I won't be doing anything like this, but I can still respect it. When hiking King's Peak in Utah, my group was plodding along with backpacks for a week-long ca

I won't be doing anything like this, but I can still respect it. When hiking King's Peak in Utah, my group was plodding along with backpacks for a week-long camp, with food, tents, sleeping gear, and various safety gear. We were passed by a guy in shorts with a water filter bottle who was running to the summit. We met him again many hours later on his way back, when we had not yet reached our day one base camp. The freedom and purity of just being there with the mountain was compelling, but requires a whole different set of preparation than I have given it. It's not just removing a helmet, or doing a daredevil risk, it's transforming the experience. Because he wasn't staying over night, he didn't need a tent or sleeping gear. He didn't need a lot of food. He didn't need a backpack to carry it all. Everything he could leave behind allowed him to move faster, improving his experience.