Tag adventure

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 1

Reg Spittle 6 Comments

When I set out to catalogue my top ten retirement adventures, the easiest choice was number one. As great as the other nine adventures have been, the John Muir Trail had them beat. By way more than a mile.

Talk about the improbable. I never imagined I would spend 30 days in California’s Sierra Nevada wilderness, sleeping in a tent. No toilets. No showers. No going back. Another out-of-character feature: I would travel with nine others, giving up my treasured privacy and my need to recharge by myself, or with just Sue.

Through seven distance treks, I have learned important lessons: Take chances, seek discomfort, be vulnerable. None is easy for me.

The John Muir Trail was the hardest adventure of them all. Sure, we were fortunate to have had a mule train and four dedicated packers that eased the physical challenges. I will be forever grateful for their efforts that allowed me to experience a trek I’m not sure I could do on my own. But, still, we walked 246 miles, conquered 100,000 feet of elevation, and answered numerous unexpected obstacles. The mountain passes tested our resolve; one of them was Muir Pass, where we paused at Muir Hut (photo above). Also, I overcame my fear of heights and climbed Mount Whitney.

The people. I will hold close my nine fellow trekkers and four packers for the rest of my life. And I was so fortunate to behold one of Earth’s most spectacular places up close.

Since our JMT in August 2021, I have been reliving my experience through my MacBook Air’s keys. I can’t wait to share the story later this year in the form of my third adventure trekking book.

Sue and I will soon embark on one of our most ambitious journeys. We will walk, but in the form of day hikes as we explore lands afar. Lead Foot (our truck) will lead the way, pulling our third Minnie, aka Mini. For the first time, we plan to take our travel trailer to another country.

We are not done distance trekking, though.

Here’s to the next top ten adventures!

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 2

Reg Spittle 2 Comments

Sue’s words transformed our lives.

It was 2012. We had just watched Martin Sheen’s movie The Way, in which the actor walks the 500-mile Camino de Santiago across Spain to honor his son’s memory. Played by real-life son Emilio Estevez, his son had died in a snowstorm during his first day on the trail. The movie was great, but I was blindsided by Sue’s delayed reaction.

“We should do it.”

I blurted out my response. “What? Walk 500 miles?” My head was spinning. I pictured sleeping and changing clothes in coed dorm rooms, showering in coed bathrooms, and carrying a backpack. My anxiety was in high gear.

“We can’t do that!” I thought my words would settle the issue.

I was wrong. So wrong. For months, Sue was a broken record.

“But what if we can?”

In spring 2013, our Merrell shoes carried us across Spain. My anxieties were quelled the first day when fellow pilgrims quickly became friends and I eventually put my fears where they belonged: in the rearview mirror. We made many newbie errors, but it didn’t matter much.

We have been walking distance trails ever since, building experiences and friendships that have formed powerful memories, leading me to again undertake the unexpected: I wrote my first book. It is Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows. I have heard from readers in 10 countries and continue to feel honored every time someone orders a copy.

I am grateful that Sue never gave up on the Camino. She convinced me to take a huge risk. She showed me sometimes the best things in life come when we tread outside our comfort zone.

I hope I continue to find comfort in being uncomfortable the rest of my life.