The Wilderness: Heaven or Hell?

I have always considered myself to be an outdoorsy kind of guy. I like hiking, bicycling, canoeing, skiing, basically anything that will get me back into nature. I wouldn't consider myself an athlete because I don't do well in competitive sports. I didn't play basketball or baseball or anything that a lot of kids did when I was growing up.

I was in my twenties when my friend Jim dropped by my office. He asked if I had ever done any back-packing. I had to confess that I had not but it sounded interesting. We visited the various outdoor outfitters, like Bass Pro and Cabelas and bought the requisite gear. It was expensive but new experiences often times carry a heavy price tag.
The planned week-end had finally arrived, we packed up the car and headed off to the Mark Twain National Forest near Springfield. This is a wilderness area not too far from the city. We were to back pack on the Berryman Trail. This is a rugged trail, circular in nature, so you end at the same spot you began. This design is so convenient because you end up back at your car without having to travel the same path back. It was to be a three-day adventure we would never forget.

Day 1: The Journey Begins

We arrived at the trail, loaded up the 75 lb packs on our backs. These packs contained everything we needed to survive. Freeze-dried food, water purification pellets, camp stove with fuel, sleeping bags, tent, and so on. We hiked through the day. It was a typically hot and humid August day. There didn't seem to be a breeze to be found anywhere.
Jim and I ate a wonderful lunch of dehydrated apples, cheese and unleavened bread. Tasty! The ticks and other jungle insects were unrelenting. The insect repellent cream that was supposedly used by the U.S. Army only seemed to attract them, rather than repel as I would have preferred.
That night we camped in a tiny pup tent, again no breeze. There was an abundance of wild animals that investigated our campsite at least 50 times during the night. I was sure these were bears and wolves who would like nothing better than enjoy a couple of city kids for a late-night snack. I felt safe and secure knowing a bear would never be able to penetrate the fortress of our tent made of the thinnest nylon fabric.

Day 2: A New Day

The next morning, I was groggy but those powdered eggs were indeed the incentive I needed to continue along toward our destination, the parked car and civilization were still another day away.
This day was so similar to Day 1. The topography and vegetation looked identical to that of the previous day. This was not going to be my best day.
That night we arrived at our pre-determined campsite. Our dinner was another freeze-dried delicacy that would have given cardboard a run for its money for culinary enjoyment. We were out of freeze-dried apples so there would be no dessert for us campers from the city.
We retired early, right at dusk in hopes of getting an early start in the morning. My back-packing pal didn't seem to be having much of a better time than I. To this day, I don't know if he was just sick of me or if he didn't enjoy this style of outdoor activity either. I fell asleep just as I laid my head down right where a pillow should have been.
About 10:00 p.m., I awoke to the sound of a diesel motor. It was a really nice big truck pulling a huge camper. Up until that time, I didn't realize this wilderness campsite had access to Missouri Highway W and our new neighbors were traveling in style.
It wasn't until 2 a.m. that they went to bed and turned off their big screen TV with theater surround sound. The sound and smell of their juicy 2" thick steaks sizzling on the grill was almost more than I could bear.
The rest of the night was restless as I was constantly reminded of how miserable I was: their central air unit cycled on and off every ten minutes. This had to be the worst night of my life.

Day 3: An Early Start

We got moving at the crack of dawn. I declined breakfast or coffee. I just wanted to go home so we hot-footed it the rest of the way to the car.
I was in heaven as I saw the parking lot, but realized I couldn't find my keys. It didn't take too long to find them, they were laying on the front-seat of the locked vehicle. My buddy apparently has talents in breaking and entering as he was able to open the car within a few minutes. He may be in prison as we speak.
I started the engine, turned on the air conditioning and we immediately headed to the nearest café for some food that had not been destroyed by some extraterrestrial food preparation technique embraced by NASA.

Conclusion: Here's where I get clever and make this apply to business

I decided back-packing wasn't right for me. I sold my gear and have never again been foolish enough to try such an undertaking. Other people love it, and I am happy for them. So, no disrespect is intended if this happens to be your thing.
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The advantage for you and I: we have a support system unlike anything I have ever seen. With the complete training and support from the everyone here, I believe with the right amount of effort an dedication, everyone at Wealthy Affiliate can be among the 5%. We can all succeed.
The other 95% just weren't as smart as us and didn't take advantage of this nurturing community.
Excuse me while I pat myself on the back for being smart. Ow! That hurt.
Kali