Erin Reno- Choice of Topic for Term Paper

One of the reasons I chose to focus on the effect of long distance hiking on veterans is because I pull some personal experience of the topic from my own life.  My father is a veteran of the Marine Corps, and so growing up I was around a lot of vets who came from all over the country. Two of my family friends in particular, John Gannon and Brian Coon, have stood out with their love of hiking.  Both men grew up in the rural mid-west and were surrounded by nature throughout their childhoods, but it wasn’t until they both left the military that they started seriously hiking. Nowadays you can find both men in any free time they have out somewhere in the country hiking a mountain.  For John in particular the experience really helped him transition back to civilian life. He says for him hiking provides a similar physical challenge to what was required in the military, and that the state of mind you are in when you have that goal gives clarity to other things. Both men enjoy ice hiking the most, and continue to hike the most challenging peaks in the country.