A Blistered Kind of Love: One Couple's Trail by Trail
By Angela and Duffy Ballard
2003

"The weather was clear and the skies were blue as we reached Lakeview Ridge. We turned slowly in a circle, admiring the views. To the north, the Cascades continued far into Canada - the crest unlike the trail, didn't end at the Canadian Border. CragglyThree Fools Peak rose from the south and more mountains loomed to the west, Reds, golds, and oranges painted the valley to our east." Duffy Ballard

The quote above is just another quote from the three books I've read in the past four months on the three major national hiking trails - the Appalachian Trail (AP), the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The quote sounds really quite remarkable as read. But imagine nearing the end of a 2500 mile journey by foot. Would what Duffy Ballard is describing here be remarkable or just another fantastic sight?

The three books have many common denominators including "trail magic," intense hunger, frustrationa dn delight. All three publications describe similar degrees of the same hazards and fears. Most importantly all four hikers that contributed to the pages describe something unexpected and fantastic, besides extreme weight loss - the transformation of their lives from their travails. Duffy Ballard writes "I, too have found patience on the trail, and perspective."

Patience and perspective. I am not sure if the average Joe or Josie has to walk 2500 miles to find patience and perspective, but these qualities tend to be missing in many lines, both rural and urban and everywhere in between.

Duffy and Angela found that the trail broght them closer together in love and in life. Maybe each and every budding loves should take to the trail to "make or break" their relationship. It is possible that the therapy for the individual is therapy for the couple. Trail life is companionship - a sort of seperate but equal, together but apart, reliance on a partner but individual at the same time.