Well said. About 10 years ago, my two best hiking buddies moved away (one became a Navy SEAL, the other moved to Colorado), and I started finding excuses not to go out solo. After about 3 years of taking only 1 or maybe 2 weekend trips a year, I figured out what I was doing to myself, and made a conscious effort to increase my participation. About 4 years ago, I relapsed a bit when I learned to play golf ("can't go backpacking; I promised to play golf on Saturday"), but now I'm back up to 6-10 trips a year.

I feel much better now.