Today I thought about senses a lot. I am grateful to have all the ones I have, even if some are diminishing with age. My eyes are allowing me to see such incredible sites. Besides the millions of flowers and absolutely awe inspiring saguaro cactus I see truly dark star skies at night and sunsets…

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So today was a really good lesson on hiking your own hike. In hiker lingo its referred to as HYOH. I started the day in pretty good spirits. Although my knees were bothering me, I was making good time. I thought certain people were behind me as I took a break at the first water…

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I’m currently sitting out a storm in a backcountry campsite in Saguaro National Park about eighty miles north of Patagonia. By the time I get to where I can post this I will be another fifty miles up the trail. After Patagonia, I hiked a few longer days, leapfrogging with a number of hikers. I…

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I laughed when I reached the age where doctors asked me if I had any falls recently. I always fall on my hikes but I don’t think those are the kind they mean. I had my first fall on the second day out and thought about how glad I was that I knew how to…

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Some people often tell me I’m running away from life by hiking. But I really think that this is about is real as it gets. Every day I walk with no distractions such as TV or computer. I can’t just pick up the phone and call someone, I can’t eat whatever I want to distract…

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Finally about three in the morning my headache dissipated. I got a little better sleep after that, but the sun is up here by about six and it’s dark by seven PM so I didn’t sleep for long. I wanted to get an early start to be able to reach the next water camp spot…

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