Next Steps

Now that my little 800-mile hike through Arizona is over, I get to move on to other things. I plan to take a couple weeks to mostly rest up and ensure my leg is ok - probably need to see a doctor about that when I get home. Here's my list of things to do over the next few months:

• Present my story at District Roundtable. Show my gear and some pics and then answer questions from other Scouters. Hopefully I'll get them thinking about lighter weight backpacking possibilities with their scouts.
• Present Red Cross training. I've got a backlog of Scouters needing certification so they can go to Philmont, Seabase, and Northern Tier. Since I've been gone 7 weeks, I'm adding a couple more training sessions to make sure everyone gets training that needs it.
• Write my first book. This is the big one. I plan to write a handful of short stories from the trail for children. They will demonstrate human/nature interaction and include discussion outlines so teachers can use them for nature lessons. I'm very excited about this and look forward to working with my niece to make it a reality.
• Rest, then keep hiking. I have to make sure my legs are whole and secure and then I can start back up walking each day to keep in shape. I'd hate to just sit and eat and lose my fairly good heart/lung/leg development I received from walking every day for the past couple months.
• Let the local papers and TV know what I did. They might be interested in a short story. I'd also use that exposure to promote the ScoutStrong program a bit more.
• Catch up on my hundreds of emails that have accumulated while I was on the trail.

So, I won't be bored. :-)
Scout On