I read both of the NatGeo articles and both of the books during my college days (for leisure, not study) in the early '80s. Good adventure and good articles and books. God bless Peter, Barbara and their offspring.
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Apparently he used that walk to find his career as a writer also, since I see he has more than 2 nooks that he has written.
So apparently that decision to take a long walk worked out well for him. 8>)
Sadly I never read much until later in life. I read juut books I needed to read, except for Lolita, LOL.