What follows is my interview with Jon Arnow:

Fast forward to 2010 when Jon completed the165 mile Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) with the aid of Side Stix forearm crutches. He said his TRT adventure formed a sense of accomplishment that casts a wide and brilliant light shadowing all previous accomplishments. Really Jon?

Read Part 1 here.

Jon Arnow (JA): My first task returning from Craig was to unpack my Huate Route gear. I thought the injury took away the thing that meant the most to me, other then my family, my ability to go explore special places, outdoors.

Candace Cable (CC): You thought that you would never be able to ski or climb again?

JA: Yes, at the level I was doing these activities. One thought that comes to mind when I'm on the trail is that I find very interesting is, that prior to my injury I wouldn't have walked the trail, I would have run the trail or Mt biked the trail... Moving much, much faster.   I'm fairly convinced that with all that has happened to me, there's a richness of moving slightly slower through the terrain and I see more. I'm still out there 4 to 10 hours. I'm getting more out of it, I am certainly gaining value from the sunrises and sunsets and I'm drawn to the trees more now then when I was moving through it at a much faster pace. I focused on the end result "I've got to get it done" prior to the injury. I am now present and have a greater appreciation for the little things. I see so much more, now. Maybe I'm a person that it took this injury to slow me down, there's something good said about it.

CC: When you were first injured and grasping for what was and trying to bring what was back how did you make peace with the huge feelings of loss that accompanies SCI? How did you get back to the self, the person, not the physical part but the essence of who you are and not drown in bitterness and grief?

JA: It is a big wound that has layers and layers, like peeling an onion. The layers must be peeled back to expose the pain and this takes time. This can take years. Initially it was difficult for me to see people bicycling. The person I was physically is gone in one sense, how I used to be. I can't reach back for something that was. The biggest loss is all in the physical part of our selves. Where the art of living comes in, is setting aside that person that I was and seeking to achieve things just outside of my grasp, these will turn out to be meaningful or more meaningful. It took me 8 years of seeking and adapting. I was lucky I went to Craig Hospital for my rehabilitation and that I was introduced to wonderful generous people, my peers, which were living their lives, fully. I immersed my self into Para Sports and this helped me get back to some semblance of being an athlete. (side note: Jon jumped into mono skiing and didn't miss a season of skiing from age 26-54).

CC: Do you think we take the passion for what we had, physically, and adapt it? Is it still fulfilling?

JA: Yes, that is what happens. My lower limbs are injured and I'm weak in my legs but my heart and soul are unchanged and they get stronger and that's what propels you to continue to push the edges. The heart and soul are who you are and that can't be taken away. My spirit is the same spirit prior to the physical injury and I'm still morning the loss of what I used to do but everyday it does get a little easier. I find that the spirit that drives me to walk the TRT that's the same me that was there prior to the injury.

CC: What do you do when the pain gets so intense, what helps you get through to the other side of the pain? I am talking about both pains here, emotional/physical.

JA: I always look forward to the dawn, the next day, and the hope that comes with that new day. I find the pain tends to be worse in the evening. After a night sleep, the pain seems to reset at a lower level and my enthusiasm for life is restored. Activity helps, the looking forward to the next day with and the hope of great adventure. Even though I did leave Craig capable of walking, walking was very painful. It was more of a party trick, rather then something that was functional; I could walk maybe a 100 yards, so I could use it for quick errands. It was absolutely never going to happen that I was going to walk, never ever was it in my realm of possibility that I was ever going to be able to do that again, to hike, to get off a road. I was barely functional to get myself from the car to the office. My wife encouraged me to have a spine surgery that brought me more mobility and I began to push my edge by building my endurance, walking one block at a time. It was all I could do and I was completely gassed. It's training one step at a time.

CC: What would you say to someone newly injured if they were active and passionate about being outdoors? How would they keep their passion alive?
JA: They need to keep the dream alive and know that it might come in another form. It's going to be a rocky road and you're going to have to go through the grief of loosing who you thought you were, but there is life on the other side. There's ways to embrace the outdoors, get in to the wilderness and take a break when you need to, don't give up. Be open to the experience your in right now. It took hard work, passion and technology to complete the TRT.
Watch Jon on the TRT.

Blessings to all, In Joy! Candace

I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center. - Kurt Vonnegut

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