Hike

There's something downright magical about spending your time out in nature, just putting one foot in front of the other, following dirt trails and climbing mountains far away from the structure of civilization. Feeling fresh air on your skin, hearing the wind in the air and animals all around, or water flowing nearby. It has the unique ability to clear your mind and look inwards, to examine the things that have been happening in your life with a level head and make decisions that can lead you in new and better directions.

The weird thing, too, is that even when you know that, it's hard to make yourself go do it. When you're not actively out there, all you remember is the sweat and the strain in your legs as you constantly push yourself up steep dirt hills and over rocky faces. You remember getting back to the car feeling exhausted and just wanting to get home so you can sit down and rest, eat some real food, maybe take a shower to rid yourself of all the sweat and dirt.

But part of what makes it so great is the fact that it makes those tasks, that are completely mundane and every day activities, incredible. When you are that tired, that hungry, that sore, everything in your daily life that you normally take for granted suddenly becomes the best thing that you've ever experienced. To sit in a soft chair, to eat real food, to drink something other than stale water. Small things that many of us never even have to think about. And suddenly they're more than we could ever hope for.

It's amazing how such a small thing can have such an impact, and how quickly that impact can be forgotten. If I go on a hike for a few hours, it takes less than an hour after I get home to forget about the things I thought about while I was out there, and how much better everything at home feels after a hard day on the trail.

But it's still there, in the back of my head. I still remember the sights I saw out there. The way it felt. The things that I've done, and the accomplishments I have made. The literal mountains that I have climbed. And I know how much work I put in to do those things. How hard what I did was, and knowing that I could do it again. Knowing that I should.

It's a feeling I wish more people could experience.