Why do you hike?

People often ask hikers why they hike. People hike for different reasons and I cannot get into all of them. For me, I hike because it is the one thing I get to do that is just for myself. It is not meant to serve anyone, but meant to serve only me. It is an act of selfishness that is meant to lead me to more selflessness.

Let me explain. A lot of things I do, is for others. To serve others. To serve the employer, to serve friends, to serve family. But hiking is one thing that I do for me and not for anyone else. With this, I become happier and more fulfilled, and then I am available to serve others.

You know how they say you cannot pour from an empty cup? My cup was running dry, and I needed to fill it back up. Hiking is the thing that fills that cup. So I came to hiking from a point of desperation. I was tired! Tired! Really tired! And it was the tired that you cannot cure by sleeping or resting. The kind of tired that cannot be caffeinated or cured by drinking lots of water. Not even running was able to cure this level of fatigue.

And then I found hiking through a friend. We were having one of our many phone calls catching up on life. She had heard enough of my “… I am tired …” and she was trying to help me. After some back and forth, she suggested hiking and recommended 2 companies for me to check out.

So I immediately checked out the 2 companies on social media. And alas! One of them had a beginner program, specially designed for people like me. I can be quite radical in my decision making sometimes. I immediately paid a deposit! Committing with money so I have few reasons to reconsider the decision. And that is how my hiking journey began.

I was not a total beginner, but I had been out of the game long enough to be at beginner level. I had hiked before as part of my time in President’s Award Scheme (PA), even going on a 5 day adventure with very minimal support. I had also hiked Ngong Hills and Mt. Longonot as part of my time as a volunteer at St. Johns Ambulance. So I was not completely a beginner. But it had been quite a while since I had been on a mountain for a hike.

That beginner program was perfect for me. It was structured in a way that allowed the participants to learn how to hike in a gradual manner. So the hikes become harder as you go, and you also learn as you go. So a step by step kind of journey. I love structure, so this was perfect!

So why do I hike?

I hike because it makes me happy. I like taking the time to be in nature & to connect with nature. To admire the beauty of the outdoors. I hike because now I have a community of hikers I like to experience the outdoors with (not for). I hike because it makes me feel good to know that I am choosing myself. I like knowing that I am taking care of myself.