wandering daisy,

Thanks for the insight. My long trips are usually only about 10 days. I ran a tree planting crew once at 7,200 feet for the month of April in a wall tent.


everytime it snowed 10 members of the crew showed up in the Flagstaff Hilton to enjoy the wood stove. My work experiences usually tied to together trips of a week or more, but with a day or two at home in between.

Your description of not thinking of the end date resonated strongly. That is when people know they are mentally casting off the trappings of civilization. I have had many NOLS instructors and graduates on field crews and they were all really dependable. They greatly changed some of my dated opinions about women in the field even on long strenuous trips.

I used to backpack solo a lot in the Cascades when I went to forestry school at the U of WA. It was easy in the 70s to hitchhike to a trailhead even on dirt roads, do a loop and hitchhike out. Those 4 day trips felt like a week. My brother is involved in a formal Quest program. It is a spiritual journey that culminates in a three day solo trip with a s bag and a jug of water. There is no spiritual substitute for solo trips in the hills with no one around to influence your thoughts.