Hannah the hiker

It has been a while since I have made it to the Adirondacks for hiking. When I first became interested in hiking I seemed to think that the only hikes to do or worth doing were in the ADK. But, over time, I have started to realize that that is not the case. Over time I have also realized that the root of hiking that speaks to me is the movement of walking itself. I love the way walking grounds me. It brings me back in touch with my body, my self, and the world I’m in. I especially enjoy it in nature, and make that a priority in my day-to-day life. But it took me a while to get to this point.

It took me a while to realize the essence of hiking was really what I was seeking, and it wasn’t just a random number of feet climbed and peaks bagged that got me out there (but don’t get me wrong bragging rights are cool too). What got me out there was the need for grounding and being immersed in the natural world.

Since completing the Pacific Crest Trail I would often be upset with myself that I wasn’t completing the Winter 46, or the Winter Tupper Lake Triad, or the Vermont Trail, or the Northville Placid Trail. I felt that I had to be chipping away at some hiking trail in places hours away or else I wasn’t doing “enough.” And doing something because we feel like we “should” can take the joy out of it all, and that is what I needed more of; joy.

So that brought me to an understanding that I needed to reshape the way I thought about hiking, walking, nature, joy, and priorities. And I began to realize that joy doesn’t have to be saved up for months/years and spent on a 6-month backpacking trip. Joy can be experienced every day in many small invaluable ways. I also like to combine this line of thinking with the idea of micro-adventures.

I first heard about micro-adventures at St. Lawrence. The term was coined by British adventurer, Alastair Humphreys. He defined it as overnight outdoor adventure that’s small and realistic for people with normal lives.It was this idea that you could get all the thrilling aspects of adventure on a much smaller scale. Adventure to me seems to encompass open-mindedness, ambition, and sometimes stepping just outside your comfort zone. Micro-adventures can be local, inexpensive, simple, and still leave us feeling rejuvenated. While it is lovely to plan for a long trip far from home and super new to you, you can still get some of that thrill in smaller ways. Some of the ways I have embraced this include walking on Lake Ontario when it’s frozen, checking out small local trails, and even urban walking in neighborhoods I haven’t spent much time in.

After completing a thru-hike lots of people ask what’s next. This is such an exciting thing to think about. But I think we have to reconsider the notion that there always has to be a big thing planned to enjoy ourselves and our world. It’s the same idea as why wait until you are retired to start enjoying your life, or why wait for a special day to burn that candle or eat that chocolate? Every day we are alive is a special day. So I encourage us all, thru-hikers or not, to take advantage of each day and find that joy or go on that micro-adventure.

And, don’t get me wrong, I certainly have my list of “what’s nexts,” but I am just not limited to thinking that my life is defined by these “nexts.” My life is a culmination of awe-inspiring moments in nature, not just a couple trails. Same as our relationships being defined by years of consistency, trust, and care, not just a couple cards or texts.

All of this to say that I have a couple posts I am going to write about some local adventures I have taken. This was intended to stay an introduction to one of those posts, but here we are.

Let’s get out there more!