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We h the brush and spy Lennon’s trail Much like the one we used to get here, it’s narrow and barely there It could even be confused as a deer trail, or some sort of animal path That makes me a little nervous, but Lennon assures me that it’s a real trail for real people And at least it’s ets to noon, the hotter it gets I was prepared for this; I strip off -sleeved T-shirt to reveal a short-sleeved one beneath It’s all about layers

After a half hour or so of hiking in silence, I feelalone with Lennon He’s intense and quiet, walking steadily alongsidethe distance And despite the zo his denih

"When did your zeal for ca start?" I ask

He pushes a dark slash of hair away froh soested the family trip to Death Valley It just clicked foron rocks?" My hip still hurts froht

"No, but that’s better with a bedroll beneath your bag," he says, reaching back to pat the rolled-up pad attached to the bottoht wilderness ca," he explains "You’re alone out here with your thoughts No stress or pressure No timetable You could read all day, if you wanted to Just set up your ca it allis provided for you School is scheduled, dinner is served You turn on the TV and everything’s progra happens unless I do itso real when I build a fire and cook over it Like, yeah, if the end of the world came, I could actually survive Most of the people at school would die in the wilderness after a week or two, struggling to stay war attacked by wild aniht," I admit "If you hadn’t told me, I would’ve run and probably ended up as bear dinner"

"Bear attacks aren’t common, but if you follow a few basic rules, you’re fine If you were aggressive to aher It’s basically just common sense"

"Still You knehat to do"

"The trick is avoiding theether," he says "But when you can’t, and the people you’re ca with are blockheads--"

"Not all of us," I say

"No," he agrees, a hint of a smile in the corners of his mouth "But when you can’t avoid animals, you just have to treat them as a real threat and respect that they have the upper hand"

Thatfires and outwitting bears?"

"I feel like I’ve acco that’s ured out how to make coffee out here, which is prettyin my eyes

"--and findme which way to turn I know first aid basics I kno to collect water if there’s no river in sight I kno to build a lean-to in the woods And that’s"

"Not nothing"

"Yeah," he says "It’s being a capable hu I think a lot of people have forgotten how to do"

"So you come out here to feel like a manly man," I say