Why am I attempting to thru hike the AT?
Gain perspective. “What’s the worst that could happen?” Answering this question is an exercise in perspective – parsing out irrational fears and unfounded emotion from reality and simple probability. Solo hikes in Arkansas and New York, leaving an amazing job, moving out of our apartment, planning for a year away – each step along the way forced me to confront my fears in different ways. So far, “the worst” really isn’t that bad.
Learn humility. Rain, bugs, pointless ups and downs, injuries – you can only control so much in the woods. Even in planning for the hike, my leg has been injured for two months – I couldn’t sit for more than 10 minutes without feeling pain. After a good amount of physical therapy and a 25-mile test hike, I think it will be OK, but there is still the chance that I get off the trail in a week. I’m already learning that not everything goes as planned, and being OK with this is an essential part of learning to be happy.
Appreciate beauty. At Harvard, I completed my first 6-day hike during the week before the first day of school, and I went on three more trips over the next two years. I was amazed that even after each thigh-scorching ascent and waist-deep stream crossing, I kept coming back to the same simple yet powerful realization: nature is beautiful. Sometimes the view from the top of a mountain or a star-filled, clear sky are enough to make the hard parts worth the struggle.
Live simply. Our bookshelves (or at least, the bookshelves that Rocío allotted for me) are filled with personal productivity manuals, positive psychology research, and guides for teaching and learning. At the same time, I used to play video games for 12 hours at a time when I was a kid, and Pokemon Go more recently became my real reason for running in Prospect Park. As a result, I now tend to oscillate between weeks-long meditation streaks and season-crushing Netflix binges. A long-distance hike with only the things in my backpack is a commitment to living simply and finding happiness through meaningful activities and interactions rather than easy-to-find distractions.
Take on a challenge. Honestly, I love this part of it. Planning the hike. Mapping out the miles. Having a goal. Gritting through the tough stuff. Doing something I’ve never done before. 2200 miles – the whole thing? Could I do it? Maybe I’ll make it, and maybe I won’t, but it’s pretty badass to try, and it’d be even more badass to finish. And sometimes that’s reason enough to do something a little bit crazy.
Trails And Travels 