In college, as a philosophy major enamoured by the Transcendentalists, I made my first pilgrimage to Walden Pond, in Concord, Mass.

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In one sense, McCandless was no different than Thoreau at Walden Pond, or Huck Finn in his raft on the Mississippi, or Jack Kerouac on the road.

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Keeping that balance, says town manager Chris Whelan, has allowed Concord to stay current while preserving its dozens of historical spots, including Ralph Waldo Emerson's house, a Revolutionary War battle site, and Walden Pond, a national historic landmark.

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