Why I Hike

There are probably as many reasons to hike as there are hikers out there and trails to hike. It can be something you do to move your body, feel good, clear your head or simply stroll through nature.

While all of our reasons are probably somewhat similar, I love that for each person it is an individual and personal experience.

Someone asked me recently about why I love to hike…oh let me count the reasons.

I don’t know if I even realized that what began as an inexpensive way to spend time with my sons morphed into much much more over the years. 

So here’s why I hike…

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Connection

Hiking began for me as an inexpensive way to connect and spend quality time with my teenage boys outside of the house and away from technology.

I don’t know if they appreciated it then as much as I did but I am so thankful for the time spent exploring and making shared memories.

I am so grateful for the many deep conversations and shared laughs that resulted from us disconnecting from life’s chaos and wandering through the woods together. 

I could never have imagined the things we would come to learn about each other. Or that they would learn so much about themselves out there. Or that they would continue to love and embrace hiking in their own time…for their own reasons.

Never did I dream that those hikes would come to mean so much to all of us and would be the one thing we would return to so often in the years to come…together and individually.

I still love hiking with all of my children and even take friends along when I can talk them into it.

I hike to disconnect..from the world…from my thoughts…from my worries. I hike to connect..with others, with nature, with the universe…with myself. 

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Physical Health

In my early thirties, I set some personal goals to up my fitness game and lose some weight. If I am being honest, I can’t stand to walk inside on a treadmill. It bores me completely to tears.

Hiking the outdoor trails has never been what I would call easy, but much more enjoyable. What is enjoyable is easy to stick with. 

I could explore and exercise at the same time. Often, I would challenge myself physically by trying to beat my best time or cover a certain number of miles each week. It’s something that can be done anywhere…for free.

One thing I love about hiking for exercise is that once you’re in there is no quitting. There are only two ways out…finish what you started or turn around and go back the way you came.

I have an office job…and now, a blog to write. I find myself spending what feels like endless hours sitting at a computer. So often I am mentally exhausted but physically charged. Wired and tired.

I hike to get my blood flowing and pump out some feel-good endorphins. I hike to sweat. I hike to challenge myself to push the current limitations of my body. I hike to feel gratitude for my body just the way it is…perfect in its imperfection. I hike in appreciation of thick thighs and aching muscles and their badass ability to carry me down miles of rugged trails and to the tops of mountains.

Mental Health

In my mid-thirties, hiking the trails morphed from being a way to challenge myself physically into the only way I knew how to cope with life and the difficult relationship I was in at the time. I’m still not sure if my ex was a narcissist or a psychopath..kidding/not kidding.

Either way, the relationship made me question everything I thought to be true about myself..and my life. Those were HARD days and sometimes it was so difficult to continue putting one foot in front of the other.

I raged, screamed, and scattered a million tears throughout those woods. They welcomed me back each time without judgment.

Over the years, hiking has become my most effective coping mechanism. It’s what I do to deal with the hard stuff.

I hike to empty my head of it’s million and one thoughts. I hike to simply focus on the terrain…on breathing…on putting one foot in front of the other…on being present in the moment. I hike to process my emotions. I hike to burn off the crazy. I hike because I don’t look good in orange. I hike because I value my sanity. I hike to cope. I hike to heal.

Spiritual Health

Being in nature is magical to me. It feels like freedom. It feels like home. 

That’s the only way I know how to even begin to explain the way I feel when I’m in the woods.

I’m sure that I brought it with me into this life because it is something that has always been. I can’t ever remember being afraid of the woods or anything in them…even in the dark. Total comfort and belonging.

When I was four years old my parents divorced and my dad moved us to Texas. We lived in the country, on 20 acres of land. I was definitely part of that go-outside-and-don’t-come-back-in-until-dark generation.

Exploring for hours on end, I skipped through imaginary magical forests, discovered makeshift huts and secret places to build new hideouts.

My imagination took me to Wonderland, the rainforests, through the wild plains of Africa and on countless other adventures I dreamed up. I traveled the world in those woods.

Recently, just riding through one of the nearby forestry areas, I was overtaken by sudden,  powerful feelings of joy…awe…amazement. I could feel my heart swell and a couple of tears escape down my cheek.

I hike to connect with something greater than me…something bigger than my-SELF. I hike to be reminded of all the beauty that exists in this world. I hike to renew my spirit. I hike to cleanse my soul. 

Whatever your reasons for lacing up and hitting the trails, do it. Do it again and again. Get out there and hike. Bask in the magnificence of the world we live in. Allow your body to show you what it’s capable of. Clear your mind and refresh your spirit.

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Do you hike already or is it something you’re thinking of trying? Why do you hike or want to hike? Please tell us in the comments.

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