Borders

     Our country is so beautiful and has  many spectacular areas to explore. Some are serene and peaceful, some are rough and rugged, I guess they can be peaceful even if they are rough and rugged, some have trails to follow and some are unmarked trails. There is a relative amount of risk or maybe even danger to hike on some of these sites but adventurous hikers enjoy the challenge of risk and of arduous effort to complete the journey.
       There are magazines on the market that encourage the hiker, while at the same time giving information on the equipment necessary for the safety of the hiker.  There is also special garb suggested for the hikers' comfort and important information on the proper foot wear.
     These journals also give great information about hundreds of possible hiking spots throughout the world. Many in our own country but also many in the countries that are beyond our shores. Exotic sites that are popular and some that are more remote and less traveled by others.
       In most of the articles and books that I've read that give accounts of hikers' joys and travails of hiking are consistantly urging people to heed the importance of being safe, alert, and cautious wherever you are.
       Why is it then, with all of the fabulous, adventurous, beautiful places to explore on this globe, that a few insist on traveling near the borders of hostile countries or territories?  Would you plan a back packing sojourn to the rocky, treacherous area of Afghanistan, near Iran's border? Or the border between North and South Korea,or perhaps take a jet ski ride on a lake that is on the border of Mexico where the members of the Mexican Drug Cartel hang out?
       In the first two instances the hikers were accused of spying, they were captured and imprisoned and kept under guard in cells.The 'prisoners' insisted that they were not spies and just 'happened' to wander over the borders of these countries.Why were they there in the first place? With much negotiations and diplomacy the U.S. managed to free some of the trespassers but two are still imprisoned in Iran and one dead body is still in the lake between the U.S. and the Mexican border. A lawman, determined to search for the body of the jet skier that was shot and killed by the Cartel and search for the perpetrators of this heineous crime, was abducted and his severed head was delivered to the officials in charge.  I am sickened by this! How can people be convinced that living on the edge can be exhilarating but it can also be deadly and jeopardizes the lives of others!! HIKE and SAIL in politically safe areas! Caio