Time to continue along with the kindness and community posts. Going from West to East along the American Discovery Trail journey the next kind person encountered was Carlos de la Fuente near Auburn, California.
We met each other hiking along Folsom Lake. Carlos saw our full packs and stopped us because he figured we must be doing something interesting. This was based on his own experiences, which included walking across both the United States and Russia in the 80s for peace, then later kayaking along Central America for peace as well.
ADT Carlos de la Fuente
Carlos and his wife Mariana invited us into their home where they treated us royally, but the whole life of Carlos is a tale of kindness. He was a police officer, then a lawyer, then a judge, then a pro bono advocate for the homeless and the unfortunate. His global jaunts for the sake of humanity were just a reflection of his communal impulses to better the lives of those around him.
Meeting someone like Carlos so early in the journey, soon after visiting the community of Locke, together set the tone that this would be more pilgrimage than mission. We would be on a journey of discovery more than proselytizing about the virtues of kindness and community.
