Dangerous Reads

I'm almost done reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and it is simply fascinating.  If you are unfamiliar with the story, here is a short synopsis:

Some kid from an affluent family had wanderlust and decides he is going to forgo all the luxuries in life, such as money, a car, stored food and showering, to become one with nature only to meet his demise in the Alaskan wilderness.  The author knits in other stories about different young men who have embarked on the same type of excursion with the same morbid end.

Basically, the book is showing how all of the individuals mentioned had noble motives for retreating from American society but how the obsession with solitude and living off the land drove them to reckless behavior or suicide.  They probably went insane because of the lack of company and lack of vital nutrients for their their brains.  One would think this is the kind of story that would discourage anyone from wanting to do anything nature involved and decide to stay within the concrete jungle or the safety of suburbia.  It doesn't.

The inherent flaw in each of the characters in the book is that they were all stupid about how they did everything.  Kind of like how Ross and I almost killed ourselves hiking to Leigh Lake.  We grossly misjudged how long the hike was going to be, how out of shape we were and how high the temperature would rise.  That being said, it was a moderate climb until we reached what seemed like the end of the trail, a broken rock face, and then the rest of the trail farther ahead.  Ross and I climbed the rock face, like idiots and made it across safely, albeit a little shaken.  Once coming back, we noticed that the trail actually turned  to an easier path, avoiding the dangerous climb.  Well, upon inspection, we noticed that had one of us slipped, we would have surely died since the fall seemed to have no end.  Then Ross almost got killed by a mountain goat.  But I digress.

This being said, as long as we avoid stupid things like this, we'll be all set.  We can take on the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness with ease.  I have been jogging two miles and walking three miles every day to get my stamina up.  By the end of the summer I hope to be jogging the full five miles without a problem.  I will conquer those mountains!  I'll try not to stay there forever and be all crazy and stinky with a long, scruffy beard.  Because, you know, all wildlife still freaks me out, and stuff.