Date: 2003-04-02
To: Right Brain ~ Left Brain... Again
Miles today: 0.0

~4/2: Wednesday/0730am:LB: ¢Ahhhhhhhh¢¦ geeezzzzz¢¦ there are voices coming from his office ¢ he¢s here.¢RB: ¢Okay, take a deep breath, look calm and look unconcerned. LB: ¢Yeah right. Easier said than done ya know.RB: ¢Oh shut up!¢Aloha: ¢Good morning Gentlemen.¢Gent #1: ¢Good morning Ann!¢Gent #2: As a smile ever so slowly begins to creep across his young face, he raises his head to look at me. ¢Good morning Ms Pfeil. How are you this morning?¢Aloha: ¢I¢m well thank you. How are YOU this morning?¢Gent #2: ¢I¢m well thank you.¢As we both look at each other with bemused grins, Gent #1, looking slightly confused at the unusal formality between two individuals that are normally discussing their addiction to reality television, stands making the decision that this is a perfect time to exit ¢¦ and does.The door closes behind him and my Grand Adventure Part II begins.************************************************************************For those of you that don¢t know, my Grand Adventure actually began 05 April 2001¢¦ and a grand adventure it turned out to be. Without going into all the details surrounding it, (you can find those at www.trailjournals.com/alohaann under 2001 journals) in summary, my adventure ended far too early. At approximately 758 miles I left the trail with what ended up being a busted right femur. Yepper, snapped the biggest bone in my body by walking from Georgia to southern Virginia across mountains. Too far, too fast, too furious. A stress fracture gone bad. I cried ¢ for a variety of reasons. After sitting for 3.5 months and physical therapy I returned to the trail hoping to make my way to Harper¢s Ferry since Mt. Katahdin was out of the question for the year. Three weeks later I left the trail once again, and for good, with a cracked right tibia.As much as I had hoped to return to the trail in 2002 to continue my Grand Adventure, it didn¢t happen. After a long discussion with my orthopedic I accepted a job offer from SAIC out of Washington DC. During the negotiation phase most all cards were placed on the table with the ace being that one day, in the not so distant future, I would return to the trail to complete my Grand Adventure. I even went so far as to attempt to negotiate time off shortly after my hiring. That of course was not part of the final agreement. With the medical recommendation to lay off long distance hiking for at least a year, I signed a one-year contract with the company. That contractual agreement has been fulfilled. It¢s been almost two years since I left the trail the first time and a year and a half since accepting the job with SAIC. The orthopedic, physical therapist and physical trainer have all blessed my return to the trail and I¢m ready to begin my Grand Adventure, Part II. The only step remaining was informing my employer.I work for an awesome employee-owned company ¢ Science Application International Corporation (SAIC) ¢¦ and people. I couldn't have asked for much more after returning to the "non-hiking" world. Understandably, SAIC is not thrilled about my decision, or timing, but does understand (as much as any non-long distance hiker can) my desire to complete my Grand Adventure. They are sympathetic to my cause if not all that enthused about it. Most importantly though, they have agreed to attempt to support me by approving my four month leave of absence request. That¢s an awesome company. With that said, I also accept the fact that though they¢ve granted this request, they do not actually have to hold my job. They can replace me while I¢m away with no notice. As they should, obligations to the customer come first. This is understood though and okay. It¢s a risk I¢m willing to take. As stated earlier, sometimes life¢s lessons are truly meant to be learned elsewhere and in other ways. And this is mine.So I¢m going to Katahdin. I¢m excited and nervous at the same time. It won¢t be the same as 2001 and that both excites and disapoints me. The friendships I made during my two months on the trail in 2001 were some of the most valued in my life. I will miss not having those folks out there with me. But this isn¢t about 2001, this is about 2003. My 2003 hike will hold new faces, friendships and adventures too. I have no doubts that the people I meet and the sights I see along the way during Part II will be as spectacular and awesome as those of 2001. How could they be anything other? The trail offers nothing less to anyone willing to look. Me? I¢m looking! Every step of the way -- I'm looking! So for now.... thank you SAIC. I look forward to seeing you upon my return.