Eyeglasses

In my freshman year of college, I went with a group of buddies to North Texas where we camped out under the stars. My mother used to say that if you looked at the sun too long it would burn a hole in your eyes. She never warned me about looking at the stars. But on that night in Texas, the effect was similar. It burned a hole in my soul. For over 40 I have longed to satisfy the yearning in me to see the sky like that once again – the stars spread out beyond me, inaccessible, incomprehensible, unattainable except for the impossible filament of light connecting me to them.

My eyes changed in my sophomore year of college, and I never again saw the sky with the same clarity. On several occasions I have tried to recreate that evening, but with no luck. Dust in the sky, clouds or terrestrial light have prevented it. This hike might be my last chance to make this dream a reality.

For my PCT hike, I have bought new glasses to enhance my visual experience. Three things were important:

• an accurate prescription
• a field-of-view optimized for distance viewing
• lenses that darkened in the sun

Although my prescription has not changed in 30 years, my glasses work well especially dead in the center of the lens where I can really see things sharply.

I got the largest frames available at the store. I did not want frames obscuring the edges of my field of view. I also decided for the first time to go back to bifocals. Progressives are nice, but I did not want to be constantly adjusting my head to get to the sweet spot in the lens. I narrowed the lower part of the lens. (I am near-sighted: I can see things close up, so the bottom part of my lens is simply clear glass). So except for a small area at the bottom of the lens, by lenses are optimized for the horizon (to infinity and beyond!)

A lens that darkens in the sun allows me to leave my sunglasses at home (saving weight and space in pack).

In the years since my Texas experience, I have wondered what it is that I really hope to find in the sky. In the end, I believe it is more than just the view. It is what the view confirms.

Despite what we might think about our place in the cosmos, we are not the center of it all. My goal on this hike is not to “possess” the views as one might collect art. My goal is to be possessed, in the same way that the sea possesses the swimmer. On this hike, I am offering myself to the cosmos. The fact that the cosmos is largely indifferent does not diminish my desire to abandon myself to it. It may be silly, but I hope having the right glasses might help me understand this better.

Blah, blah, blah. Let’s get this show on the road!

chickenflea