that time of year again - want to quit work and go hiking

[bluebooger]

currently
65 F -- 20 C

Scattered Clouds -- (says the weather report, but my office window shows clear blue skies as far as I can see)
Precipitation: 10%
Humidity: 35%
Wind: 3 mph -- 5 km/h

and here I am stuck at a desk for 8 hours
every day
under fluorescent lights
staring at a computer monitor

I wish I had a job where I could hike every day -- the desert, the forest, marshes, fields, mountains
collect water samples, rocks, take gas readings from volcanoes

every year at this time its the same thing
beautiful fresh air, clear blue skies, cool temperatures
I do not want to be at this desk

if I won the lottery, I'd quit work tomorrow, jump on a plane to Nepal, Western China, midwest and west united states, and just start walking
then head to New Zealand, Australia, Argentina / Chile, Peru, Belize

no fancy hotels, just hostels, lean to's

I went to Beijing for 2 weeks about 10 years ago
stayed with a friend who was teaching english there
I'd get up in the morning and just walk
no plan, no destination, no idea, no clue
see a bus ? hop on
ride for 10-15 minutes then get off and walk, explore
see a subway entrance ?
get on
got for 3 or 4 stops then get off and walk, explore

any idea where I was or where I was going ? not a clue

get hungry, go into a dumpy mom & pop restaurant and point at a picture
no pictures ?
then just point at a random line on the menu

best vacation ever

wish I could do that for the next 6 months
ha, wish I could do that forever

send me to the Australian outback and tell me to collect dirt samples every mile
I'd walk from one end to the other and be ecstatic

I want more than a vacation
I want outta here

[Photog]

A few years ago I did the Laugavegurinn in Iceland, solo, it is one of the greatest things I have ever done, it is an amazing hike. I was also lucky enough to be able to do Fimmvorduhals route, crossing through two glaciers, I believe it is very dangerous now because of the eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull, altogether a total of around 90km carrying 20kg. I rested a few days at Skogarfoss after that, then set off to Skaftafell and spent a week hiking trails, including Kristínartindar, Morsarjokull, and Kjos. Then travelled to the Westmann Islands to relax and enjoy some hotel time after living in a tent for two weeks, then to Reykjavik and stayed there for a week.

If you are an outdoors type, Iceland should be high up on your list, it is an incredible place, you can get lost for days.

After that I couldn't stand the day job anymore, so the following year I sold everything, put on a backpack and travelled about Central America for a while (turned into nearly 3 years actually) I also travelled along the south of United States for a few months. I am now in South East Asia, been here over 3 years, probably after I finish this degree, I will be off again for one last jaunt before settling down properly with my wife.