I love spending time walking through the woods, climbing up and down windswept mountains, and observing life from the higher ground of a mountain-top.
It’s far more than just exercise to me; it’s a way to slow down, detach from the ever-bustling high speed pace of today’s life and reconnect with my own thoughts, as well as reconnect with the actual world around me instead of the ‘virtual’ world that is more prevalent these days with social media.
I have definitely spent my fair share of time hiking and camping in the great outdoors. I have hiked the entire Appalachian Trail (called a thru-hike) about three times, each time spending 6 months backpacking along the ridge lines of the Appalachians up the East Coast. I have also spent countless other weekends exploring different trails and mountains both in New England and in other parts of the country. Each time for me, whether I’m spending a few days in the mountains or I’m out for a shorter day-trip, it’s as if I’m hitting the re-set button on life.
I know that a lot of people upon hearing that I have thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail 3 times, think something to the effect of “that’s wonderful and crazy at the time, and it must be nice to ‘vacation’ that much”. Yes, in some ways it was a vacation, because of course, I was not working. However, I learned a great many lessons while spending an equivalent of 1 and 1/2 years walking up the East Coast, carrying my life on my back. I have learned the difference between what we need in order to live, and what we want in order to live. I have learned to be completely independent, how to rely on myself for my shelter, food, water. At the same time, I have learned how to trust complete strangers and welcome their help with those very same things. I have learned that even though we all come from a great many walks of life, we truly are all the same; that it’s not our careers, money, race or genders that define us, but who we are as a human with all the labels stripped away—that we all truly crave the same things out of life. I have learned how to be alone with myself and truly like my own company. I have learned how to see beauty, even when it’s not pretty. I have learned not to just live on this earth, but how to be of this earth, how to source some of my energy from it, and how to be grateful for all the beauty it gives us. I’ve also learned that for me, hiking and spending time in the mountains is a place that I can always rely on, I can always go to whenever I need life to slow down a bit, whenever I need to “just get away” and be by myself (even if I’m hiking with others) and not feel judged, pressured or rushed. It’s a place I can go to and just BE.
There are a great many other things I’ve learned while spending time in the mountains, and a great many things I continue to learn. I encourage everyone to at least try a hike, explore the woods as they wind through different types of forest, sit by a bubbling brook or cascading waterfall for a bit. Meander your way up a mountain path to it’s peak and soak in the expansive views, the wind sweeping across your face as you look out at the views. I believe it’s a great way to re-connect with life as it is. I will be sharing some stories and experiences from the time spent on the AT this coming Monday, Sept 22nd at 6:15pm in our Pembroke location. If you’re not busy, I encourage you to come. Hope to see some of you there!