Life Lessons from Hiking

Last Saturday, January 18, 2020, we woke up at 5:30 AM, laced our shoes up, carried our backpacks and headed to Horn Canyon Trail adventure. We hit the track with one reason in mind, to view the summit of the mountain.

In the end, we realized that the experience brought us much more than what we originally predicted.

This three hour trek was an amazing journey filled with challenges — something I expected from the beginning. What I didn’t expect was the way it changed my life.

Five things we’ve learned from this hike:

1) Getting out of our comfort zones. When confronted with new and challenging situations, such as walking along vertiginous tracks or negotiating river crossings, we have to tap into our inner resources, overcome our fears and anxiety and push our limits. Suddenly, writing an apology letter to a screaming customer or confronting a neighbor who is playing loud music at midnight, for example, might not seem as intimidating as it normally would.

Being thrown out of our comfort zone helped us grow and perceived challenges and opportunities in a different way.

2) Taking one step at a time. Day hikes still require mental and physical preparation. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task at hand. So, like hiking, we need to break important projects down into smaller, manageable parts, we have to move forward without feeling crushed by the big picture. Step-by-step, anything can be accomplished.

3) Learning to live in the now. Who among us never worries about the future? During a hike, some questions are recurrent: Will we make it to the top? Are we carrying enough water? What will the weather be like? Time on the trail shows us that these concerns are mostly unfounded. We need to stop to observe a hawk on a tree top, for example, or plunge our hands in the creek to feel the water temperature. We need to start appreciating every moment rather than worrying about what doesn’t exist yet. Today’s society doesn’t allow as much freedom to slow down. When we learn not to worry about the things we have no control over, we can focus on the present and appreciate every moment a bit more..

4) Being persistent in the pursuit of our goals. Persistence is the key to get the end of the 20,000 steps hike. Just as it is in life, experiencing highs and lows is in inevitable when hiking long distance. The thought of giving up can even come to mind at times.

While hiking the Horn Canyon Trail, weary from the endless road, enduring switch backs, climbing rocks, looking at remnants of the fire from two years ago was very discouraging. But we pushed through. We chose to be there. And at the end of the day, the feeling of spending time with the beautiful and kind people I’m with was totally priceless!!

Also, giving up might sometimes seem like the easiest option, but having the tenacity to keep going was instantly rewarding.

5) Learning to reconnect with ourselves. Walking for such a long time immersed in nature cultivated another beneficial aspect: We are notably disconnected from the world, with no TV, no social media, no distraction and therefore much more connected with nature and ourselves. Walking leads to inner contemplation— and we get to do a lot of soul-searching.

For the time we spent outdoors away from the comfort of our homes brought us a breath of fresh air and a new perspective on the way we are leading our life. We immersed ourselves in nature, forgot about our daily obligations, and connected with others and our own selves.

After a few hours walking in the wilderness, we come back healed, empowered, and ready to go to cope with our daily life in a new way.