I've had four vehicles in my life to date:
A little blue Dodge Omni that I got right out of college and drove out here to Colorado, a red 1990 Nissan Pathfinder, a red 1995 Nissan Pathfinder (sense a pattern?), and my current 2002 silver Nissan Pathfinder, which I've nicknamed "Spirit."
Though all of these mechanical companions have carried me faithfully into the mountain backcountry that I love, I decided that I'd write this bit about Spirit, and the recent adventures we've had.
As I browsed through my photos from recent years, I discovered that I'd actually taken a lot of both my vehicle and the roads we'd traveled.
I realized that these two things are inextricably linked.
That the importance of a vehicle to me is not what status it might show in public, but what back roads it can get me to.
I've come to depend on my vehicle as a conveyance into the backcountry, a shelter in stormy weather, a basecamp for mountain expeditions, and a general home away from home during my travels.
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