Take a Hike if You Know What’s Good For You!

Several months ago, I confided to a friend that I have lived in the United States for more than 30 years and have never walked, much less hiked, in a national park. There are over 400 national parks in this country, preserving 85 million acres of the world’s most treasured landscapes, ecosystems, and historical sites. Strange how something that had never really been on my radar suddenly felt like a significant omission eliciting a confession. My friend took my confession to heart and as a challenge. She organized a trip for us to Zion National Park in Utah. We went last week. Like so many things I’m finding in my late 50’s, it was life changing. It’s pretty amazing when something you had never thought about becomes something you realize was always missing from your life. You just didn’t know it was missing until you found it. That’s me, national parks, and hiking. It occurs to me now that when someone tells you to take a hike, they might just want what’s best for you.

Hiking vs. Walking

Hiking is not all that different from walking but it is. It suggests a difference in vigor, elevation, time spent, and exposure to natural environments. Whether you deem what you’re doing walking or hiking, it’s great for you. Both can get your heart pumping and your head clearer. Walking can even be done indoors. And walking in a city can expose you to different neighborhoods, people, sights, and smells. But when we think of hiking, we think of longer walks. Some people may think of a more challenging walk. Hiking involves the great outdoors. I might have been intimidated by the notion of hiking in the “before”, assuming it was one of those things not meant for me. I’m a city girl through and through and not someone who needs to challenge myself with life threatening feats. No rock climbing or treacherous terrain for me, thank you very much. But now that I’m blissfully in the “after,” I’m aware that you don’t need to belay like a climber to be a hiker.

Adventuring in Nature

Hiking, as I now see it, is not the least bit intimidating. It’s an activity during which you can choose to tune out the world or focus on the very best the world has to offer. Either way, it puts you squarely in the natural world. Unlike walking in the city, you generally don’t have to worry about car traffic, stop lights, or honking horns. Whether it’s a long walk in the countryside, a trek along a river or making your way through mountains or rock formations, it’s about so much more than getting your steps in. Of course, you get in a lot of steps when you take a hike. Hiking is and feels like an adventure. It gives you the opportunity to experience wonder and awe, to gain perspective and to feel and want to be better.

Regardless of the difficulty level of the trails you follow when hiking, you’re likely spending time making your way over unpaved, uneven terrain with twists and turns. The adventure can help your body build endurance, strength, tone, balance, and coordination, not to mention good heart health. Walking on uneven terrain, like that of hiking trails, causes the body to use 28 percent more energy than walking on flat, even ground. And then there are the mental health benefits of being out in nature, which include reduced cortisol levels, reducing, in turn, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Reduction of depression and anxiety is a frequent result of hiking in nature and it may even improve your sleep.

Musings From the Trail

A few things about this trip were particularly meaningful for me.

• I traveled with a dear friend who I met earlier this year during another life changing experience, my trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. The magic of female friendship is unparalleled. Combining friendship and travel is icing on the cake.
• I had never spent time in a national park and wanted to rectify this oversight. Jumping into the things you want to do is empowering and exciting. If you’re putting off something you think you want to do, ask yourself what you’re waiting for. The time, your time, is now.
• This trip was an outdoors, active trip. We are healthiest when we spend time moving outdoors. The more we hiked, the more I wanted to hike and bask in the freshest of air.
• We were so wonderstruck by the beauty surrounding us and so intent on seeing as much as we could that our phones served as cameras and we took a break from scrolling and texting. The opportunity to truly disconnect is a gift.
• I learned a lot. Killer squirrels, mule deer, and pampas grass are all real things. The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know and I love knowing there’s so much still to learn. Taking in the world with curiosity and no judgment opens us up in untold ways. Curiosity creates empathy, improves brain health, increases happiness, and reduces stress.
• National Park culture is everything good about humans. The kindness on the path is a reprieve from the culture of cruelty that seems so pervasive these days.

Every trail we took offered a chance to slow down, breathe deeply, and rediscover our place within something much larger than ourselves. Leaving Zion felt a little like waking from a dream. Out there, miles from to-do lists and Wi-Fi signals, we found space to just be. I bought a t-shirt that says “lose reception, gain perspective.” Amazingly, to do that, I only needed to take a hike.

p.s. Photo credit and a hug full of thanks to my friend Pam, without whom I’d still be wondering what the big deal is when it comes to national parks and hiking and killer squirrels.

Musical Playlist While You Ponder This Post

To the Mountains by Lizzy McAlpine, Walk This Way by Aerosmith, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, The Climb by Miley Cyrus, Up Around the Bend by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Rocky Mountain High by John Denver, Sedona by Houndmouth, Take Me to the Mountain by Great Peacock, Landslide by Fleetwood Mac

Thinking and Trying

Something to think about: “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” – John Muir

Something to try: Take a Hike! I mean that in the most caring, compassionate, and positive way!

Join Our Tribe

I always feel smarter and stronger when I listen to and connect with wise people. My friends and fellow coaches Maria and Lorin are among the wisest people I know. The three of us joined together to bring you the Unpacking Midlife With The Wise Women podcast. You can listen on Spotify or Apple podcasts. We share our thoughts, concerns, and joys relating to our journeys through midlife. Whether you’re seeking guidance, validation, or the comfort of knowing you’re not alone, this community welcomes you.

Coaching Can Help

If you want to try hiking or forest bathing or make walking a regular thing but you’re feeling intimidated or stuck, you might benefit from working with a coach. Contact me here to talk about how coaching can help you develop healthy habits that keep you feeling your best. The first session is 15 minutes over Zoom and it’s free.