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The Nimblewill Nomad has completed yet
another journey, this time o’er the North
Country Trail. My dear friend Nimblewill
doesn’t go on long distance hikes, he goes on
long distance walking journeys. Nimblewill’s
journeys differ from the journeys we might take
in many ways. His journeys are more of a
spiritual exercise involving mind, soul, heart,
body and to a lesser extent extremities. I have
had many opportunities to describe lots of
people in my lifetime and with a little effort
everyone can be described, everyone that is
except Nimblewill. He is that extremely
rare individual that defies description.
Nimblewill is the most memorable person I
have ever met. Hikers who met him on the trail
many years ago remember the rock they were
sitting on when they met him, or the long-neck
they shared with him in some far away watering
hole. I remember meeting him for the first time
in a rundown motel in Mars Hill, Maine, when he
was nearing the end of his Eastern Continental
Trail hike. It was a meeting I will never
forget.
As you relive the journey of Nimblewill Nomad,
o’er the North Country Trail, please let your
mind wander and, rather than seeing it as a
series of steps leading from point A to point B,
see this journey as a complex expression of
self. A self we might all long to be but, for
many reasons, a path we have chosen not to
follow. We should not berate ourselves for not
following that path but revel in the watching of
the great Nimblewill as he follows that
path. We thank him for making the effort to
express his feelings in writing and sharing them
with all of us.
If you have a desire to live life to the
fullest, end every day with a smile on your
face, and enjoy to the fullest every single
person you meet each day, then you will want to
join Nimblewill on his journey along the
North Country Trail. This book should be read
as a way of life, sort of like Don Quixote. It
is full of lessons of life but it must be read
carefully to learn them all.
Start your journey now. The Nimblewill Nomad
has made the effort to let us into his inner
life so take advantage of that opportunity and
enjoy this wonderful adventure.
Dick Nopack Anderson
Founder, International Appalachian Trail /
Sentier International des Appalaches |
