7 Reasons Your Next Trip Should Be a Hiking Destination
Escape (or return) to the real world.
In her book, Wild, Cheryl Strayed recounts her experience hiking the Pacific Crest Trail after the loss of her mother and the breakup of her marriage. Originally, she set out on the trail with the daily intention to “weep tears of cathartic sorrow and restorative joy” and imagined “endless meditations on sunsets or while staring out across pristine mountain lakes.”
And yet, as Strayed goes on to tell, that didn’t really happen. You think hiking is going to be one thing, but then it surprises you. Her solo hike of 1,000 miles over three months was a far deeper experience than meditative bliss. As she tells it:
“It had to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles with no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets. The experience was powerful and fundamental.”
There is, of course, a wide range of hiking. While Strayed’s journey was extreme, day hikes are far more common — especially for beginners. And even still, a simple day hike will allow you the space to simply exist.
