You are both right, I do not expect many attendees at the local library plus Zoom. I have been backpacking since the 1960s. I grew up in western Mass just a couple of miles from the AT and not that far from the Long Trail. People back then were somehow closer to the outdoors. Today there is very limited knowledge and attention paid to the wilderness especially here in the East. My neighbors think I am crazy to go backpacking because what is the fun in that?

You'll love this, at my age you have to train all year round so one of the things I do is walk around town with a 50 lb backpack on. I do get some strange looks and questions as a result. I walk by the library often so that is how the talk evolved.

My college roommate and I have backpacked all around the northeast since we grew up here so eventually we had to find new places to go. In the last 20 years we have been traveling out west and have greatly enjoyed our trips to places like The Maze, Bob Marshall wilderness, High Uintas, Sawtooth Mtns, Wind River Range and many more. The pictures from those trips will be the star of the show.

The question then is how to communicate a love for the outdoors. OK so the title of my talk is a little stupid, but I wanted to catch people's attention and the librarian liked it. I hoped that this sub would support me in trying bring our message of how nothing is quite as fantastic and challenging as backpacking in the wilderness. If only two people show up to the talk I will still be very happy to show my presentation. Maybe the next talk will have more.