TOO MUCH THINKING

I have been doing a lot of "thinking" lately...

The latest thing I have been pondering is where all the places my feet have been in the last 20,456 days. Not only where they have been, but where they are going in the future. Tick Tock Tick Tock, the average human lives 27,375 days. As you can see, my summit clock is ticking!

Yes, I know, me "thinking "is a scary thought but it happens on occasion and the results of those thoughts are usually life altering! For instance, I once thought "I need to get out of town". The next thing I know, 20 years has past and I was retiring from the U.S. Navy. I thought "That girl is cute and fun to be around". Married to the same beautiful person for almost 33 years now. I was invited to a "Fitness Challenge" at work back in January. I thought about it. I do not like dieting, hate running and absolutely love my Maui Onion Potato chips. After thinking about it, I decided I would give it a shot. Three months later, I placed second out of over 30 individuals. I missed first place by 0.01 points. After thinking some more, I signed up for the next 90 day fitness challenge and now am using a personal trainer and arguably am in the best shape of my life (with the exception of Boot Camp). That whole "thinking thing"!

My feet have been in some fairly crazy places. My 20 years in the Navy put them in some exotic places, some dangerous places, and finally, some places where they really needed to be! After "retirement" from the Navy, those same feet decided to visit the very special places that God had set aside for my "mid-life crisis"as some would call it. It is only a mid-life crisis in the very unlikely event I live to be 112 years old! Anyway, these feet at the bottom of my legs randomly decided that VERY high places are the VERY BEST places! Mt. Whitney, Mt. Shasta, White Mountain and Mt. Langley just to name a few of the highest. These feet really like the top of the world. The walk up there...not so much!

Back to that "thinking thing" again. My feet were in agreement that I would most likely not see my 112th birthday. My eyes on the opposite end of where my feet live remind me on a daily basis in the ICU that the "Golden Years" are not always so "Golden". Not golden that is, unless someone spray paints a bedpan for you! So....The feet said to me "Mark, you have thought about "IT" long enough, time to move!"

ACONCAGUA!!!     The two appendages at the end of my legs have decided to go for broke! Go big or go home! They know they will never touch the top of Everest but they and me, have decided this is the next best thing. The tallest mountain outside of Asia, the tallest in the Western Hemisphere and THE HIGHEST non-technical mountain in the WORLD! The feet get giddy just thinking about it! The toenails, well, they have given up long ago! There will be a long training period but it will be over too soon and then it will be time to "fish or cut bait" in January 2017. A little over a year for my feet to convince the rest of the body that we are ready for the event of a life time. Plus it is going to take that long to get the wallet convinced too! LOL A little over a year to get my mind and body as right as my feet think they are.

So why the blog? The Navy, more so than anything else, instilled in me the need for the setting of goals and the practice of accountability. The goals are set. The public posting of my progress to my friends and family will greatly assist me in meeting those goals and being accountable. This venture will arguably be the most mentally and physically demanding event of my life. My Brain, soul and feet will need a lot of moral support in order to stand on that last rock at 22,837 feet! That last rock, the one on the top, just under the cross that has been placed on the summit is where the feet are headed.



The blog greatly assisted me when my feet decided to leave the couch a few years ago and climb the highest mountain in the lower 48 and I think some of you enjoyed watching the transition. This trip will be so much more difficult and the preparation more extensive. Join me in the pain, humor and struggles of getting to the top of the Americas! If the blog is not your thing, that is ok too, my feelings and feet will not be hurt. I have a fairly thick skin. If you do, if you desire to make the trek with me, then...Thank You so very much for the prayers, help, support and good thoughts.

LETS DO THIS!!!