In the summer between 9th and 10th grade, I spent a month in the Maine Wilderness with the Hurricane Outward Bound School. I hiked the rocky terrain of Maine’s Appalachian Trail, canoeing on lune-filled lakes, and rock climbed up Bald Pate. During that time, properly distributing the weight in my backpack, I had to carry everything needed for that month: clothes, tarps, food, and my sleeping bag. I used a topographical map to map my way over rocky mountains and choppy lakes. Halfway through the trip, I went on a two-day trip, which I had no human connection to, it was just me and my thoughts. During this adventure, I was completely isolated from the human world but was emerged in the natural world. Even though it was not two years two months and two days like Thoreau. I had a similar experience, solitude heighten my senses and thoughts.
