Dead Man Walking

When I see old hiking photos of Atticus and me, the first thought is, "Who is that guy?"

 My friend Sarah refers to that version of me in the photos as Dead Man Walking.

 I no longer relate to that fellow. In these shots, I'm a hundred pounds heavier than I am now. For the decade Atti and I hiked together, I mostly weighed between 250 and 286 pounds. How did I make it up a couple of thousand peaks? Going by the BMI (Body Mass Index) charts, I was not obese, I was morbidly obese. 

 Did you know that as many as 50 percent of all cardiac deaths happen to people with no history or symptoms of heart disease? 

 Death is often the first sign. It's a wonder I did not die on a mountainside. We pushed up the steeper trails and jogged down them with quick-footed agility. 

A typical day of hiking went like this:

• Breakfast was pancakes and bacon, or McDonald's Egg McMuffins.

• Lunch was a large sub and chips.

• Dinner was a large pizza with extra cheese, pepperoni, and sausage.

Dessert was a pint of Ben & Jerr…