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I recently read Wild by Cheryl Strayed. If you haven't read it, it's a non-fiction account of a woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail by herself after her mother died. It was a transformative experience for her and came at a time when she really needed one. In the book she says that she was standing in line at an REI store and picked up a book on the Pacific Crest Trail and started thumbing through it. Something about the book stayed with her and she later went back and bought it and after reading it, decided to make the hike herself.
I was curious if anyone else has had the same sort of experience. I haven't made as big of a decision as Strayed did based on a book, but I have taken much lesser trips to see something, or learn about something that I've read about in a book.
As I was thinking about this, I remembered that the seed for me to move back to my hometown was planted when I listened to a song on a video once. I was living several hours from the coast and this song made me want to move back close to the water.
I really enjoyed Wild. It definitely got me thinking and planning. When I was little, My Side of the Mountain made me want to live on my own in the woods and live off the land. I remember after reading that book, I looked for everything I could find on survival, hunting, camping, living off the land. That's what led me to the Foxfire series.
Reading opened my eyes to the world - places like Paris and London and Rome and instilled in me the desire to see those places for myself, which I have. It also opened my eyes to the fact that people elsewhere can have very different views of the world and made me examine my own views more closely, trying to decide which were worth keeping. I decided that just because some views are culturally based doesn't automatically mean it is necessary to throw them out but it's best to be self-aware enough to know what they are.
But in terms of an actual adventure, I have long contemplated riding across Canada on horseback. I'm not 100% ruling it out, but I am older, creakier, and more cautious than I used to be. I still think that with the right person as a riding partner, it is something that I might do one day. Perhaps not across the entire country, but a long ride. There is a Long Riders Guild of people who have actually gone on really, really long horseback rides. The Long Riders' Guild
There was a woman who rode across Canada in 1949, not realising just how huge the country is, or what sort of undertaking it was. I am amazed at her. And here is a link to her story: https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Rising-B...he+rising+wind
When I was in college I read "The Peter Principle" and decided that when I was in a job I liked, I would resist the promotions to stay where I was. When I worked as a draftsman, my supervisor insisted that I had to aspire to be a technician which was the next step up, and wrote that on my evaluation, in spite of my insisting that I was content to stay where I was.
Reading opened my eyes to the world - places like Paris and London and Rome and instilled in me the desire to see those places for myself, which I have. It also opened my eyes to the fact that people elsewhere can have very different views of the world and made me examine my own views more closely, trying to decide which were worth keeping. I decided that just because some views are culturally based doesn't automatically mean it is necessary to throw them out but it's best to be self-aware enough to know what they are.
But in terms of an actual adventure, I have long contemplated riding across Canada on horseback. I'm not 100% ruling it out, but I am older, creakier, and more cautious than I used to be. I still think that with the right person as a riding partner, it is something that I might do one day. Perhaps not across the entire country, but a long ride. There is a Long Riders Guild of people who have actually gone on really, really long horseback rides. The Long Riders' Guild
There was a woman who rode across Canada in 1949, not realising just how huge the country is, or what sort of undertaking it was. I am amazed at her. And here is a link to her story: https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Rising-B...he+rising+wind
At one time the local PBS radio station had a program called "Reading Aloud" and I was able to listen as I drove home from work. I heard several good books and eventually read the play "Equus". Another book I was able to listen to part of was "Miles from Nowhere" about a couple who bicycled around the world and told of several of their adventures. I didn't get to read the book but some friends who were into bicycling read it and said how good it was.
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