MY LAST CHANCE

Steven Ferrari

 

 

 

Victor had mentioned to me his interest in getting some land and horses and retiring to the country. He even spoke of learning to be a Farrier. Vic had endured 15 years of painful and debilitating treatment for Hepatitis C but it now appeared he might be cured. In the throes of his glee he suggested that when he was cured he wanted ride solo down the Pacific Crest Trail. This evolved into, “Why don’t you come with me and we’ll make a documentary!”

 

Somewhere in all this he asked me if I had seen Frank Collison in such and such a movie and that he’d love to connect with him to come with us on this adventure. Of course I remembered his name and how he used to live in a surplus US Mail van behind the Drama Department at SF State but that was about all. Victor said, “Hey he was in “Oh Brother” with George Clooney”. So being the web rat I am, I went to IMDB, surfed over to Frank’s web site and sent him an email suggesting the three of us get together. Frank said “he was glad to hear from the Ferrari brothers and had wondered what had become of us.”

 

Vic has cheated death. This ride is his second chance. For me it is not so much a second chance as my last chance to get out and do something amazing, adventurous and arduous before I am sitting in a wheelchair at some old folks’ home staring out the window at the clouds rolling by. I would rather get thrown from my horse up on the mountain trail and end up in that wheelchair than wait for it to happen by falling down a flight of stairs or slipping in the shower.

 

Going on this tough five month, 2650 mile ride , Mexico to Canada, is important to me because I just have to have this “You gotta be crazy” fun before it is too late.

I can’t wait to eat dust on the trails and packages of rehydrated food, sleep on the cold ground in the wilderness and wonder when that big bad bear or the mountain lion will come out of the brush looking for us as if we were his dinner.

 

I am excited at the idea of experiencing the amazing sights of Mother Nature’s handiwork along the Pacific Crest Trail. If we get through PCT alive how about doing the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide making it a TRIPLE CROWN? 

 

My wife and kids are skeptical I’ll do it and scared that I might. I have been a rather normal stable type… boring might be a good adjective. So this is very out of character. Well good, I need to get out of this character and into the one I left behind in 1969 at San Francisco State