Just prior to my condition, which actually started in the fall of 2015, I went on a trip with my wife and some awesome friends to AZ to hike 2 days in Sedona and to spend 4 days on the floor of the Grand Canyon, hiking and exploring the falls of the Havasu trail. We ended up logging 50 miles of hiking that week and the trip was an amazing experience for me. In fact, I didn’t realize that it was a life-changing event for me. I recently packed it up and, alone, I went camping to contemplate on finding the how. I logged 20 miles of hiking in 3 days, and somewhere along those winding trails, beautiful hollows and trickling streams, I found it! Hiking is my new sanctuary, my safe place, and a new way to search for the how, all while fulfilling my desire to push and challenge my body, mind, and soul. I’ve now become obsessed about hiking. It’s all I can think about…Who wants to go?
Now, as I start to write the next chapter in my life, I can only wonder what’s around the next corner, up the next hill, or down that next path. The trail has shown me the clarity I needed, as I shift to fulfill the how. I now have some big dreams and goals in place, and spending 6 months to thru-hike the 2080 miles of the Appalachian Trail is right at the top of the list. Happy for me is not a destination, but a path and I’ve got some incredible trails to travel. Off to hike I must go…Shift your life, shape your life, everything is possible.
The Purposeful Hiker 