Here's a semi-famous quote from Edward Abbey: "…So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards." I'd often had similar thoughts before I ever read this quote. People ask me, "Isn't rock climbing dangerous?" and "Aren't you afraid to go hiking by yourself?" My response is always the same: I'd rather die young living my life