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HOW THE DREAM BEGAN

 

About two years after my first treatment for Hepatitis C I decided that I needed to escape the rat race and stress of starting new businesses. My plan was to buy ten acres on the coast south of San Francisco in a small town called Pescadero. I designed an entire home with a barn and guesthouse. I was to have three to four horses, ride everyday with my grandson while my wife and youngest daughter raised lavender and started a small business making all kinds of lavender products.

 

Then the virus hit me hard again and I was back in treatment, this time for two years. My dream life in Pescadero took a back seat to fighting Hepatitis C.  In the middle of the treatment the idea of riding a horse from Mexico to Canada came to me. If I ever got cured I was going to go solo; I would need solitude. At that time I had no idea the Pacific Crest Trail even existed. I figured that if I added this adventure to my bucket list the Big Guy wouldn’t take me until I fulfilled everything on my list. The more on the list the longer I live.

 

Out of the blue my brother called from Venezuela; somehow the discussion got around to Frank Collison, an old friend from our days at San Francisco State. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Frank in over forty years. I mentioned to Steve that Frank was doing well in Hollywood, a character actor in films and television series. Steve got in touch with Frank and shortly after my long lost friend called. The call felt a little awkward at first but than we started reminiscing about the great fun we had years ago. After SF State we had moved up to the Gold Country to help start a summer theatre and teach set design and set construction at Columbia Jr. College in the Sierra Nevadas. Memories flooded back: hitch hiking Highway 49 through the Gold Country, running Class 4 to 5 rated rapids on the Stanislaus River in truck inner tubes, swimming in ice cold water in the caves of Natural Bridges and, oh yeah, running down the Stewart street in Sonora at two in the morning with a stolen refrigerator.  Crazy fun stuff.  With all that on my mind I thought what better person, not only a proven great partner but an old friend from the 60’s, to join me on my dream ride. The ride would give us plenty of time to catch up on the past 40 years. I suppose it’s like being young again. And every adventure needs a trio; ever heard of “The Two Musketeers”? So Steve signed on as well.

Now here we are, my simple solo ride has morphed into this excellent adventure with my brother and an old friend.