Aside from the silly crush I developed on the weekend, I did learn a lot about keeping safe and healthy while backpacking in the back country:

From a great way to cinch up my backpack hip belt, and tie my boot laces with different tensions over the foot and on the ankle, to how to hang food and keep it from bears, set up a tarp as an emergency shelter or cooking shelter, how to keep my feet in good shape (tend to possible blisters before they happen) how to pack the load in my backpack so the weight is effectively distributed, timing of breaks on the trail, keeping hydrated, outdoor bathroom etiquette, where to pitch your tent in relation to your cooking area and water source and bathroom, what to do if you lose the trail or lose a person in your party, how to deal with surprising a bear on the trail and all sorts of other things.

I've already signed up for a navigation course (one day) and a wilderness survival course (overnight) with the same school - I was thoroughly impressed with the quality and enthusiasm level of the instruction.

Another long day at the office.... this one offset by Pho goodness for dinner... albeit not with the crowd I was truly wanting to eat with. Tomorrow I come straight home so I can do laundry. Wow. What an exciting life. At least by doing laundry I'm being true to myself. Yeah.

Thought about the instructor again on and off today. Fantasies ruling my brain. I'm slowly coming out of the daze... I find if I keep telling myself what I'm working towards and focus on that instead I can function normally... or as close to it as I ever get. What do I want? My. Own. Home. Mine. All. Mine. After I do that, we'll see what comes in the way of loving relationships. I'll join that mountain/hiking club for the experience and for ME and that's all there is to it.

Work was rough today. Too busy, too many people missing and too many calls to get much sense of resolution. Add in the factor of me drifting into a dream world and it made for one strangely surreal and irritating day.

The dreamworld I've let myself slip into involves having a huge crush on the instructor that took us out this weekend. I'm too old for crushes, and yet I have one. I'll never act on it, but my oh my do I ever drift off aimlessly into thoughts of what it would have been like to sneak into his tent on Saturday night! I found him attractive for a number of reasons: British accent, excellent teacher with nearly as much enthusiasm for teaching as he had for the outdorrs (TONS), knowledgeable about backcountry travel, safety and camping, lithe, lean body, great sense of humour, smiling eyes, believes in low-impact camping, and at the end of the trip I got an amazing hug from him. Good hugs say a lot about a person. I keep thinking about him and it's just WRONG. Why? Well... because I'm using this made-up feeling as a band-aid for my recent breakup... and... he's married. He doesn't wear a ring, but that's probably because he's a rock climber.. he only mentioned his wife once.. and that was at the pre-trip meeting.

Still... I did enjoy hiking behind him... nice view. ;-)

I'm not ready for a real relationship yet... but I shouldn't let myself drift off into dreamland and ignore the reality of healing and growth that I truly need. I will, however, join a backcountry hiking/camping club and see if I can meet more like-minded people.

I had such a fantastic time... not only because of the fun of the crush, but I learned tons about hiking, making and breaking camp, cooking outdoors, staying safe in bear country and a whole host of other things. I'll write up some tips and tricks that I learned on the trip and make up some kind of web page... one day. ;-)

For now it's time to go take my sweet doggie for a walk.

Home safe! Had an awesome time learning tons from an excellent instructor. Simon rocked. The trip rocked. Now it's time for a hot soaky bath and some sleep. I'll fill you all in tomorrow.