Mile 236- Nervous and excited- midnight before flying to the Pacific Crest

Well,

It's Sunday night- we're 'a shippin' out to America's West Coast tomorrow morning. In Hebrew, the word for both excited and nervous is Mitragesh. In other words, in the Holy tongue, excited and nervous pretty much reflect the same mush of emotions. And the root of the word, Regesh, is the same as the word for "emotion" itself, basically signifying that nervousness and excitement basically reflect a big mush of emotion in its most general sense.

In any case, that's what we're feeling- a whole big mush of emotion. Three months on a trail is a darned long time. We've got new gear- ice axes, bear-proof cannisters, rain-pants and more to protect us from conditions that we're just not used to. We're scared, but really happy to be at this point- guess time will bring what it brings, space will place itself in front of us, and we'll hopefully be able to take it all and enjoy it at our slow, walking pace.

A word to add to the sustainable word list, that we have experienced and benefited from: vulnerable. If I leave myself closed and don't allow myself to be nourished by caring individuals around me- I just won't last. Sustainability is admitting fragility, harnessing the infinite powers around us because we know so well how prone we are to being finite.

In the last few weeks, we experienced vulnerability in allowing ourselves to be cared for- and we had truly special times with family, and appreciated family and all that it brings with it in the most dear way possible.

From arriving in Riverdale and being embraced and supported by loving parents, to having just a good, good time with true big siblings, Yannai's sister Ravi and her husband Avi, to a treasured week with Chana's grandparents and seeing and spending Shabbat and a day at gear shops and ice cream stores with Chana's dad, to a most pleasant evening with Chana's grandma, Nama, and finally, to sharing watermelon, burgers, beer, music and late nights with best friends - Michal in Pittsburgh, Elie, Steve, Robs, Yehuda and Naomi in New Jersey- we were re-aquainted with what it means to be taken care of- and the sustenance of that is boundless.
A few of you have requested some addresses to send things to us- so here are a few, with approximate arrival times:

Around June 20th-ish-
Chana and Yannai Kranzler
General Delivery
Independence, CA 93526

Two Weeks Later:
Chana and Yannai Kranzler
General Delivery
Tuolumne Meadows
Yosemite, California 95389

That should be good for now...

To family and friends back home- we miss you a ton.
To friends here in America- 'Ts been priceless to spend time with you here.
And to family we've seen and been cared for these last few weeks- Thank you. We love you dearly, have had our energy replenished by you and will be thinking of you as we walk.

Sincerely looking forward to hearing from you,

Much love,

Chana and Yannai