"I have tried autobiography and found that I'm not to be trusted with it. I hate the restrictiveness of the facts; I can't control my impulse to rearrange, suppress, add, heighten, invent, and improve. Accuracy means less to me that suggestiveness, my memory is as much an inventor as a recorder..."Wallace StegnerThese postings describe events that happened months ago. And since an accurate rehashing of my actual adventures would be as dreary as yesterday's weather, I've taken many liberties: an embellishment here, and invention there — all while trying to remain faithful to my journey to and through the hiker culture.
Take it from me, you can only get so far on imagination. It's those up ahead on the trail, braving the elements, testing their mettle, exposing their humanity, with the real adventures. From this distance I wonder where the trail leads when adventure is no longer a diversion.