Brad Wieners writes about Matthew Power’s life, and the day last month when he died in Uganda. One of his companions on that day said Power didn’t take enough time to get used to Uganda’s climate. Weiners understands why:
Matt may have been a free spirit, but he paid a New York mortgage and worked hard to afford it. Reviewing Matt’s itinerary—red-eye, trans-Atlantic flight followed by a seven-hour drive to the trailhead the day of his arrival, then joining the expedition on his second day in country—I got a shiver of recognition. I’d have made the same mistake. Not just failing to give heat the respect I do altitude. Failing to give it more time. Departing from New York, where there is never a moment to lose, there’s no way I’d think to schedule an extra couple of days—much less a week—to let my body adjust. No one has that kind of time.
