The Evolution of a Hiker Via Walking
I am less than a week away from a major hiking expedition in Spain, and I thought about that yesterday while doing a training hike.
As I was walking, it began to rain slightly. I thought nothing of it and just decided to continue walking through the mild rain . Little did I know that within minutes that slight rain would turn into sheets and sheets of pouring rain and heavy winds, soaking me right through! I was drenched!
I found shelter and I tried to wait out the storm, but after an hour I realized it was never going to let up ! It was just then that I decided to phone a taxi and my end training walk. I needed to head home to shower and get dry!
The taxi driver was quite confused as to why I would be out hiking in the rain. He asked me why I hike?
I began to tell him how two years ago I hiked the Camino to Santiago and that I enjoyed the 800 Km challenge. I let him know that I was walking it again within a week . He said there was no way that he could ever take!
I thought long and hard about his question and I basically told him that I really enjoyed walking. I liked walking outdoors and taking pictures and that’s how I began to hike .
My Simple Story:
In 2015, when I told my family I was going to Spain to hike an 800 Km pilgrimage alone, they thought I was crazy. To be honest, I think I did too.
I had never really gone hiking ever. I never minded long walks, but hiking? I owned a shoulder bag but not a backpack. I didn’t even know where hiking trails were, or what gear a hiker would need.
You can imagine the laughter I received when I announced to my family and friends that I was going to hike 800 Km across Spain with poles and a backpack. They were all shocked, and were filled with questions.
Then I announced that I was going to blog my entire trip and in doing that, I purchased my own web site to host my blog.
I decided on the following name for my webpage for my blog; www.hikingdan.com
I recall one of my nieces saying the following to me;
” Uncle Danny, I never knew you were a hiker. I didn’t think that walking around Sherway Gardens Mall with shopping bags was considered hiking ?
I laughed and laughed, but then I thought about it. What is a hiker? Can’t anyone be a hiker?
To me, hiking begins with the love of walking. It doesn’t matter how far you go or where you walk, but walking is a great start.
I have seen many mall walkers in the early mornings before the malls open getting their exercise indoors and particularly in the winter. I consider that to be similar to a hike it’s just inside a Shopping Mall.
Anyone can be a hiker. All you really need is a pair of comfortable shoes, a nice trail or pathway that you can walk on, then get out there and get going!
When I trained for my first Camino, I simply went outside and as I walked around I started to notice the scenery around me. I was quite mesmerized by how beautiful it was . Each day I would notice something I’ve never seen before even though I walked the same path. I began yo enjoy my local surrounding and I began to enjoy walking outdoors.
I started to use my camera to record some of the nice images I was seeing on my daily walks.
That is how it started . My walks became hikes and I started to hike longer and longer distances and enjoy the scenery more and more.
You do not have to walk 800 km across Spain to be considered a hiker. Without realizing it, I had already become a hiker well before I left.
I discovered the joy of walking . After all isn’t hiking just walking on different paths, walking different elevations, in different places, and enjoying different scenery?
You too can become a hiker and enjoy simple pathways or something more challenging.
Get outside, start walking, and become a hiker!
KEEP WALKING!
