What Hiking Teaches us About Life

I enjoy hiking, and this year, I’ve hiked on trails in Oklahoma, Virginia, Colorado, and Utah. Hiking is not only great exercise, but also a way to share an experience, create memories, immerse yourself in nature, and see some fantastic views. It also gives one time to think! On my most recent hike to Red Pine Lake in Utah, I realized that hiking teaches us a lot about achieving success in life. Here are a few of the life lessons hiking has taught me.

Have a Goal

It’s rare that I hike with no destination in mind. There’s usually an objective, a place I want to see. Every aspect of the hike is planned and optimized around the destination. It is the motivation for the journey. Before I even set out, I’m looking at the map. How far is it? How difficult the trek? Can I make it? Do I have the time, the conditioning, the stamina? In hiking, as in life, there are easy, moderate, and challenging trails. The easy trails are short, fun, not very taxing, and require little preparation. The challenging trails are intimidating, but in my experience, the most memorable and rewarding.

Plan Ahead

When setting out on a hike, successfully completing it depends on planning. Having the right gear is critical: shoes, trekking poles, clothing. Learn what you can about the route and trail conditions before you set out. Check the weather! In the mountains where I like to hike, beautiful mornings often turn into stormy afternoons. My one bout with hypothermia years ago taught me to plan for the worst. The more challenging the trail, the more preparation that is required. I carry more water than I think I’ll need and snacks to spare to power me through the end of the hike. Failing to plan can literally put you in a life-or-death situation. Good planning can help you to prevent problems rather than fix them when they occur.

Focus on the Next Step

Long hikes are sometimes discouraging when you realize you have so far to go. When you’re in mile one of a seven-mile hike that features 2,500 feet of vertical gain, despair can set in if you’re too focused on everything that awaits you. Yes, it will require much effort to complete the hike. It will tire you. Self-doubt can creep in. Can I make it? In these moments, it’s important to remember what you must do: simply take the next step. Don’t fixate on the 10,000 steps you’ll take to complete the hike. Just put one foot in front of another and repeat. You will get there. Tough major? Just focus on this semester. Tough semester? Just focus on going to class this week. Tough week? Just complete what you must for today. Keep doing it, and you’ll get there.

Look up Once in a While

Many trails or trail sections are rugged. I have this fear of falling or twisting my ankle and requiring rescue. I’d rather not have that experience, so I watch the trail closely and choose every step carefully! But I’ve realized, if all I do is keep my eyes glued to the trail, watching where I place my foot for each step, I’m missing a lot. Yes, the goal is to reach the destination, but it’s also to enjoy all the hike has to offer. I stop periodically and just look around. Doing so has treated my eyes and soul to some beautiful vistas, cloud formations, wildlife, flowers, streams, and waterfalls. These things are a big reason why I hike, yet I would miss them in my eagerness to get to the end of the trail. Stopping periodically and looking up is always rewarding, in hiking and in life.

Expect Peaks and Valleys

Hiking in the mountains is never on a flat trail. To get where you’re going, you’ll have to climb and descend. It’s sometimes disheartening, on a tough climb, to look ahead at a long stretch of ascending trail, with no end in sight. In these moments, we long for the downhill stretch. Then when it comes, while our heart rate slows, our quads start to burn! The reality is this: neither the peaks nor the valleys on the trail will last indefinitely. I tell myself on a tough climb that it will end, and that the downhill sections don’t last forever either. Both are necessary parts of the journey, and with the right perspective, are enjoyable. It’s part of getting there.

Adapt to Conditions

There are times when the trail surprises you. My most recent hike to Red Pine Lake is a perfect example. At the start, the trail was wide with a gentle upward slope. After a mile, we were hiking on a narrow, steeper trail that sometimes was a stream due to snowmelt. Near the top, we hiked on a half-mile of snow and couldn’t see the trail at all! We had to follow in the steps of others, knowing that the destination was uphill. We took a wrong turn but finally oriented ourselves and found the lake. When we did, it was still frozen over! We didn’t expect so much snow to obscure the trail. We had a choice: turn around and call it quits or keep going. I’m so glad we persevered because the view was worth the effort. Expecting from the start that you may encounter the unexpected can help you keep going.

The Greatest Rewards Come from the Greatest Effort

Any hiking is fun for me. The shorter, easier hikes have their rewards. These trails are often clogged with people because they are easy. In my experience, the hardest trails lead to the best scenery, the most wildlife, and more solitude. Fewer people take the hardest trails and those who do are like-minded. In hiking and in life, the harder the trail, the more rewarding what awaits you at the end. This truth is reason enough to choose the harder trails. Go the extra mile, climb the steeper hill because what you gain will exceed what you invested to get there.