I am a life long adventurer. Hopped thousands of miles on freight trains in the boxcar days of the ‘70s, spent a calendar year hitchhiking around North America in 1980 and since then have driven into the ground more than a dozen vehicles as I worked and rubber tramped my way around the western states and provinces.
Having learned how to convert heavyweight gear into lightweight gear on these adventures, I was able to easily transition into formal wilderness backpacking and now have some 11,000 miles of mountain hiking under my feet. Have thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail twice in back to back years and the Continental Divide Trail once.
As you might expect, I have had a lot of time to figure out how to live well under a wide range of difficult conditions and have basically come to the conclusion that a lightweight backpack will get me through almost any situation that a crumbling empire can generate.
Without the help of many people, often total strangers, during these adventures I would have never succeeded. The only way to handle a debt like this is to pay it forward as the occasion allows.