The author seeks to explain or perhaps rationalize Chris McCandles' actions by providing accounts of himself and others who have engaged in high risk activities. In that regard, I located an article in the New York Times last week discussing the death of a young man who attempted to bicycle from the North Pole to Argentina. Matthew prepared a brief composition comparing Chris McCandles to the author and to the deceased bicyclist which served as a basis for today's discussion. We reviewed Matthew's composition and discussed how the both the author and McCanldes felt unwilling and unable to fulfill their fathers' expectations and rebelled against their fathers' perceived moral imperfections . Consequently, each attempted to fill the emotional gaps in their lives by engaging in high risk outdoor adventures. As many of the young men described in the book as well as in the subject of the New York Times article committed suicide , we explored how and why a spiritual journey can result unexpectedly in despair . Matthew commented on the impact of total isolation and loneliness .Digging deeper, we exchanged ideas on how confronting the vastness of nature ,whether on a glacier ,or alone on a mountain or in a barren wilderness ,can make a person feel small and meaningless especially in the absence of any human contact. We noted in class discussion how , ironically ,the endeavor for spiritual enlightenment becomes a vortex into despair for many of these young men. During the last segment ,we worked on editing and rewriting Matthew's essay on whether Chris McCandles was a noble truth seeker or just an arrogant rebellious young man HW - read final chapter/complete study guide/hand in essay.