Backpacking is a study of what it means to be human. How little load can we carry on our back and still be civilized and still be comfortable? Guarding our hearts is like that. How much baggage can we leave behind and still be true to ourselves? How much can we take along and still remain whole?

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." This book is the story of the author's adventures as he learns to guard his heart while backpacking in the Guadalupe Mountains of west Texas.

Berry Simpson writes, "I've learned to be intentional about searching for God, intentional about loving my wife, intentional about rehabbing my bum knees, and intentional about guarding my heart. As I've gotten older I've realized I can't separate my understanding of God from my relationships and from my heart; especially my relationship with my wife, Cyndi. It all gets mixed together, just like my stories. Feeding my heart has become a constant process of stepping deeper into those critical relationships. That first hike up Tejas Trail was a deliberate move toward my own heart, and I am a better man because of it." 

This photo of the author with Guadalupe Peak in the background was taken at the crest of the Tejas Trail, in September 2010