I’m not a mountaineer. I do, however, love going up mountains. Maybe it would be more apt to say that I am a “walker”. I love walking. I enjoy hiking. I derive a certain joy in trekking and just making these legs work to get me somewhere. While I still can. And I’m not prejudiced to mountains and peaks, because I pretty much have my switches turned to “ON” mode when we talk about nature.
I suppose that explanation just staved several degrees of credence off the title of this blog post, huh?
But I have been asked by a few people why I suddenly have this penchant of looking for these “adventures” in mountains and similar settings. This is my attempt to explain why.
* Nature is the best healer.
Stress is a constant companion, especially when (1) you work in an office environment; (2) your work is related to finance; and (3) the office environment happens to be in the government. So you need to take a breath, recharge, recuperate, SEEK A SEMBLANCE OF SANITY.
The best provider of that is Mother Nature, bar none.
* The trek is its own reward, and the destination is just icing on top.
Someone asked me before to pick between hiking and running. I picked the former. Why? Because I can pause, stop and breathe for a while on hikes. And there’s always a view to check out while hiking. AND when you reach the top, BEST. FEELING. EVER. That fatigue that hounded you on the way up? Simply melts away.
Some of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen in my life I’ve seen while on these hikes. And let me tell you, they NEVER get old.
* It offers a refreshing change, a welcome break in the monotony of things.
Especially if your daily grind takes place in an urban setting. I consider myself lucky because, living where I am, I still get a good mix of urban and rural. But, sometimes, we all look for something to shake things up, and going on one of these hikes is a great way for me to do that.
It’s not everyday that you get to play games – albeit childish and juvenile – around a campfire, or lie down on moist, dew-filled grass or on loose sand and sleep under the stars.
It’s not everyday that you get to take a dip in ice cold waters or stand beneath the thundering downpour of a waterfall.
It’s not everyday that you trudge through precarious trails and slip, slide, and scramble.
But I’d like to think that I know how to pace myself. I make a conscious effort to take breaks in between, because I don’t want hikes to be such a regular thing that they will lose their novelty and end up becoming something I have to do rather than something I want to do.
* It’s a social experience worth having (and a social experiment worth making).
I kid you not. I have met people who, in the normal course of things, I would not be spending my time with, much less getting acquainted with, on these adventures.
My social circle has widened, and there is that assurance that you have at least one thing in common with them: a passion for the outdoors. And there is also the assurance that, in the future, you will cross paths with them again and share another outdoorsy experience. Sure, you may get along with some, don’t see eye to eye with others, but that is part of this whole social experiment.
* It introduces you to the person you should know best: yourself.
I learned a lot of things about myself while going on these adventures.
For one thing, I learned that I can be patient and persevering, when I spent almost my entire life living with my short temper and even shorter attention span.
I learned that I can get along with other people – with different personalities – when I used to think I can only really do it with a select few.
More importantly, I also realized that there are still a lot of things I have yet to learn, and that the process of learning is actually more fun and fulfilling than the state of being fully knowledgeable.
And here’s another great lesson: that I am but a tiny dot in the grand scheme of things, and there are always bigger, better things out there that’s just waiting to be discovered.
* Hey, it’s good exercise.
It certainly beats spending hours inside a gym, or running around a track (or, worse, on smoke-filled roads). I don’t know about you, but I relish the feel of sweat trickling down my back, or all over my body, through the exertion of putting one foot in front of the other on a trail.
So you see, it’s not just for health reasons that I join on these hikes. It’s also for the state of my mind, for the good company, for the breathtaking views and scenery, and the exciting and memorable experiences. All these form a solid reason why I am always looking forward to opportunities to get out there and see nature at her finest, climb or no climb involved.
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