After joining a hiking club in my area, I heard about an adventure quest they are planning for this summer where they want to back pack deep in the mountains in New Mexico. This is a week long trip, door to door, so it may be pretty rigorous. They are bringing along two pack horses for the heaviest things, like water and canned foods. It sounds really interesting, and I know the mountains of New Mexico are stunningly beautiful and rugged. Last summer I followed their weather, and they had afternoon thunderstorms daily, so that could add a challenge to this hiking adventure quest, as we dodge lightening bolts in the heart of the Bandelier wilderness area, just outside of Los Alamos.

Backpacking is one way to learn self-reliance, and I've been doing it for years. It builds physical strength, obviously, but it also builds abilities to meet many life challenges head on because when you're 20 miles from the nearest sign of civilization, all you have is yourself to rely on, and coming back from a successful adventure quest like backpacking is a thrilling experience.