Central California
Zero Day in Independence, CA

Serendipitous timing - Inyo/Mono Transit offers bus service to Bishop on the 1st Saturday of the month. Ran into Jeff (of Jeff & Stacy fame) who we met in Agua Dulce where he was nursing a sore knee. I didn't recognize him immediately as he had shorn the beard and long hair. He has stopped hiking and was making his way to Tuolumne where he will meet Stacy who continued on through the Sierra. I wish them both the best - 2 really great people.

The ride gave me a quiet moment to reflect on the trip thus far, the 1st real moment I have had. Paradoxically, long distance hiking offers less 'free time' then my previous 9 to 5 existence. I used the time to write down some notes on an idea that has been floating in my head:

I love the idea of hundreds of hikers taking separate, distinct but ultimately convergent paths to a common temporally constrained destination: reaching Canada before the arrival of winter. The intersections or loci of these disparate paths, their inherent randomness is a clear reflection of the true nature of our existence. Fate, destiny, purpose, & meaning to our lives are cowardly constructions designed to shelter the timid, weak-minded masses from the simple truth: chaos & probability govern your life, not an imaginary supreme being.

A little wordy - needs an editor...