Well, we had some bad news this morning. I don't know the full the story yet but Austin will not be coming with us next spring. Its unfortunate but we will continue on. John and I have been debating whether we will pick up another person or just go for it. I know that its still gonna be a great trip but I'm personally disappointed that Austin will not be coming.
There is a saying that I find applies to many instances, "Assume nothing. Plan for anything. Then plan some more" I think I found it in a North Face ad but either way it is good advice. So, following that advice I will now continue to plan for anything and then plan some more because I already assumed too much for this trip. I wish I had found that quote before planning my last big trip, it would have helped out alot. I guess that requires a story...
Well in '07 I planned a backpacking trip for a few friends and my boy scout troop. All told 13 people came on the trip and yes, 13 people came home. I learned alot from planning that trip. I learned that things don't just work out. If you want something to get done or accomplished then you have do them yourself. That was a hard concept for me to grasp. As a child its almost as if there is a clean up crew going around cleaning up after you. Well I'll tell you now that there isn't a clean up crew up in the Whites. On the last day I had planned what I thought would be a nice walk out to the parking lot. It turned out that the nice walk out that I had planned led us right thru a Ravine. Luckily, I was surrounded by smarter and more resourceful people then myself.
This trip to Scotland can't have any surprise Ravines because we won't be surrounded by people who care about each other. Although I know that John and I could get ourselves out of anything, I would prefer to not have to deal with it. As of right now, I'm pretty sure that I've spent more time planning this trip then I took planning my Eagle Scout project. Just around 35 hours. I know I have alot more left but I got it.
Another thought that has been rolling around my head lately is the thought that in life we need things like this trip to keep us going. I mean I'm sure that if I didnt have this trip to plan I would have found something else to do but would it be as fun? I think we need hopes and dreams to keep us moving, otherwise I think we just become weak and lazy. Maybe its just my personality but there is nothing better then planning a good trip like this one. It makes it that much more fun when you get to actually do it.
Catch ya on the flip side.
