trail now.”

I think I do it because it makes being sick more of an adventure.

Regular post to resume shortly.

Taking pictures of stuff is also a good way to throw out stuff.

A couple moves ago, I was moving into a tiny apartment with my now-wife, and there wasn’t nearly enough room for all the stuff I had. As I was digging through it, deciding what could go and what would stay, I found that more often than not, the reason I wanted to keep something was because of the memories attached to it. Without the stuff, I might never think of that memory again, and it would be lost to me.

So, for everything like that, I took a picture of the item, printed it out, and wrote a little summary of the memory on the back. The item could then be thrown out without fear of losing the memory.

I like having the physical photo instead of just a digitized copy because it will last much, much longer than the digital copy will. In 50 years, I could dig through a box of stuff and find the photo and get the memory. Not so with the digital file unless someone spends a lot of effort moving files to new media every few years.

There are many cheaper ones out there but they aren’t small, quiet, or fuel efficient.  When I see how much gas people with the cheap generators use, I’m so thankful I bought this one. It think it’s supposed to run up to 20 hours on one gallon of gas.

I’ve had it for  5 years.  I use it to charge my batteries on my solar system when the sun doesn’t shine.

For a while now, when it’s cold, it has been starting and then as soon as I go inside it dies.  I have to start it like four times before it stays running.

I always add stabilizer to my fuel because my fuel sits for so long.

Last year I  tried adding some Heat to it.  That improved things a little but not much.

This year I bought some octane booster and added it to the fuel.    I don’t remember what kind but I think it said “barely legal!” on the bottle.     The generator runs perfect now. Problem solved.

There is this sailboat race around the world to see who would be the first person to sail around the world unsupported.

This guy decides  it’s just the thing he wants to do but he doesn’t have a boat.   So he designs one and gets financial backing to build it.

Only catch is, if he quits he has to pay for the boat.   He puts up his house, which is housing his wife and 4 children, as collateral.    On the day before the deadline to sail,  he sits trembling saying “The boats not ready.”   But people tell him that he must go. 

So he goes…..

Oh one more thing, he is not a real sailor, just a weekend sailor.

Meditate

This is the most important thing you can do..  Take some time to meditate everyday, look at where you’re headed, and steer yourself in the right direction if you find you have wandered off course

No intoxicants

Awareness is the treasured commodity.  Why would you give up a drop of it.   Besides, hermit life is like being on a trip only you don’t have to give up any awareness to enjoy it.

No Stimulants

The hermit mind is more sensitive.  Give it a bunch of coffee or other stimulants and it can run away from you.

No Pets

Yeah, animals are great.  They also cause problems, tie you down, take time, and are expensive.  More than one hermit has been squashed by their animal empire.

Keep your eyes on your own life

Don’t rail on about government conspiracy theories, chem trails,  plagues, total collapse of the economy,  the end of the world, etc. Just take care of your life and let the rest of the world take of its self.

Be careful of your companions

You would think this would be an easy rule for a hermit to follow but it also means the media that you read and listen to.    For this reason I don’t  use TV, radio, or newspapers.  They’re too negative.

Refrain from negativity

You make your own trip.  You want to dwell on negativity that is where you will live.

Spend time outside everyday

You need to go outside.   Hermits that don’t go outside  get weird.   The outdoors will enhance your life in every way.

Move

A human  needs exercise to be healthy, no one is exempt.

Don’t let your life become cluttered

Get rid of something everyday.

Clean your living space

A clean and tidy living space will help you stay healthy mentally.

Bathe

Wash yourself everyday.  Even if it’s very cursory, it makes a difference in your attitude.

Brush and floss your teeth

Bad teeth will make you sick and make it so you can’t eat good food.   It also makes reentry hard.

Smile

It feels good and will make you happy.

Seek inspiration

In the same vein as “be careful of your companions”,  seek out something inspiring  everyday.   Look for books from people well on their spiritual path to get inspiration from.

Keep noble silence

Spend some time everyday without  reading, writing, talking, listening to music, or looking at videos.  Just silence.  If you want a great experience, keep noble silence all day, day after day.

Find employment

Everyday find some chore to do like chop wood, wash windows, pay a bill, do laundry, etc.   This will keep your life running smoothly and things won’t pile up on you.

Don’t eat food that is bad for you

I’ve heard of a person achieving enlightenment while eating only nettles but I think if he only had doughnuts to eat he maybe wouldn’t have been so successful.       Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, they’re all connected.  Food that feels more like a drug you should stay away from.

Practice yoga

Yoga is amazing.   It keeps you fit in every way.   Easiest book to learn and practice yoga from:  Richard Hittleman’s 28 day yoga plan

Related Posts: Every day you should…..

Yoga class for recluses

Most of the time it’s just me in my sphere on the trail.   So I lie down in the middle of trail confident that no one will be coming along.

I need to be careful  of doing that right out of town because there are often day hikers around.   One time I  felt sleepy coming out of town, so I laid down on the trail and went to sleep.  I woke up to a day hiker screaming because she thought I was dead.

A hiker on the Appalachian Trail told me this story:  She was hiking along when she saw a man lying on the trail.  He had his tent laid over him and a “Do Not Disturb” sign out.  “Odd place to take  a nap” she thought as she carefully slipped by him mindful of not disturbing him.   A little ways down the the trail she met a sheriff who said the man was dead.

I found this little book on the Internet.  It’s called  “Pocket PCT— An Elevation Guide it the Pacific Crest Trail.”   It weighs 3.8 oz(108 grams) and covers the entire trail.

I’ve never used it or even seen it but it looks really useful.   I may try it out the next time I hike the PCT.

It cost 19.95 which is 10 dollars more than the Wilderness Press PCT Data Book but I was thinking it might be more accurate.    The Wilderness press data book is missing some important water sources and it doesn’t always show you when you are at the top of a climb.

The Pocket PCT is built around an elevation profile of the entire 2655 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. The mile-by-mile elevation profile is represented in chapters, each beginning and ending at a common resupply location. The detailed profile shows water sources (each rated by reliability), water cache locations, resupply points, and hundreds of other landmarks such as campgrounds, roads, creeks, rivers, and trails. Symbols identify each point of interest and includes that point’s elevation (and directions if off-trail). Commonly used resupply point addresses and other information is included in the back of the guide, including directions to each resupply point from the trail.

It doesn’t have any maps in it, but maps and way points for the entire trail can now be downloaded for free from Halfmile’s Pacific Crest Trail Map Site