though i wasn't the most rebellious kid - i do remember attempting to "run away" a few times. I never really made it very far, but i intended on ending up somewhere miles from home. most of the time i brought our dog Buddy (a black lab incredibly afraid of fireworks & thunder, but notorious for his keen skills as a blackberry & tool thief).

i was convinced home was not the place for me - my new home would be...the mountains. i'd most often end up on a hike somewhere in the hills adjacent to my parents house. I remember hiking through the weeds that grew tall overhead. Then moved like an ant over huge granite rocks & along the narrow paths made by bikes to the top of the hill. around each turn of the trail waited my fear of the possible confrontation w/ a coyote, wild dog, or rattlesnake. I'd race to the top of the hill & watch the sun go down over the track homes below me. when it got dark, i'd always find find my way home again. to my dismay no one really noticed i'd nearly been gone forever. The only evidence I had been anywhere that day could be drawn from the marks left on my legs from jumping over weeds. It made me really happy knowing only Buddy & I kept the secret of our wilderness runaway rebellion

this papercuts video reminds me of those adventures: