REI Thru-Hiker's Class.

REI thru-hikers class. Left work early feeling shitty and almost melancholy, and barely went to the REI thing.

(EDIT 1/19/2014 - But, I did go to that class. I sat with other people who were planning to walk a long distance. I've already ridden some bicycles pretty far, and driven around in a van. I know what it's like to be dirty and hungry and lonely. I know what it's like to come home after that sort of rompabout. I know what it's like to forget what being hungry and lonely feels like. Right when you forget is when you start to romanticize it anew, and that is when you make plans to subject yourself to a new round of adventure. I already did this a few times.

Some people at the REI class are desperate for their first taste. I hope they get their adventure, and I hope it helps. I no longer feel a nervous intimidation. I am not - at this point - desperately seeking information printed on the inside of another person's cranium. One young man here is. He is trying to read the inside of my skull, and all I can do is hope that he finds what he needs. His plan is to walk the Appalachian Trail from north to south alone. Even in a group, that is a tall order. Alone - the odds are stacked. As a first adventure, and with the prospective adventurer seeking brotherhood from my sorry carcass here - at this meeting - makes me doubt his success. I want him to succeed, but I can't say I even expect that from myself. This is all okay for me, but I want better for him. He needs to get dirty and talk to other weirdos who ask all the big questions.)