Twenty-three years ago, May 5th found me hobbling home from a weekend that chewed up my boots, my camera, and whatever was left of my dignity on a 4.5-mile climb up the Hopper Trail to Greylock. The trip itself was worth every groan, but the camera did not survive the adventure intact. The front focus problem turned out to be manageable, as long as you like f11. And I do.
May 5th has a way of catching me mid-motion. In 2007, a missed alarm scrambled a camping plan into a shortened road race in Missoula. By 2008, someone accused me of sandbagging the expert class at age 42, which honestly felt more like a compliment than a complaint. In 2012, I was back on a bike chasing a sub-three-hour loop at the Bitter, setting a new distance record instead. Close enough.
The quieter entries matter too. A double jump on OwlBBack Run that went from terrifying to something I looked forward to more than the trail itself. An L-Track project that left no words behind. A Bighorn campground running amok in the early hours. And a note from 2022 that still rings true... when stress blanks the mind, just make something that makes you smile.
Most recently, May 5th turned toward something less physical but just as exploratory, a look at Ground News and the effort to see past the edges of whatever information bubble surrounds us. Different terrain, same instinct: go find out what's actually out there.
Twenty-three years of May 5ths. Still moving, still looking, still occasionally lost on purpose.