With each step, every pause, and around every bend, almost ALL of your senses are employed, unlike other means of exploration. With leisure comes opportunity to genuinely experience the very details that make the world so beautiful and awaken your senses.

To see: 

To see the landscape stir with the wind. To see ripples disperse among reflections. To see creatures frolic among the woods with purpose for their own life goals. To see is to feel. 

To smell:

To smell the evergreens blended with rich soil and unpolluted air is a smell so sweet and unforgettable. Perhaps my second favorite way to experience a trail. To smell is to feel.

 To hear:

Is it the forest sounds? Or lack or sounds in the forest? It is both! The crickets, birds and wind all orchestrated to create the perfect melody. To hear is to feel. 

To feel:

To feel the breeze across your skin, to feel hard rock under foot and perseverance behind you, is addicting. To feel is to FEEL. 

The simultaneously provoked senses create an inner feeling of empowerment, serenity, and peace that not only rest your mind, but your soul too.

 And that is the chase that begins at every trail head.

 

Hiking is metaphorically similar to life. Sometimes the path is easy, hard or even non existent. Regardless, it just requires one thing, despite whatever challenge you face. Just put one foot in front of the other. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big step, little step, fast or slow, just keep going. Of course breaks are essential for long term success, but if you sit for too long you will never reach the top. Weather your’e hiking on a trail or metaphorically through life, take the trail with the best views even if it’s long and hard. Just put one foot in front of the other and enjoy the hike.