After some tension around when we leave, the group started off around 8 am. It only took 2.5 hours to hike out, shaving 10 min off our time from last year. A quick turnaround in the parking lot and we were down the road to Nelson.
The restaurant closed that we normally eat at. We headed to a hotel with a great pub inside, finding the same kind of fare and other healthier options as well. Many of us no longer eat fish and chips, so we found salads and garden bowls along with fish and chips for others. We definitely had earned the salt, but I didn't want the fat.
Walking around Nelson gives me a contact high. The aroma from various restaurants, fragrant oils and herbs from various naturally living shops, outdoor gear, people in hemp and dreds, the high of coffee from Oso Negro and another trip was under our belts.
In reflecting after being home, highlights included time w/ our daughter and close friends, being off the grid, exercise in the mountains, games, adult kids talking with the older adults, and the food.
Conversations shared with a random assortment of people always though trumps a lot of other highlights. This especially feels to me like what true community is about: people who normally aren't together or would be close friends having food together, talking, sharing conversations and viewpoints. It seems if you can keep that alive in communities somehow, our societies stand a chance.
The modern world functions in such a way now that people can stay cordoned off from each other. We can see only the same people over and over if we want or no one at all. However, humans need contact with each other to flourish. If I feel good about anything on this trip, it's that accomplishment alone.
We're back in the city, determined to stay off the grid and connect more regularly with people. I hope I can continue to spearhead efforts to get people together. I want to always keep this place in my heart and live by the values I learned in the mountains.