I can honestly say that this epic adventure was one that will leave an impression on me for the rest of my life. I experienced excessive happiness and an indescribable spiritual connection with nature, yet there were also moments that I experienced fear from being in such remote areas within the habitat of large meat eating creatures. This trip obviously reached all the extremes on the spectrum of my human emotions and actually extended some to limits formally unknown to me.

Riding in such remote areas with very little human contact truly made me feel as small as a grain of sand in the grand scheme of the vastness of our planet. Prior to this adventure, I had never been completely alone in such vast areas and had not felt the experience of being solo as a human in a world that I had no control over. I was vulnerable.

My ability to make it through these areas depended on the weather, water sources, and the ability of War Dog to make it through the rugged terrain, all of which I had no control over. If just one of these would have become unfavorable, a long day could easily have turned into a couple of long days.

This is why such an adventure leaves a deep mark on you as a human. All your daily security blankets are taken away and you are left to go it alone without your typical foundation of support. With this being said, the most powerful and meaningful result of such an experience is the realization of just how much you receive from other humans throughout the daily grind of life.

For instance, I realized again just how much my wife does for me and my kids on a daily basis. I realized just how easy she truly makes our lives. I realized just how much support my extended family and close friends give me and truly care about me by simply providing words of encouragement and being a willful participant in my life.

The ultimate lesson learned during such a solo adventure is that I was truly never alone as the word “solo” would perhaps imply. As long as you love and are loved by someone, you are never alone. You can feel their presence with you at all times. You can feel their support and it can give you the strength and courage to push through during the hardest of days.

The key for me to honor this adventure is to make sure to carry forward these lessons learned and become a better husband, dad, son and friend. To remember the ones that love you are the ones that got you through the hardest of challenges. It is time to pay them all back and simply be a better human who is always present for them all.

Solo, not hardly my friends!