Began spending a lifetime in the wilderness, since my parents first let me leave the house without limits. Maybe 8-10 years old. However, there was one parent-imposed limit in the early years — NEVER cross the road. The road is Route 116 that runs past our subdivision to Spring Grove.
Early on i was mostly a lone explorer.
But i read everything i could about plants, animals, and wilderness-danger preparation and avoidance.
Fast forward to today, add on 400 days of hiking inside Glacier National Park (GNP).
No one recommends solo hiking inside GNP. However, several years i was there alone.
Hiking like i mean it. Alone. In the wild. No cell signal. No people. Late season as Grizzly Bears engage in hyperphasia.
Steep cliffs. Unpredictable weather. With just a “kiddie” day pack for essentials. A kiddie daypack offers better comfort, but also less room for essentials. The ultimate test for “only carrying what is absolutely necessary”.
Then the rest comes down to this, trust yourself, your experience, your knowledge, your abilities, your preparedness.
Insight worth noting: You prepare for worst case scenario. Because if it happens and you planned intentionally, you can manage through adversity. If caught without an essential, you could die.
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This website is about our HOME. This is the fifth of five daily, differently-themed blog posts about: (1) mind, (2) body, (3) spirit, (4) work, (5) home. To return to Mid Life Celebration, the site about MIND, click here.
