Every time I hiked, I learned from the stories of fellow hikers that we all had different ways of thinking about the hike. These thoughts were unique to my companions, like their fingerprints were.

Philosophical Engineering

My brother had a tendency to love hiking in the company of others. He liked seeing and helping others get to the top successfully.

My father always loved the personal challenge of conquering the mountain and accomplished climbing all the four-thousand-foot mountains in New Hampshire.

For me, I was always interested in the reflection on what I just experienced. I always enjoyed looking back at the hike and wondering what happened.

But we all had our own “What do iThinks” playing in our heads as we hiked. They were the thoughts that got us up and down the mountain each and every time.

One thing I could never get over thinking about, was how my father ended up loving hiking after our climb up Mount Washington that day. Because at the top, none of us thought we would ever want to hike again with the rain, the cold, and the fact that we got lost. But the picture of us gathered around the sign was worth more than just one thousand words for my father; it showed him purpose in life.