Jim 11/22/11
About 6.5 years ago my youngest daughter Jacqueline graduated from college and I treated her to a guided trip of the Tour de Mont Blanc with REI adventures. ( Her sister had the same graduation present in 2000 so just to be fair - guess I had to go again :) Walking on a segment of the trail I noted a red-white trail marker, and upon asking the guide I was told of the GR5- a big trans-European trail. Intrigued, I google-mined the topic and was fascinated to find that the GR5 - while being the grandaddy of the routes- is but one of many such trails.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GR_footpath
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GR_5
I filed this away for future reference under the wow - dream trip category.
Fast forward to fall of 2010. My work circumstances had changed. I had a lot of walking miles under my belt belt both at home and all over the world. I used to dream of doing the PCT or Appalachian trail. But on a summer backpack in the Cascades for 4 days I ran across a couple of my age who explained they had walked from the Washington Oregon border and had been out for over a month. Wow I thought - awesome - but in the past I would have been all charged to do that too. Instead I realized that after 4 days in the cold, I was ready for a hot shower, a decent non freeze-dried meal , and a warm bed. It hit me the moment had moved past in my life when I wanted to camp out for 5 months. But instead of regret about this, I knew from my travels that there were other options.
A few weeks later one evening over a meal following another Cascade hike I was reflecting with Tammy over the neat places we'd been and where we might yet go. And the GR5 came up. I had shown her the David May website a year or two before, and her response at the time was simply WHEN? In mentioning the GR5 over dinner she pointed out that if I was ever going to do this I had to make the commitment and set a date. And of course she was right! And Tammy was all in! For her as a self employed person that's a huge deal.
But would my new work partners let me have this prime summer time off? 2011 was out of the question because one senior partner had already blocked out a leave of absence, and it was too soon anyway. So I put it to my group and they said yes to 2012! I was amazed at the generosity of my group - I had only been with them a little over a year. I knew then even more so that my work circumstances had markedly improved by their demonstrated largesse. I was also admittedly a bit scared. Semi-wrecked by the 2008 market crash there was a budget to establish and plans to be drawn up. I had a year and a half to get my act together for this adventure. My mind went from could I to should I. Of course the answer was a resounding YES! I'd been given the time -while I have the desire, resources and perhaps the ability to make this work. And I have an wonderful motivating companion with whom to share this little stroll !
