Many of the 80 hikes I took last year were done with just my dog Charlie by my side, which meant I was often alone out in the middle of nowhere, sometimes cold and lonely, sometimes joyful beyond belief, but always brimming with childish excitement for whatever came next. No matter the weather, the bugs, lack of sleep, or my mental state, we got outside. As my health improved and anxiety all but vanished, I began to realize the importance of what I was doing and fought with a fury for the time to slip away on those sacred adventures.