The Denver terminal.

The adventure continues. Fatigue and solitude. Training my mind to function in this state.

I had to go back for water... VITAL

Not having water here will kill you!!!

From how I see it...

One more thing!

My child support haven't been paid.

The Inner City

The story continues. I'm downtown headed home. Don't get me wrong, I've just had a life experience. I came out here to find what I was afraid of. I found it. Solitude. I'm afraid of being cut off.
Back to Denver... the inner city... it's not unusual to see people sleeping in the street. It's very different here. 5280 feet above sea level... the city is a jungle of concrete. I'm here til 8:40. Time to pick up a camera! If I had a light weight camera with a huge battery, I'd be excited!! Any ideas??

I feel as though y'all missed something important

This is the way I wrote the events that took place in my own journal...

"I just waited out my first Colorado storm. I saw dark clouds on the western horizon as far as I could see. Felt my first rain drop, then pulled all my gear into the roadside restroom... less than 5 min and 100 drops later, the sun was shining. So much for a storm! :)
And then the real storm hit. High speed winds, dust storms, it hurts to walk outside. I'm currently (in my journal) shacked up inside the roadside restroom. No running water (water is vital to survival, I only had what I carried up), no electricity. Just a hole in the ground with a toilet seat. It sounds angry. About to cook dinner and try to get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow will be better. "

For the first time in my life, I actually knew what fear was. There was nobody else around. No cars going by, a days walk back to town. The sand was coming inside through the edge under the door. Suddenly, I realized, I was alone... I got scared. Terrified, to be completely honest. I've never known fear so I was scared of the fact that I, Mark David, was actually crying, alone, in the dark... alone...
After the events of that night followed by the elevation sickness, and weighing my pack finally (70 lbs), I'm rethinking my decision to attempt this journey. I still have yet to truly decide.

Limitations

I think sometimes in life the hardest thing to do is understand that the human body has limits. I got my first dose of elevation sickness today. Dizziness, confusion, swelling in my fingers, and the pins and needles feeling in my lower body. I'm not one to give up, but for the first time in a long time, I realize that I have physical limits. I know in my heart that I can make this journey. I'm not willing to permanently damage my body in the process. I don't yet know where I go from here but I know this is not the end of my journey and if nothing else, I'm away from the problems I've had for so long.

On the move again today!! Next stop, the northern end of Horsetooth Reservoir!!

Elk for lunch!!

As I was waking up this morning, I was stopped by the park rangers. They informed me that the site I had slept on last night was for RV's and that I'd have to pay for the night I'd stayed. He only charged me for a tent site but I decided I needed to get moving. I need to find some national forest. I then asked a married couple, Gail and Don, as they walked by if there was anyplace to camp on the northern end of the reservoir. They didn't know but then invited me to lunch before I left. I accepted. Gail had prepared organic noodles and vegetables with elk meat! It was amazing!! We got to talkin and they offered to let me share their site for the night so I could have a day to rest. I'm having an incredible day so far!!! Thank you so much Gail and Don!!

Cabins on Horsetooth Reservoir

May 1, 2012 Good morning!!

The sunset today! April 30, 2012

Live forever!!

Honestly, I think I've been so worried about where I'm going I forgot to look around. I am in this amazing place and I was stressed. Why?

The geese are sharing my camp site.

Headed out

Today, after saying my good byes to the Hendrickson family (thanks again for dinner), I set out from Boyd Lake and started heading north. I completed 15 miles that I had mapped out last night heading toward Horsetooth Reservoir. Not much to say but check out these landscapes!!! This is some of the most incredible places I could have ever hoped to pass through. I love my life!! There ain't no way to do it unless ya get in there and do it!!

Sense of pride

Loveland!

Ready to go!!

Its starting to feel like I've been in Loveland for too long. I'm ready to get moving. I'm at a stand still and it's not cool. Sitting for to long makes ya think too much. I'm ready to get moving.
Last night is probably the last time in going to drink for awhile. The people in the campsite next to me asked if I wanted one (6) along with all of the other people around us. All of a sudden we had a get together started. Good time, good people. The problem in my opinion is that the difference in elevation and the air being thinner up here lead to probably the worst hangover of my life!! Not a good morning. Great time last night tho!

Nostalgia

Sorry, tonight's going to be a short post. It's cold, it's windy, and my battery is about to die. I walked around my childhood hometown today and kinda want down memory lane. I saw the house I grew up in and walked to some of my old spots. Nostalgia! Gotta love it! Anyway, good night again and many blessings.

Good morning Boyd Lake!!

Roosevelt Park and Longs Peak

Morning transit, Afternoon enjoyment

Today I enjoyed the Denver bus system. I rode the bus from Westminster to Longmont where I ended up killing 4 hours before I could catch the next bus to Fort Collins to meet up with my grandfather, Harold. In Longmont, I spent most of the day in Roosevelt Park trying to adjust to the difference in altitude. Walk around the park, rest, repeat. I stopped in and had lunch followed by a cup of coffee at Caffe Luna. I then rode the rest of the way to Fort Collins and met with Harold.
   We stopped in at a place called Mugs(?) and got smoothies. Dinner was great!! We had Mongolian hibachi at HuHot!! Just for the record, I love hibachi!!
   Harold is amazing!!! When it comes to survival, he knows his stuff!! Just in the few hours we spent together I've learned a considerable amount about water treatment, differences in altitudes, upcoming terrain along my journey, and more. We went to REI ( recreational equipment incorporated) and looked into gear. We only got about 20 min before they closed but still very educational! Like I said, the man knows his stuff!!
    Tomorrow's going to be kind of relaxed. I'm heading into Loveland, CO to spend the day walking around my childhood hometown. I'm really excited!!! Then Harold and I are planning on meeting back up Saturday for some training. I'm so excited!!!
    Currently, I'm laying in my tent at Boyd Lake, praying that it's not going to leak water on my head lol!! So far, so good though. Which that means, good night everyone. Many blessings.

Pictures of Day 1