A Useless Hobby

Hiking a useless hobby, really.

There's no tangible outcome with no audience. If you knit, you make a nice sweater. If you paint, you create a beautiful piece of art. If you sing, you entertain the crowd. If you hike, you walk around and spend hours climbing mountains. Maybe you get a nice picture and a story to tell every once in a while.

It's not that useful of a skill. Anyone can walk. Anyone can walk up a mountain, given enough time. It does not require a natural ability. Some people will say that you can become a great dancer with enough practice, but I promise you there is a natural talent and ability that makes someone a graceful dancer and some people will never have that (me included).

Hiking is often hard, sometimes dangerous, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes boring. It leaves you sore, tired, blistered, and chaffed. A nice day can turn into a storm in an instant at higher elevations and can leave you drenched from head to toe. A huge range of plants and animals can, at the very least, give you a scare, and at the very worst, kill you. You often have to pee in the woods.

So why the hell do it?

I grew in up Southern New Hampshire, so naturally I was surrounded by the woods. I loved the outdoors as a kid, but in high school I was too consumed by teenage angst to care much about anything else. My ailing body is a running joke among my friends and family. I tore my meniscus and partially dislocated my kneecap two years ago by simply getting out of the way of an opening door. A month on crutches and 6 weeks of physical therapy was only the beginning. It took a year before I was fully healed.

After weeks of discomfort in my lower back I had another MRI and found out I had a bulging disc pressing up against my spine. I had a epidural cortisone injection in my spine and went back to physical therapy. In this round of physical therapy I found out I have mild scoliosis and a bone deformity in my hip that makes my left leg longer than my right; basically, I have been off balance for 22 years.

"I'm back!"

I didn't get back into hiking until last summer when I went out with two friends of mine. It was a small mountain, but getting to the top of it was extremely rewarding. I felt like I was finally back to normalcy (though I will forever need braces and PT), like I was strong and able. Anyone who has had an injury that takes a long time to heal knows what I mean. I saw the much larger Mount Monadnock from the summit of Pack Monadnock and set my sights there. It didn't take long to reach that goal, and my love for the outdoors has been reignited ever since.

So, why hike? Well, for me it provides a chance to detach from life while appreciating it at the same time. How often do you appreciate a really pretty tree? A nice view? A giant boulder in the middle of the woods? I've lived in Boston for the past 5 years, and as much as I love the city part of my heart is still in the woods of New Hampshire. Life in a city can get pretty monotonous, hectic, and suffocating at times. Getting out on a mountain is quite literally a breath of fresh air. It's a chance to sign offline, even if just for a few hours, and be blissfully detached. The miles of blood, sweat, and (figurative) tears are worth the view at the top. A lot of people do their best thinking in the shower, I do some of my best thinking trekking through the woods. Though I am no super-hiker, my experiences hiking in the past year have pushed my limits and showed me that I am capable of being a little tough. In a time when my life is up in the air, student loans are looming over my head, the pressure to get a job and make money is more significant than ever, my personal life isn't always steady, etc., climbing a mountain is something I CAN accomplish.

Welcome to my misadventures on mountains.