On the Trail With Pablo Cruise, Part 1: Planning Ahead
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What got him into long-distance
hiking? He was born and raised in South Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe. His
family spent much time exploring and hiking while they lived in Africa. After
moving to Vermont, he was involved in scouting and as a freshman, had a
three-week “outward bound” winter camping experience that included spending 24
hours alone in the frigid wilderness! Those experiences helped him develop into
an independent person, with resilience and a sense of responsibility in taking
care of himself.
Pablo didn’t know anything about
long-distance hiking until he retired from teaching several decades later.
Then, in 2017 Pablo and his brother hiked the John Muir trail, 227 miles from
Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney. That experience gave him the
idea to finish the rest of the Pacific Crest Trail, of which the John Muir
trail is just a small part.
Pablo told himself, “If I like it,
I’ll keep on doing it!” And he liked it—especially enjoying the beauty of
nature in the wilderness.
When planning the Colorado Trail
backpack, Pablo gave himself a very tight time frame of hiking 12 miles a day,
six days a week, and completing the whole distance in 7 weeks. His ultralight
backpack wasn’t designed to carry much weight; the idea was to keep it below 30
pounds, just carrying enough food to last six days. Finding enough water along
the way was imperative, since even only a small amount added additional weight
to the pack.
Pablo mapped out the route carefully, knowing
what challenges would come with the rough terrain, high altitudes and sudden
changes in weather. About one day per week was to be a “zero” or rest day, when
he would be picked up at a point accessible to a road, and driven to a nearby
town. Sometimes, rides were pre-arranged with friends, but most often he would
have to depend on hitch-hiking or catching a hikers’ shuttle to town. It was imperative
that he restock his food supply, do laundry and rest, before getting back on
the trail.
Why all of the careful planning? At
the age of 67, and with one bothersome hip, he had to walk at a slower pace. The
amount of food he carried was based on his daily minimum of 12 miles. If he
didn’t make that, he would run out of food before he could resupply.
Long distance hiking was comparable
to being homeless, except hikers were far away from any help. Where would he
camp each night along the trail? Would someone be there if he needed help?
Vulnerable and facing difficult challenges on his intense hike, Pablo had to
trust the Lord, knowing that “God was nearby.”
On
one particular day, after gaining about 5,000 feet in elevation and gasping for
air in the high altitude, he developed a severe pain in his diaphragm. He still
had another half-mile to finish before camping for the night, and so pushed
himself to walk 30 feet before stopping, then walking another 30 feet… “Thank God, I was better the next day!”
In an emergency, the button on the personal locator beacon that he carried could have been pushed. However, how long would it have taken before help arrived?
Pablo was on the trail for 47 days, two days
less than the seven weeks he had mapped out for himself! Training, planning,
persevering,…prayer…all were necessary for that great achievement!
As followers of Jesus, we need to
do similar planning, counting the cost ahead of time, praying and persevering
no matter how difficult the circumstances. And He will be with us each step of
our journey.
“Suppose one of you wants to build
a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has
enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to
finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began
to build and was not able to finish.’”
Luke 14:28-30 NIV
Pablo's photos of scenic spots along the trail. Part II next week!
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