Look at that!

Saying goodbye to Mom and Dad.


This is Franz! Franz gave me a free 20 minute ride on his bicycle in the background. I like Franz.


This is close to Glacier National Park. I'm going back one day.


This is what middle America looks like.


That is my friend Kim.


That is me being excited at a free concert that I didn't attend.


Obligatory Chicago picture.


Shifty eyed looks from Chicago.


Why you dead?


Ronnie, yours truly, and Elyssa.

Verizon + Amtrak = Letting Go. Also FIREFLIES!

Amtrak delayed my arrival in DC by a day and a half.

Verizon took 4 hours to do something that should take half an hour.

At the end of yesterday I was about to hit somebody, but this morning I realized that those two companies are not gritting their teeth about this. I was the only one that was creating my own suffering by being mad. So I released my madness and created a plan to deal with both situations. At the end of the day and I have said what I needed to say and done what I needed to do. The interesting thing is that my suffering ended when I chose to, not when the problem was actually solved. It's a nice feeling of control that I found.

On the train from Chicago to DC I met a girl who is riding across the country on a bicycle in 3 months. It was nice to talk about each others feelings about uprooting and planning to physically exert yourself for 3 months. Our stories although not very similar had a thread of sameness to them. I wish you the very best Krissy.

Upon arriving in DC I took the Metro to my sisters friends house (Ronnie and Elyssa) who are currently giving me my last home amenities before I actually get on the trail. After an awesome dinner we went outside of their house where there were hundreds of fireflies flying around. I have not seen fireflies in ages and what a great omen to see them before my first day of hiking.

Tomorrow the trail starts, I will be getting on at Harpers Ferry. I will be getting into my fancy clean hiker clothes and will do about 7 miles.

See you in 4 days.

Portland - Chicago

We weren't exactly blasting through America. I arrived in Chicago 16 hours late. Everybody on the train started getting frustrated since all had places to be. My ride was wonderful, I enjoyed myself and didn't get frustrated since there was nowhere to go. America is huge and very green at the moment.

On the train I practiced my German with a young German woman, and I meditated with a retired Catholic priest. Both gave me an oppertunity to expand my soul and mind.

The situation in middle America is very heavyhearted at the moment. In North Dakota they will have flooding that will go 9 feet over the worst flood they ever had. I don't think that much of Minot, ND will be left behind. It honestly felt like a warzone, with everybody running away with all that they can bring with them. I was on the Amtrak Empire Builder and we were the last train through.

Currently I'm in Chicago in a library, writing emails and looking for Chicago deep dish Pizza.

I miss many people, but much of my heavy heart has left me and I have moved into excitement for the trip. It seems that my adventure evokes jealousy, envy but mostly mudita from others. I'm calm and I'm writing a lot, life is good.

I'm hopefully leaving Chicago tonight for Washington D.C. if not you'll see me on here again.

Goodbyes ad infinitum

A recent conversation brought up the naked bikeride that is happening tonight in Portland. Circa 15,000 people will be attending, and I might be there as well. It will be a way to recognize that we are all essentially the same. Usually 4 limbs, 2 eyes, 2 ears, one sex organ etc.

The fact that we are all the extremely similar makes life very impersonal. Being a human is not very unique, there is 7 billion of us.

Blogs are also all similar, and most traveling blogs have a post on goodbyes. And even though it's not very unique, it is important to appreciate the effect that the goodbyes have had on me.

At the moment I'm overwhelmed with the amount of love, and stumped by the appreciation of the relationships that I have built over the years. It makes me feel much more solid in my body and much more excited to come back and stay in touch. The excitement for the trip is not necessarily muted by the sadness but I will let it penetrate to see how far it goes, and will let excitement take over when it needs to.

So goodbye to all of you, friends & family. We will be in touch throughout my journey and your journey. Even though this is one of billion of goodbyes that are being said all over the world this one means a lot to me, and is having a deep impact on my outlook on life.

Much love and happy black bears to all of you!

HYOH

stands for Hike Your Own Hike. Probably the most recognizable slogan on the Appalachian Trail. Sums up the reason why I want to hike the Appalachian Mountain Range.

The reactions that I have gotten from people about hiking the Appalachian has been mixed but almost always consistent. At first it's usually bewilderment, but the understanding follows. It's really interesting that most people get what I'm doing. Almost always they regale a story about how they either did it themselves or want to do it in the future.

It got me thinking about the wanderlust that is weaved into our being. Is it the freedom of responsibilities that we all seek? Or is it the adventure that we have been reading about all of our lives? Or maybe, and this is what I believe, it is the quiet part of the song of our life. The songs that I love accentuate the quietude in between the notes, which makes the notes pop.

It is time to accentuate the quiet part of my life. It is time to quiet down to eating, drinking, breathing and hiking. To find quietude and my breath I will keep my practice of meditating every morning. The rest will fall in line. But most importantly I will hike my own hike.

Schadenfreude

is such a hipster word. Always trying to be different than all the other words.
I first heard it when I lived in Germany, a typical German sounding word that had an interesting meaning; to take joy in others sorrow. I loved the concept but didn't like the meaning.

Sometimes I partake in the joy of other peoples sorrows. Most recently I was happy that Ratko Mladic, the Serbian war criminal, was captured. I found joy in his sorrow, but no matter how deserved his sorrow is the joy feels dirty, as if there was a hidden clause in the joy document that I signed.

The other day while browsing Reddit I came upon the word that stands for the opposite of Schadenfreude; Mudita, taking joy in others joy. Instantly I remembered many times that I felt mudita. What a wonderful feeling it is; it never feels dirty, and I feel it when I'm most content.

This blog is a step by step account of my drive towards cultivating more mudita in my life. For the purposes of coolness I call it blasting, BLASTING MUDITA.

For the next six months I will share my journey with you through pictures, videos and words. My first stop is the Appalachian Mountain range. After hiking for three months, my plan is to visit San Diego and after that I'm off to Europe.

I will get what I need out of this blog and I hope you do the same.