“Hiking Is Better”
A few months ago one of my hiking partners gave me a T-shirt. He had made a recent trip up to Grandfather Mountain with several family members. While browsing in a souvenir shop his wife had spotted the T-shirt. She called it to his attention. They had discussed it and together they decided to purchase it as a gift for me. There is a printed design on the front of the shirt that reads, “Hiking is Better Than Therapy”. Certainly, I was honored to receive the T-shirt. It is a gift that I treasure. I wear it fairly often. More than the T-shirt, I value the friends that gave it to me.
As hiking partners, we have walked up and down numerous mountain slopes, waded through countless streams, passed through miles and miles of Laurel/Rhododendron “tunnels”, enjoyed wonderful views and vistas, shared many tales resulting in lots of laughter and (occasional) tears, and have just had a great time logging mile after mile. While the wonderful trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are magnetic in their tug, engaging us in sharing their beauty, we have gone lots of other places as well. Admittedly, my hiking partners are, often, struggling to keep up with me as I like to just “take off” and “push on”. My partners often tease me when I respond to their question, “How much further is it?” with my well-worn reply of, “It’s just a little bit more. Just another half mile or so.”.
On our treks together I have often spoken of my love for hiking. Over and over again, I have reminded them that I have found hiking to be the very best kind of therapy that I know anything about. It does not take a lot of prompting for me to launch into my story about the time I was having some deep, personal, hurtful struggles and it was through hiking that I found some of the answers I was seeking, solutions I desperately needed, and strength that enabled me to “take off” and “push on”. Quite honestly, I am not sure that I would have survived some of those struggles that were extremely challenging, if hiking had not been my therapist in charge.
Whenever I pull on my hiking clothes, lace up my boots, shoulder up my pack, grip my trekking-sticks, calibrate my Garmin GPS, and start hoofing it down a trail I feel as though I am really alive. It is a spiritual experience as I feel as though I am in the very presence of the creator. It is a physical experience as I call on my muscles, joints, lungs, sweat-glands, and will-power to get and keep me moving. It is a social experience as I share the journey with my hiking companions. It is a psychological experience as I allow my mind to probe into the depths of my very being and sort through all of the junk and clutter that has the tendency to accumulate there. It is a historical experience as we walk trails that others have walked, pass by relics and artifacts for bygone days, and ponder our time of existence and being. It is an emotional experience as joy, laughter, uncertainty, anger, confusion, faith, doubt, confidence, fear, bewilderment, despair, hope, resiliency, and a whole bunch of other stuff joins the hike. It is an experience in gratitude, awareness, striving-ness, decision making, attitude adjustment, and confession/forgiveness.
Reportedly, Daniel Boone was once asked why he wandered so much, to so many places, and for such long periods of time. His response was, “I just have to see what is beyond that next ridge”. Yeah, I can understand that. As long as I have the strength and ability I hope to be able to seek what is beyond the next ridge in my life as well. For me, when my time comes to go I hope I have my hiking garb on and I am on some interesting trail, somewhere, heading someplace interesting.
Now, maybe, if you have read to this point you can understand the reason “Onward!” always precedes my name on any document I compose.