Brad has returned "home". Well, not really, but he's back in Washington after 10 months in NZ, California and Oregon, hiking, hiking, hiking. First he completed the Te Araroa Trail in NZ and then the California and Oregon sections of the Pacific Crest Trail. Crossing the Bridge of the Gods yesterday put him back on home soil, back on the soil of his birth. He's now hiking in Washington and plans to finish the Washington Section in early October.
Via skype and chat and e-mail and telephone I've been able to "travel" along with him. He's blogged his journey and I've blogged his journey. The double perspective of Brad's direct experiences and a mom's experiences through photographs, research and the occasional direct contacts, has been fun and enlightening. I have felt pride, envy, love, loss, fear, worry, and happiness. A son's growth, resolve, and self-examination forces the same in a mother.
As Brad's trip has unfolded, I've needed to continue to use the different names he's taken on. Before he left he was Brad to me, his family, and his local friends, but his business was dbBrad. Once he got to New Zealand he called himself dbBrad and so did all of his NZ hiking companions. Then on the PCT his trail name became Freestyle so all his PCT friends call him Freestyle. I find myself moving from Brad to dbBrad to Freestyle with more ease than I thought possible.
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| Brad, dbBrad, Freestyle |
One of the happy results of spending almost a year alone, or with contemplative hiking companions, in beautiful new territory is self-examination. In this self-examination, Brad has reached a desire to return the gifts of the trail. He is wanting to raise money for exercise's contribution to health so selected a fund raising goal of $10,000 to be given to The American Heart Association and the Pacific Crest Trail. Please, dear friends and family, go to Heart on the Trail, and help Brad or is it dbBrad or is it Freestyle, reach his goal.
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| Hiking for Health ~ Get your Heart on the Trail |
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