I can't stop thinking about it! It sounds so amazing. For years now I've been dying to get outside and do something like this. Ever since I quit boyscouts in 7th grade I've been suffering from a lack of outdoorsiness. I'm a total outdoorsman too, that's what's so sad. I love everything about camping, hiking, fishing, spending time outdoors. I've always wanted to do something like a backpacking trip. I didn't think it would be a reality for a very long time. This is part of what I love about college; you're away from home and thus planning trips like backpacking Montana are suddenly more realistic and far more feasible than ever before. I'm not sure why. I guess it's because you're away from home, treated like an adult, and have more freedoms. Either way, I'm so excited about the possibility of spending a summer in Montana. I've never been backpacking before, so I'm a little afraid of getting in over my head, but I think it's doable. I'd like to backpack for a week in Glacier National Park, spend a week or two at the ranch, visit Yellowstone and maybe do a little camping there, and backpack Grand Tetons National Park. We'll see if we can make it a reality. I think I'm going to have trouble finding companions willing to go through that with me, but I'm sure I can find a few friends willing to bust their ass for weeks on end, get filthy, and live without utilities in the woods for weeks. To me the possibility is beyond exciting. I really think that it could be a life changing experience. It might get pricey, with equipment and all, but I think that it's still within reason. I mean, I'm willing to buy a lot of the equipment so others don't have to; I want to have the gear so that I can go backpacking again! I know I'll love it. This may be my first hike, but it won't be my last. Now that I have the means, I can see this becoming a new part of who I am. My friends will obviously have to buy some expensive equipment for personal use, like hiking boots, mountain clothes, a pack, food, a sleeping bag, etc., but really I think this can be done. I'm willing to drive if we can all split the gas too. It's thousands of miles on my car, but that's what it's for. And I don't drive an Xterra for nothing. For God's sake, I ought to take it out and use it for what it was made for.

I can't stop thinking about this trip. I daydream about it, read about it, talk about it; and I have months to go! I still think it's wise to start planning now. I think it'll take a little more planning that I realize at first. I think I ought to start training too. I have a long aversion to cardio because of it's weight-dropping abilities (the last thing I need is to loose weight, I'm trying to gain), but if I want to do this, I'm going to need to be more than muscularly in shape. I'm going to need to be capable of serious cardio workouts. I ought to start conditioning soon because I'm going to need it. I plan on doing lots of reading too; as a first timer it's not a good idea to go in without having done lots of preparatory reading, especially for the amount of time I'm considering going for. I want to make this a reality. My friend Brooke is the one I'm planning it with, but I'm not sure if she understands the magnitude of serious backwoods hiking and camping. I didn't until I started doing the reading and really realized how much of a commitment it is. It might be easy to find people who say they want to go, but I think once the magnitude of what's really going to go down is explained they'll drop like flies. I hope I can find some people. Perhaps my dad and I could go. Not sure if he'd be down for it or not though. I've got a whole year though. We're all young a resilient, I think we're capable. If you're not capable of doing it at this age, you never will be.

My parents keep telling me to take chances and do the things you really want to do while you're young, untethered, and have the means, because once you get a good job and settle down making these things happen isn't easy, and probably won't happen. I have a feeling that this is one of those things. I'm going to make it a reality, because it's too good to pass up!