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Ending Alone

On our hikes we often meet hikers who look like they have been on the trial for a while. We are just doing the seven or ten mile root to keep from going stir-crazy, these folks are following their passion. It's inspiring to see and know it's possible to walk and entire coast of this country - just a matter of having time and stamina. Reading about this hiker who died alone in his tent and now cannot be identified makes for sad reading. 

Not having cellphone connection for the several hours we hike feels like a huge relief from the burden of being constantly plugged in. Now that J is away in college and living her own life, I feel blissfully untethered for those hours in the mountain. The rush of notifications, messages and emails that come when we are back on the road driving home is the reconnection to reality that is not so easy to escape. This man tried in a much more determined way and one can only wish he had lived to return to life as it real and complex as it is. 

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