I find stories of people like this to be quite inspiring. It proves how larger and fuller life can be than I've managed, and leads me to take steps -- often lit

I find stories of people like this to be quite inspiring. It proves how larger and fuller life can be than I've managed, and leads me to take steps -- often literal ones -- in that direction. Another person I'd put in this category is Ray Jardine. His guides to hiking the Pacific Crest Trail led me to put my sneakers on and try the same. I didn't complete it but it awakened me in a way that staying home does not. Ray is the kind of guy who thinks a good vacation means kayaking around Baja California, rowing across the Atlantic, retracing Northwest Passage or skiing across Antarctica ... shared with his kind adventurous athletic wife Jenny. I can't follow in these people's footsteps very far. But they document their treks and compulsively teach about them, and that is the next best thing to being there, and helps me adventure more around the edges. A life lived large embiggens us all.