This Day 52 Years Ago

 Wow,how time flew by.On this day back in July of 1971 my friend Hugh Page and myself headed out on this incredible journey from Centerport  New York to Alaska  hich hiking.We had very little money,I was flat broke and Hugh had about 150 bucks,we didn't even have a tent ! We had our packs with some cloths, Hugh had a guitar ,  good sleeping bags ,a cobbled together mess kit and a plastic tarp with some close line and a cardboard sign that just said Alaska .We got our first couple rides pretty fast . It took some time to get off Long Island but then we made it upstate to the Utica area. We got as far as Syracuse and started heading north on Interstate 81 . It was getting dark so we started walking along the side of the road in search of some woods to sleep in when this truck stopped and picked us up. This ride would determine the course my life would take for decades , in fact,right up to now. This is how I met the people I eventually bought my camp from in 1977. Howard took us home to his place in Ogdensburg NY where we met his wife Barbara and their 3 daughters.They took us across the border  and up to Ottawa Canada the next morning and as we were parting Barbara told me to stop in on my return and tell her all about Alaska. We remained friends for life . The trip to Alaska was an incredible journey . I met some of the most incredible people.Hugh and I split up in Alaska when he decided to stay for a while and work in a fish processing plant in Homer. He was in the early stages of schizophrenia I would find out a year later when he returned to NY  for a visit with his family. He was acting strange and my friend Bill who we were visiting in Seward told me to go it alone "cause there is no telling what he might do when we are out in the middle of nowhere and he looses it . I took his advice seriously and I came home alone.We had 40 dollars between us when we parted ways so we split it. That first day alone I got a ride from a guy who had a farm and he gave me some work and I made 40 more dollars and that's what I made it home on. I was 22 years old and totally on my own out in the world.It was the best thing that ever could have happened to me.I learned all about who I really am on that trip and did really well. It gave me a confidence that stayed with me my entire life. Now here I am 74 years old .Still have my camp that I got as a result of that encounter on the first day of that trip. Still looking to wander . Haven't hich hiked since 1981 when I was coming home from Barbra's funeral .She was killed in a car accident . Howard is gone now to,almost 30 years. last I heard Hugh was living in a group home in San Francisco . Me,I just do my thing with riding my motorcycles,fixing them up,doing carpentry ,and dreaming of that next adventure. Now I'm searching for a riding partner. I don't want to head out  on a really long trip alone anymore. It's hard . I look and look.I run ads on craigslist. I found a good partner back in 2010 after returning from that 14,000 mile 3 month ride .I met him on this Meet Up thing for vintage motorcycles . .Juan was a good partner.We wrenched  and I passed much of my knowledge about motorcycle mechanics on to him.We traveled together on some short trips but, he got divorced then met a nice young girl and moved to Mexico to raise a family. I'm happy for him but at a loss with out that companionship . So,we'll see what this next year brings.With a bit of luck I'll connect with someone who is on the same page as me and able to ride long distance for a month or two . Sure would be nice to get out on the road again for one last good long ride.  In two weeks or so I am going to ride my Moto Guzzi up to the Adirondacks . It's only a 400 mile ride up and a week or so wandering about out in the mountains but it's something. This is how it is when a biker gets old , he doesn't stop , he just adapts.

me then & now and my camp . I'm a lucky guy to have had the life I've had