I carried a lot into the Sierras. Monster had just passed, and I had so many hours every day to simplify my life — one step at a time. It was beautiful. John became my second favorite hiking partner of all time, behind Emily of course. :) The conversations about the past, and the questions on our minds, and our hopes and dreams were time well spent — a little closer to God in some of the most beautiful land on this green earth. And eating PayDay candy bars after a swim in freezing cold water is something I’ll smile about till the day I die. I had plenty of time to process all of the notes I got from thousands of you after Monster passed. It seems we all have things to deal with, and they’re hard, and loss brings us all together — the humanity of everything. Thank you. As for GR MONSTER named after that crazy weirdo dog of ours? I’ve now carried it all over the world and back, so many times. I lived out of it for another week on this trip. Packing and unpacking, picking it up and putting it down — doing that so many times before flying home. The ruck felt good on my back and worked as intended. I poured a lot of memories into it, and it gave me more in return, just like Monster always did. I showed up back in Florida with a tired body and a heart full of gratitude and a lot of hopes and dreams renewed by loss. All we can do is make the most of the time we do have in a very short life, and it’s always best when shared with those we love, including our four legged family members. To the thousands of you who took the leap of faith on this ruck, thank you. We’ve officially moved the GR MONSTER into full production mode (shipping to you in Q1), and this is the last chance for the rest of you to lock in your order on pre-order pricing. Monster Forever, —jason Pre-order ends Friday, October 16th