Happy Easter! Coming on the heels of my last blog Mexico, Drugs, & Jesus you should know by now I have come back to my faith as a Christian. I’m not where I want to be and have a lot of work to do. But through God’s grace and the love of Jesus I can overcome any obstacle in life. Because Jesus died for all our sins so that we may live forever in his kingdom. Today we celebrate Jesus conquering death and giving us one of the greatest gifts possible. The gift of eternal salvation. Have a great day and be thankful for the gift of life.
Current (ish) pic, about a month old. Any takers on what I’ll look like in 5 (ish) months? I think Tom Hanks in Cast Away. No shave, no hair cut. Just mountain man living. Also, how much weight do you think I’ll lose??
The adventure officially starts tomorrow!! After months of excitement, planning, and anticipation it is finally here. Ever take a step back and realize how fast life is actually going by? Live in the moment. Enjoy the ride. I will be flying to Tucson, AZ and then taking a Grey Hound bus to the town Lordsburg, NM (same town I will walk through 3-4 days after my start) where I will meet up with the non-profit for Veterans Warrior Expeditions and get my gear. The next morning around 6am I will depart for the Crazy Cook monument, 84 miles South where the official starting point for the CDT is.
I will be posting more on my IG account @fishburntravis throughout the trip so give me a follow there. You can also follow me on the app STRAVA user name: Travis Fishburn. This will give you my time, distance, and location per day. You should be able to sign up for a free account. If I haven’t moved for several days it’s because A. got attacked by a bear and I’m now feasting on him. B. Found a cool town to chill in or officially take up residence. C. App is not tracking/working. A and B are the most likely scenarios.
Here is a great break down of my gear along with most of the weight : CDT gear
I will carry on average 5 liters of water and will be using a Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter hydration/electrolytes : Nuun, LMNT
Here is a break down of my re-supply packages I am sending myself. Each package has 10lbs of food in it. Through research I have decided to only send five packages. I decided on this for three main reasons. 1. Getting sick of the same food 2. Appetite changing 3. Packages are expensive to send and with the first two reasons I didn’t want to waste money or food. If I don’t want or need all the food when I get my package I can send a new package ahead of myself to the next town while on the trail. The rest of the time I will re-supply from town to town. The main towns I will be stopping at have an average of 4-5 days between each other.
Main meals: Mountain House, Top Ramen, Idahoan Mashed Potatoes
Energy: Backcountry bar, Honey Stinger, Quest cookie, RXbar, Epic Jerkey
Snacks: Pop tarts, starburst jelly beans, mamba chews, goldfish, Chia squeeze
Below are the main towns/cities I will be either going directly through or passing by but this gives you a great idea of the CDT trail.
I’ll leave you with a few quotes.
“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” -Ernest Hemingway.
“We must let go of the life we have planned, So as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell
“I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.” —Louise Hay
“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” ―Jim Rohn
“The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.” ―Epicurus
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” —Earl Nightingale
“You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind. To begin, begin.” ―Gordon B. Hinckley
I’ll be seeing ya, and if not, well, I hope you enjoy the ride. Life is a beautiful gift. We must be brave enough to face it, to endure it, to conquer it. Take chance, step outside your comfort zone, you might like the new person you become. Live so fiercely so that when death comes even, he is sad. “Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.”
Fish
Fishtales 