INTERLUDE VIII
Life with Neil: That First HikeIt was the first time I remember Neil yelling at me. He must have yelled before, but this is the one that stays in my mind.
For Neil’s sixteenth birthday, in August, Gram had taken him out to get what would be his birthday and Christmas presents for that year and the next. He and his best friend, Jeremy Ford, had decided their favorite thing to do in the world was hiking. So Neil wanted hiking equipment. He wanted "real" boots, as he referred to them. He wanted a good pack, and wicking clothing, and several pairs of socks and sock liners, and new water bottles, and a new Swiss army knife—the list was quite long. And it was expensive, at least for our family’s budget.
In previous years Neil and Jeremy had been on various short hikes and overn
