Gummi worms and adventure travel
What does a silly pink and blue gummi worm have to do with adventure travel? Not much unless you believe in the magic that happens when your pace comes to a stop on a knee-grinding, mind-numbing, quad-stretching hike. That 's when you drop the backpack and revel in the fact that thank god it's over because you survived the "WTF am I doing here" trail to the mountaintop. I'm a believer in Gandhi's "There is more to life than increasing its speed." I even sold tee shirts with that logo to remind myself to relish the pain and sweat as I hauled a 40 pound pack up a mountain. I write that with a caveat. Sometimes it is the destination especially at the end of a grueling hike. The gummi worked every time. As my Venture West group of intrepid hikers sat in silence and sucked or chewed on those worms, we temporarily forgot throbbing muscles and aching feet. Instead we focused on the snow-covered peaks, the distant waterfall, the clear clean air, the smell of the white bark pines, and the soft breeze that dried our sweat. Strip the silly from the worm and what's left, one more way to honor the trail, the mountain, yourself.