Date: 2006-03-13
To: Cities vs. Summits
Miles today: 0.0

I¢ve forgotten how crowded New York City is. After a ten year hiatus (maybe hiatus is the wrong word?)¢¦ Escape, from living there in 1996 I went to visit a dear friend to give him a signed copy of my book. Why on this God¢s green Earth are there so many who want to live on top of one another? It has to be one of the great questions of the century. Of course, I¢m sure they¢re asking the same question as to why anyone would want to thru-hike the AT? I believe only Hong Kong could out do NYC for density of everything. It is energetic and a dazzling place in small amounts. For those of you who¢ve never experienced The Big Apple, let me say that everything, mostly, is on a level of 10. The energy is a 10. The people watching and competitiveness is a 10. Restaurants and food a 10. The square footage allowed per person is a 10 (inches that is). How in the heck did I live there for sixteen years? The career possibilities were a 10.Obviously it caused damage to this suburb-boy, no wonder I hike the trail now as therapy. Sure beats $250 an hour on a couch.I recently spoke of the walls we erect around ourselves as protection, never are they more needed for those living in the Capital of Sensory Assault. An amazing place to be certain, but whoa, concrete and asphalt cubes labeled as ¢parks¢ is not in line with my ideals. But God bless¢em, those who tackle the hum and roar of NYNY. They are drawn to its frenetic texture and become masters at finding pleasure in their ten inches. It¢s a far cry from lazing an hour away on a summit above treeline where you have a front row center seat to infinity. ¢The City¢ is indeed a grand place, but grandeur escapes it. And grandeur only gets dialed up a notch by unbridled, carefree, never look at your watch freedom. Lot¢s of that out on the Appalachian Trail.There¢s the saying ¢You don¢t know what you're missing.¢ sort of describes that which happens out of default when living in a city or the suburbs. Don¢t let me lead you to think I figured all this out first and then made for higher, greener grounds. No, just dumb luck actually. I remember when living in the city the mindset was to be in front of the other guy (or girl). It¢s a quality that gets confused with not being friendly. New Yorkers are wonderful, once you chisel their defenses away. There was a joke when I moved there: A tourist asks, ¢Can you tell me the way to Lincoln Center or should I go fu_k myself again?¢ It¢s all part of the toughness they love to flaunt.I walked across Central Park after lunch with my two friends; it was as packed as a five-person shelter with twenty-six hikers in it. And yet, incredibly, smiles were everywhere. Good for them. Having had a taste of both cities and summits, there¢s no contest for this writer. Hundred mile limitless vistas beat ten inches every time. But all things have there time though, don¢t they? If it wasn¢t for all those trapped city dwellers, Bill Bryson¢s ¢A walk in the woods.¢ might not have made the New York Times Best Sellers list. That¢s exactly the reason I titled my book what I did, non-hikers need escape maybe all the more. Everyone needs adventure in his or her life to some degree. Whether on foot or through the word of a good page-turner, adventure fuels us. Zest, Juice, whatever words you chose, it¢s good to leap out of our 10 inches ever so often. It¢s one of the only ways to awaken what sleeps within us.The illustration is for all my city dwelling friends.¢¦Just three more weeks till I leap.