Can Hiking in Nature Transform Your Mind, Body, and Soul? Reflections Through Hiking on Life’s Triumphs, Challenges, and Adventures!
Welcome To My Blog and Learn a Bit About Me!
Hi Everyone!
I originally set up this blog in 2015 to write about my first hike ever of the 800 Km Camino de Santiago in Spain. I wanted my family and friends follow me along my trip. This blog of my solo hike somehow transformed into a personal diary of self discovery chronicling my thoughts, feelings, and deepest life challenges. It went beyond all my expectations.
I ended up going back to the Camino in Spain 7 more times since 2015. I did hike the original 800 Km route 2 more times but I also hiked other routes across the Spanish countryside. All of it is woven into this blog!
Each time I came home, I found myself drawn into local nature hikes and walks. Those healing reflections are also chronicled within this blog.
I discovered my love of photography through hiking the Camino. Each post is loaded with photos of the scenery I fell in love with.
During the pandemic, I stopped writing and realized how much I missed sharing my thoughts and experiences. Let me introduce you to my blog because I have re-categorized ALL my posts. All of my hiking and travel posts from the last 7 years are still here! Everything was mixed together, so I decided to separate it into the individual categories.
THE CATEGORIES:
About Hikingdan and This Blog
This category is simply a brief note about who I am (for those who don’t know me too well). The other part of this category introduces this blog and explains its layout. I chose categories for all my posts so that they can be very organized, easy to look up and refer back to. I really wanted each post to follow the various themes that I write about! This category will not change once you have read it and nor will new posts be found here. You will see from the new Homepage that you can look up various posts according to their new categories which are very easily laid out for you.
As I post new items, you will get notified (if you subscribe for automatic updates). Each new post will be the first post that you see in the order they were written when opening the blog. The individual post’s category will also be highlighted notifying you where the blog post is housed.
Camino Hiking Journeys
ALL my hiking trips are here! Who would have ever thought that I was a hiker? My only hiking experiences before embarking on a 45 day, 800 Km hike across Spain was carrying parcels in the local mall? I am the guy who sleeps on fine linens, NOT rubber mattresses found in hostels! On The Camino de Santiago, I was able to do without my high thread count sheets and other luxuries of life. It was just me and the few items in my backpack! My Camino hikes (all the multiple routes I have completed) are here day by day as I hiked them! You will see some titles and places repeated because I did 7 hiking trips to Spain. Each post is unique. I have also included local hikes and those done outside of the realm of The Camino. These refer to the adventures and challenges I have faced hiking here and overseas!
Hikingdan Speaks Out
What can I say? I have a lot to talk about and discuss! You are reading my running thoughts in this category. We may not agree on all I write here but you are welcome to comment and give me feedback after each post! I read them and I WILL RESPOND to questions! I had no-one to talk to at home during the pandemic. I now have a lot to say.
How Hiking Can Be Healing
This category deals with how I came to realize that my actual experiences were cathartic and allowed me to examine a particular life issue I was having. These posts speak about my healing process: Mind, Body, and Soul! . These experiences can be hikes and the meditation done during them. My reflections encompass books read, podcasts listened to, and lived experiences. This category is about the actual reflections and how they facilitated my own personal healing. My hope, is that they simply ignite you to think about your own life experiences and begin a healing process.
*Special Note – I am NOT medically trained. psychologist I am NOT a therapist. I have lived many experiences that were happy or devastatingly sad. I have faced many challenges much like we all have. I speak of my thought and healing process only. What I share in my posts documents is my deeply personal journey. My hope and reason for posting, is that these posts may just give you something to think about? You may have had similar experiences and thoughts yourself. Our journeys are different but I hope mine help you think yours through. I am NOT telling you what to think or do. I am simply sharing how Nature helped me transform my life.
My Other Travel Adventures
I realized that I have a lot of lived travel experiences. Travelling is adventurous! I have been fortunate to do a lot of travelling. On my 7 different trips to Spain, I explored beyond the trails of the Camino. In the past year, many folks asked me about Spain in particular. This category will give readers a deep insight on places to go and to see in Spain in particular. I have put previous blog posts about cities travelled to all around the world as well here. New travel adventures will be encapsulated here too.
Travelling can be amazing and also challenging. It is often a very triumphant feeling to have gone on a trip, loved it, met the various challenges (language barriers, cultural differences, and being all alone etc.)
Just Who Is Hikingdan?
Photos during my first Camino hike in 2015
Here is a little something I put together when I organized a hiking tour in Spain. It sums things up!
Adventurer Hiker / Tour Planner / Retired Administrator / Amateur Photographer / Community Advocate
I am an experienced hiker who enjoys being outdoors, walking trails, and photographing landscapes. I began my love for the Camino in 2015 when I hiked El Camino de Santiago (Camino Frances- 800 Km) for the first time. I have hiked many other Camino routes, including the Portuguese Coastal Route. I have traveled a lot! I have seen most of Spain over 7 different trips. I have a great appreciation for the culture and historical aspects of any place I visit.
I began blogging just to let my family know where I was and what I was doing during my first epic hike! I have now blogged and photographed each of my journeys. I studied Spanish and through much practice, I can confidently converse in Spanish.
Travelling began very early for me. My first overseas trip was Greece and Holland at the age of 15. I turned 16 on that trip! I lived and worked in Australia for 4 years as well!
It’s time to dive into my bog!
ENJOY!
Oh and remember, KEEP WALKING!
The photo above is my logo that you will see on almost every page of this blog. You will read in my blog from 2015 when I was on my first Camino hike how this logo came to be.