first person

First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at tgam.ca/essayguide .

My wife Cheryl and I just got back into backpacking after a hiatus of some 15 years. We had no idea we were embarking on what is called “Type 2 Fun.” Type 2 fun is defined as an activity that is not enjoyable in the moment but becomes fun when looking back on it. It often involves challenging or even unpleasant experiences that ultimately lead to a rewarding feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. Think of it as “suffer now, enjoy later.”

Our backpacking gear, assembled over the years, was at one time state of the art. Now our gear has the equivalent weight of a cast-iron frying pan – one chiselled out of an anvil.

These days, it seems

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