I really like to walk

Thru-hiking (n.) The act of torturing oneself to the tune of hundreds or thousands of miles over the course of days, weeks, or months.

This is my definition taken from my personal dictionary. As I take a 20 hour train to Atlanta to start the AT. I thought I would reflect on why I enjoy it. It’s a great question.

Why do I hike?

At the high school building where I went to school, the building had a big loop. My friends and I just walked around and around. Most of the students just sat in front of their lockers shooting spit at each other. But not my deviant group of pot-smoking lunatics.

This routine we had was part of the sanity of the day. More info: zxc4. We were just talking and appreciating the terrible day of school in front of us.

One summer, after I graduated and entered college, my dad got me hooked on backpacking. I obsessively watched YouTubers like Darwin and Dixy. From that day on I knew what I wanted to do…hike the Appalachian Trail.

After college, my friend died. I was hiking the North Country Trail in the Allegheny National Forest. We had planned to walk that section together and I was going to make him love walking through the woods.

The next foot

After that hike, I worked tirelessly to establish my life where I could be outdoors as much as possible. I knew the Appalachian Trail was on my horizons, I just didn’t have the base to go. That’s where the Adirondack 46 and Finger Lakes Trail filled the void of my long weekends.

As I walked, I remembered some of the highlights of my friendships and grew closer to my friends who have passed away.

Fast forward to a few years ago. My older brother was tragically diagnosed with terminal cancer. This began a series of cancer tests in which, if he had not been diagnosed, he would be in his place today. There were two cancerous polyps in my colon.

Get to the point

Now I hike and I love it because it brings comfort to my soul and brings me closer to my God. Because maybe tomorrow I won’t be able to. There are beautiful things in this world that I would like to see. I hike because I love it.

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using links in articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.