My senior project has advanced a tad bit since my last update. I finally found a mentor the last day before my mentor interview was due. He is a really nice and cool guy who owns the Napa Valley Adventure Tours company. He has been a hiking guide for the past 15 years and has hiked places I could only imagine. I went to the Napa Library a couple of weeks ago and got a stack of books on all different types of hiking trails. From these books I was thinking about going into the Redwoods in the John Muir trail, but after talking to a few people I was advised not to do that. Talking to my mentor he suggested the Panorama Trail in Yosemite. This trail is 8 miles long and would take two days. We would camp out for one night, which is one thing I was really wanting in my final hike for this project. It is supposed to be fairly strenuous and very beautiful. I have been hiking at Westwood and plan to go up valley this thanksgiving break and find some hikes, possibly at Bothe State park.
For my research paper I will write about how hiking affects the mind, body, and soul. I will be interviewing avid hikers such as my mentor, my stepmom, friends, and family friends. When I hike it is as if everything is left behind and just for a small moment I am free. I know that sounds cheesy but it is true. Hiking gives me a feeling I have never felt with any activity I have done before. I recently went on my first solo hike in westwood hills, I was having an awful day and decided to relax and figure out somethings in life. I went on about an hour hike, although I was not hiking the whole time. I stopped at the top of a hill and sat on a tree stump just gazing out at the rolling hills. This is one of the most relaxing feelings I have felt in a long time. I am excited to start my senior project more over thanksgiving break and winter break when I go to Hawaii. I'm glad I finally decided on something I love to do.
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