if you cross over a fence you are probably trespassing. That can turn out badly.
You are never lost, merely temporarily misdirected. So don't panic.
If you listen to music while you walk, you will miss the rattling sound on the other side of the log.
Finally, a paraphrase of a bit of advice given by my old footbal coach. "If walking the trail is no longer fun, get off the trail." (His actual advice was "if the game stops being fun, get off the field")
Unhappiness arises when you compare the current moment to some other idealized version of it. (Thank you, Zen Buddhism!)
The map is not the territory. (This means more than just "your topo might be inaccurate." Basically, every conceptualization is at least a necessary approximation and and worst wrong.)
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"Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls."
I thought I was noticing a Douglas Adams philosophy in this thread!
I guess the saying "two is one, one is none" wouldn't apply too much to lightweight hiking...but it can be important if your source of fire fails, or if your backpack strap blows out (as mine did).
If not a backup, at least the knowledge and means to improvise a fix.
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