Hi, > In many ways I'm a shipwreck of a once seaworthy vessel, if that makes sense. Too many problems to list, any one of them solvable, but all together sometimes they feel insurmountable. It seems to me that the above is the best reason you have to redo this walk again. A journey you completed as a young person, which in hind sight you did not have great odds of completing successfully. But as that young person, you just did it because you probably didn't feel as though you had much choice. You just did it because you had to. And you did it. > I don't know if my cancer will recur. And I shudder at the idea of wasting 2 months away from my family if that's a biggish chunk of my time. Obviously you'll want a health checkup before undertaking this. Maybe, as you mentioned, all of this walking is a healthy thing to do. What if this journey extends your life? It might not. Maybe, as you say, it might result in a little less time with your family. Noone will every know. > 1) Do you think it's just outright crazy ? None of what I'm saying makes sense and you would urge me to not consider this at all ? Or does it sound like a wild, but ultimately not crazy idea (tribal and indigenous cultures wind that 'walkabout' instinct into religion and philosophy - not just the health and cleansing benefits). What do you think ? At the risk of getting in trouble for encouraging you to do something like this (Hi @Katekat!!) , I'd offer you my guarded encouragement. I shout "Hell yeah!" with a triumphant first pump. I think that the health and psychological benefits outweigh the risks. I would encourage you to train first though before you just take off. I have no idea of your lifestyle, but I wouldn't advise attempting this without work getting your body ready. Quick story. My 40 year old body doesn't handle the pounding of my feet on the concrete when I go running, as well as my 30 year old body did. I manage that by getting the right shoes, investing time on correcting my running technique/gait. Moral - manage the risks to your body. You'll need to be conscious of this. As you say, you're 48 now, not 16 🙂 > 2) I was thinking to just quietly do it. Keep in touch with the family daily (if I can find a power outlet to charge up a phone), but it occurs to me I might be able to raise some money for cancer research if I did it a bit more theatrically - updated my position and progress in an online journal or something. When I was in treatment, my heart broke when I saw kids getting chemoradiation, if I could raise some real money for cancer research (especially if there are entities that focus on paediatric cancer/care), that'd be some kind of legacy I guess, if I don't survive my own cancer, at least I did something useful before the end. What do you reckon ? Would people even care to check it out, maybe sponsor a dollar for every mile walked or something ? Either way is fine. Doing it quietly by yourself or tracking it via posts or video, It's entirely up to you. Both are just as valid. If you did an online journal and/or video updates, this would be an amazing legacy for your children and family. Any time lost with your family I think would be more than made up for by documenting your journey and sharing this with them. Maybe you could increase awareness (and money) by getting people to do part of the walk with you. Ah hell, I'd walk a leg of that journey with you. Perhaps your family would join you too for part of the journey? Sounds like a win/win situation dude. Be physically prepared, manage the risks and just do it.
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