PCT and Terminal Cancer

Read that. Great story putting it all in perspective … if an individual knew they were going to die in several months, how would they choose spend their last days?

It was a wonderful story.

When I read it last week, it became a little dusty where I was eating lunch.

I was doing fine, but for some reason this part got me.

"When the flowers in the garden know tomorrow is their turn to be plucked, the lesson goes, Do they feel sadness? Do their faces droop? Are they any less bright? No. The moment they know that the next day it is their turn, they make themselves ready with great gusto and excitement."

Ryan

"As an old man, in 1963, Tristan enters a clearing to investigate an animal carcass and is set upon by a grizzly bear. He draws his knife and fights it. As they struggle, the image freeze-frames as One Stab narrates: "It was a good death."

Brad Pitt as Tristan Ludlow in the movie Legends of the Fall.

Little Mitten and I watched this flick last night and it ends with this scene as the Indian narrator says "It was a good death." An outdoorsman can only hope to have a good death.

Celebrated writer and environmentalist Sig Olson died while snowshoeing in the BWCA. Bob Kamps noted rock climber (very distant relative of mine), died while climbing. Aldo Leopold died of a heart attack while helping a neighbor fight a wildfire. My great uncle, an extraordinary outdoorsman drowned near Algonquin Park while canoeing. Everett Reuss died in the outdoors, cause unknown. Most think he likely fell off a cliff, some surmise he was murdered. Then there was the case of Walt Starr, who lost his life in the High Sierra.

For me, I'd like to fall asleep under the stars in the north woods and not wake up.

Thanks Nico.

"An outdoorsman can only hope to have a good death."

The ending is symbolic as it relates that good men are always betrayed by those who have been shown mercy in the past (the bear spares Tristen when he was a boy – this is intended to be the same bear). Not sure this has anything to do with hiking to cope with terminal cancer.

Some more info about Andy here:

https://hikingthepacificcrest.wordpress.com/about-2/

I started the PCT with Astro in 2012.
He scared me in his underwear at Deep Creek hot springs.
We hitched together out of Tehachapi.
We ate together in Reds Meadow.
We hiked many miles and he never mention his illness. I didn't even know until after his hospital visit.
I didn't hike with Andy, the guy with cancer.
I hiked with Astro the thru hiker and thanks to him I will always remember there is a little hero in everyone … even when you cannot see it.

I read this story a couple of days ago, and I think it's the finest, most captivating piece of writing I've ever seen in Backpacker Magazine (and I've been getting them for a looong time). Loved it – Andy/Astro must have been quite a guy.

All of us that deal with cancer keep the following in our hearts and mind…….

"Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams"

Thanks for posting this Nico.

It's the best article I've ever read courtesy of Backpacker magazine.

I posted a "good death" sort of thing in the "geezer" thread, saying I wanted to die on the trail.

So what if my wife has to pay for a helo extraction of my carcass. (Then watch for the subsequent "giant gear sale" ;o)

But, yeah, that was a very touching story about a man (a man in every sense of the word) who made the most of his remaining days.
That we all should have that much courage.

This was a great read, thanks for posting it.

"The moment they know that the next day it is their turn, they make themselves ready with great gusto and excitement."

That describes every salmon in the stream!

But back to Andy — his story is absolutely amazing, sad, and inspiring!!

I have to say this article in Backpacker was by far there best journalistic piece to date. I feel after reading about Andy/Astro it makes it pretty hard to complain about anything. This man went through so much at a young age and he didn't let it consume him, he went to nature for therapy and got it. I believe so many of us do this same thing for big or small problems and nature has an uncanny way of providing answers for us. Way to go Backpacker for bringing such an amazing life to light for us to all glean some valuable life lessons. This just shows that people continue to touch lives even after they are gone.

Ben~