The Cedar Cart Journey

We’ve traveled on foot about40 miles in 4 days, rain hampered our head way as has the often difficult terrain, fording hills, swollen and normal flowing creeks, dense forested areas while trying to avoid contact with any other beings short of animal. We avoid the open roads as often as possible albeit they may be preferable given their far easier traveling benefits in obvious ways. Often our emotions are overwhelming because of what happened and the shame of it all is, I somehow saw it coming, as if a terrible dream and could do nothing to stop it or avoid it. In some way my entire life has been in preparation for this and now that it has come to pass, my confidence in actually surviving a new beginning with family and friends in tow often sways prepared or not. There are the expected and obvious moments of shock, fear, doubt, sorrow, courage and at any given moment, an uplifting sense of hope, all the while knowing we have no choice except to press on to our destination, no matter how difficult or painful it will surely be. It would be prudent at this point to explain why we are afoot with bare essentials, heading south, from our homes, careful and very much willing and able to fight if we have to in completing this surprising and dreadful journey. My name is Gabriel 56, my wife’s name is Jessie 57 and my sons name is Evan 35. We, with my Brother in law Travis 55 and Mother in law Pearl 81, are a small group of beyond middle aged travelers facing odds we recognize as unlikely and this is our story.