I have a friend who's roughly half my age; she goes on day hikes with me from time to time. I invited her on an easy overnight backpacking trip. She said okay because she assumed that every few miles there would be a restroom. When I told her no way would anyone pay to helicopter around the backcountry servicing restrooms and you get to dig and dump, she decided she would be a day hiker forever. I have the feeling if she hadn't run into me, she'd still be one of those who imagines Yosemite is a great big public zoo with no fences and that hiking in tractionless shoes up some of the crumbly, rough trails is perfectly safe.

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Still waiting for her to have to #2 on a day hike. She had her first pee in the woods a couple day hikes ago - freaked her out.

As a teenager I loved wandering around by myself in the woods and frequently vanished for hours on family camping trips with a good book. I saw a lot of wildlife while perched on a stump high in the Sierras. Guess I was lucky I always found my way back to where I was supposed to be.