Why I hike

When I started getting serious this spring about hiking, and had a few practice ones under my belt, a friend asked me, "Have you always hiked? When did you become so extreme about it? I couldn't do these hikes, you're crazy." (Okay, so not just one friend, that's kind of a summary of what a few people said to me.)

First of all, I have always loved to be outdoors. When I was little, my parents couldn't keep shoes on me and I was more likely to be found in a tree or on a horse or riding my bike or...well, you get the picture. I grew up in northern New Hampshire (Colebrook girl til I die, we're a special breed) on a 600+ acre farm. To say that the fields and woods were my playground is completely accurate. I was a very lucky girl.

Secondly, it isn't extreme to want to hike or be outdoors at the end of the day, or when you're feeling landlocked. (Thank you, Mari, for that visual) I spend about eight plus hours a day indoors during the school year, more if I'm working a server shift at night. So, once the weather starts to turn mild, I'm gone baby, gone.

Lastly, the hikes I'm doing are ones that many people can manage. My most extreme was the one I haven't written about yet, a two-day traverse in the Presidentials. (I really don't want to do Webster-Cliff Trail EVER again) All the others? Not necessarily a piece of cake, but definitely do-able. Man, the views are worth every penny. You get to test your body and your mind - your brain will try to talk you out of what your body is totally capable of doing. You meet fabulous people like http://henhikes.blogspot.com/ and http://lookwhatididadventures.blogspot.com/. (They inspire me, even when we aren't hiking.) And honestly, you open yourself up to the "I can, and I did" mentality more than anything else. Plus? You get to be OUTSIDE!

So, yeah, that's why I hike.