This weekend, a few friends and I took a camping trip to the back country in a fantastic state park here in Northern California. The weather was perfect, as was the company and scenery. All in all, we hiked about 24 miles over three days.

It’s probably the most physically demanding thing I’ve done in a long time. Although during the steep hot uphills I was hating life and wondering why I would bother to inflict such a punishment on myself, it was certainly well worth it. For one thing, I actually woke up at 7am this morning! The positive effects of this trip will be lasting.