Lessons Learned + Motivation

Lessons Learned
1 - Somedays you gotta walk in the rain
2 - The best method for going uphill: no matter how slow, don't stop till the top!
3 - Inevitably by day 2, your default thoughts will be about food.
4 - Your boots will dry... eventually
5 - The way to cure anything on the trail, "Walk it off."
6 - NEVER turn down food
7 - The trail, like life is all about people and relationships - without them, the meaning is less
8 - HYOH - Hike Your Own Hike - its for you, not for anyone else
9 - Nothing (nobody) is perfect, yet its just the way it was meant to be
10 - The trail doesn't give you what you want, it gives you exactly what you need
11 - smelling bad is all relative
12 - In berry picking, as in life, it's all about PERSPECTIVE

My Motivation
campfire's at night.instant mashed potatoes.meaningful conversations.wild blueberries.rattlesnakes.night hiking.milkyways.showers.lightning storms.trail magic.frogs.waterfalls.trashcans.flush toilets.sunsets.crocs.popping blisters.sunburn.fording rivers.tenting.marshmallows.boy scout troops.bug bites.sweat.trail logs.double blazes.road crossings.sweet springs.striped fawns.newts.the breeze.taking off your boots.privys.headlamps.ripped shoes.white clouds.grassy balds.smelly socks.neat trailnames.new friends.pine trees.trail mix.shooting stars.pizza for breakfast.maildrops.black bears.feral ponies.flat terrain.man calves.dry clothes.rainy days.calvin & hobbes in the shelters.suspended bridges.drink mix.OCP's.decisions on the fly.unexpected food.owl calls.big rocks.blackberries.peanutbutter.hanging bear bags.flossing teeth.time alone.crickets chirping.treetop pictures.dirty hands and feet.cold nights.city lights.random cravings.singing as you hike.random questions.sitting down.and so much more.

The sunset from Stony Man Cliffs