live the adventure!

I have been thinking a lot lately about the power that travel has to make us confront our fears, take risks and reach out beyond ourselves. For me, this is a vital element to what I call “responsible travel”—that we are each responsible for being active participants in the lessons that travel presents, to push ourselves to be challenged and be open to change. If we can do this, the results are amazing and transformative.

My friend and co-worker Chris Mackay just shared a great story with me that reflects this, and she invited me in turn to share it with you:

“Last month I had the most amazing encounter with a man I did not know. His name was David, he was Native American Indian and he was hitch-hiking from Florida to Alaska where he was from. I saw David walking along I-94 just outside Boise Idaho, head down and carrying a pack. When I saw him I was already doing 70mph and passed him in a blur. I am not in the habit of picking up hitch hikers and his thumb was not out but a voice yelled at me louder than a freight train “GIVE THAT MAN A RIDE!!” So I hit the brakes and started reversing towards him. “Do you want a ride?”, I asked. “I’d appreciate it” was all he said. David was quiet and kind, and spoke with the easy cadence all great conversationalists come by naturally. He told me his tale, and as it unfolded I could only thank the voice in my head.

David was from Alaska and a few friends of his had talked him into going to Florida. When he got there he discovered that all his friends wanted to do was party- something David had given up long ago. But they had flown him down there, and they weren’t going to fly him back in the middle of their binge. So David started walking. It had taken him 2 months to get from Florida to the spot in Idaho that I picked him up. He had no anger in him, he just told his story as if it was all a great adventure.

“Chris,” he said at one point, “you won’t believe the things I have seen. At one point I was in Tennessee standing on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly a guy walks out of the woods dressed in overalls, with long hair, a long beard down to his belly and holding a bottle of moonshine. He offered me a drink, as I told him ‘no thanks’ he just shrugged his shoulders and crossed the road, ducking back into the forest on the other side. You see the strangest things from the road.” He seemed to be amazed at his own story.

As we traveled we talked about culture, history and the economy, but mostly politics. David was up on all things political. He didn’t have strong opinions, and he never cut any politician down. He just stated what he had read in the papers and openly wondered at the current state of affairs. There wasn’t a topic he couldn’t speak on, and he always did so without judgment. I have never met anyone like him- except perhaps a monk. There were periods of perfect silence as we drove down the road admiring the views. David would comment calmly “beautiful country”. He couldn’t think of a part of the country that he didn’t like.

He told me the roughest part of the trip was sleeping in the wild on the side of the road as there were so many rattle snakes.
I have to admit I liked the guy. He was so friendly, so easy going, so ‘monk-like’. As we rolled into La Grande Oregon I asked him if he would like to hang out at the hotel I would be staying at, get a shower and wash his clothes. He was so grateful. As his clothes were washing he sat in the lobby watching TV and laughing at “Everybody loves Raymond”. I was swimming and could see his light-hearted nature enjoying the moment- as always. I hopped out of the pool walked up to the front desk and asked if they had any extra rooms. No rattle snakes for David tonight, I thought. As I handed him the keys to his room he was humbled and speechless-in the way of someone getting way more than they ever expected from a stranger. He just looked at the key and said “thanks”.

I told him if he didn’t mind a late start I would knock on his door at 10am and I could take him to Pendleton Oregon where he wanted to get dropped off at the Indian Hospital to have his leg looked at. The next morning as he opened his door he looked like a new guy; clean clothes, washed hair with a much rested look on his face. He said it was his best night of sleep since he hit the road.

I told him I had been on-line the night before and flights from Seattle to Anchorage were only 250 dollars and that I would buy him a flight. “You have helped enough Chris”, was his reply.

I told him he could pay me back if he wanted, but that I figured rides would be few and far between this time of year on the Alcan Highway and he could easily hit snow. He just smiled. He figured he would be alright. As we arrived at the hospital in Pendleton, I opened my wallet and gave him all the cash I had in it- not much more than 40 dollars. I handed him my card as well and asked him to call me when he got to Seattle so I could put him up for the night, give him a hot shower and drive him to Canada.

He smiled and said he had enjoyed getting to know me and I never saw him again.

I have thought a lot about David and the way he traveled. As I have grown older I realize I expect more and more in the way of comfort and things. I remember in my 30’s sleeping on the streets of London and Athens with Tammy (my co-founder of Crooked Trails) because we didn’t have the money for a hotel. We had eaten only bread and cucumber sandwiches for a week so we could have the adventure of travel. It was all fun, it was all an adventure and we never complained about what we didn’t have. Like David, we focused on what we saw and experienced. I think we all have a lot to learn from people like David, as times change and we may all find ourselves living with a bit less. We don’t need to complain and judge, we just need to live the adventure.”

• photo courtesy of gmark1 / creative commons