Everything was black after the fire swept through our canyon with the trails heading up into the mountains covered in ash, landmarks and trees burned to nothing, and maps rendered useless. On our first ride after the fire, I let Annie choose the route and she’d find stretched of trail here and there. But mostly it was all instinct, which reminded me of how that road less traveled can be so beautiful, especially using some sort of internal compass to guide the next steps instead of a map.

I’ve tried to follow a lot of maps in my life, maps showing the trails blazed by my heroes, trails I tried to follow only to find that I had to find my own.

Once a week we’re posting my thoughts on the message from each For The Sender chapter, making our way through both books and giving away a book autographed by the For The Sender family each time.

Here’s Chapter 2, Book 2. Have you ever found that your more beautiful route was followed using your compass, instead of a map? Share your story in the comments below and we’ll choose a post and send you a book autographed by the For The Sender family.