It's the same with any sport or activity a person loves to do. If you really enjoy something, have a passion for it, you will manipulate your work schedule, cancel an appointment, take added risks, to do what you love to do. My hiking career has spanned a few decades. Over the years, situations, some normal some not, have given me a reason to get outside and hike.
I lived within a few miles of the AT (Appalachian Trail), in Pennsylvania. My favorite hike was a 3-5 mile stretch to the top of Blue Mountain, rest at Darlington Shelter, and return to my vehicle. It was on one of those hikes I thought of how little a reason I needed to get outside and enjoy nature. It didn't matter how many times I walked the same path, pass the same trees, or hear the same sounds. I remember writing the phrase, "It's time to go hiking when..." on paper found in the shelter. Later, I scribbled a bunch of endings to the phrase.
I used this one more than once during my work career:
It's time to go hiking when your boss tells you he "Will be out Friday, and may not be back till Tuesday.
That meant I'm out of here early on Thursday to hike a trail for the first time, hook up with friends on a trip already planned or finish another section of the AT.
Now I want to hear from the readers. When is it time for you to go hiking? What excuse have you used? Post it here on the blog.
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