I made this list on the heels of the Appalachian Trail, to remind myself what I love about thru-hiking so that I can find ways to incorporate these things into everyday off-trail life.
Having a big-picture goal and understanding my relationship to moving toward it.
Walking in nature, especially places I’ve never been before
Being physically tired, and the calm that comes from it, and the high that comes from working out until I can’t be fucked to work out any longer
How good a shower and fresh clothes feel after being dirt-covered and sweaty
Listening to podcasts and audiobooks
Walking in silence
Walking with music and pushing myself to hike 3+ mph
Bouldering climbs that took a long time and I got to take my time on
Eating and not worrying about it / eating for fuel and because I need to, not because I’m bored
Solitude of camping alone
Waking up on-trail (and not having to ‘go anywhere’ to hike / trail is my backyard or right outside my tent
Journaling at the end of the day
Sitting quietly in nature at the end of the day or on breaks
The contrast and complement of sometimes camping alone and sometimes camping with lots of friends
Just sitting for a break in the middle of the day and staring into nature for 20 minutes to an hour. Just ‘being’
Drying off and getting warm after hiking in the rain and getting soaked to the bone
Putzing around in the mornings / knowing what I need to do to start the day but also having fun taking my time doing it
Having some days where I make a shit ton of miles by early in the day and still see how much I can do with the rest of the day, and then giving myself a zero day after a few days of hauling ass
Talking to people who I run into on trail or in town
Sitting around a fire with people, even if we’re not talking
The feeling / satisfaction of drinking cold spring water
Putting myself out there and meeting a new person I get along with
The smell of the forest
Not checking my phone all the time (think only turning it off airplane mode when I get to the top of a climb)
Having a reason I’m not immediately available to people
Accomplishment of a certain number of miles and / or elevation
Movies on zero days
Special food on zero days (sandwiches, baked goods, beer, complex food)
Timing zero days perfectly with cool towns or rainstorms
Also having a zero day on a nice day (and giving myself permission to do so)
Having zero agenda on a zero day
Not having anything ‘on the calendar’ looming in my future
Getting town chores done right away so I can fuck around after that
Finishing town miles early enough to shower and still do chores and STILL have time to hang out with everyone without stressing out that I didn’t get my chores done
Always meeting new people and meeting enough new people that if some aren’t friendly, I have the perspective to know it doesn’t matter / isn’t me
Community of people who aren’t afraid to introduce themselves and ask get-to-know-you questions
Planning on when to wake up and get moving based on what the weather is doing