Those Who Wander - February 2016 #2

A year ago, I started dating
a hiker. Our first date was
normal enough ? we
walked around Prague?s
Old Town and the castle
grounds and had ice cream
and pilsner like a cute new
couple. But our second date
was a bit outside my
comfort zone. With just a
small backpack each, we
rode a train and a bus to
Cesky Svycarsko and spent
the next two days hiking,
and hiking, and hiking some
more.
Since then, I?ve been to
many more hikes with him,
and this is what I?ve
learned:
LEARNTOPACKVERY, VERYLIGHT
On that first hike, I had in my bag: two shirts,
two scarves, two pairs of pants, extra shoes,
two towels, a week?s worth of toiletries, two
cameras, a tripod, an iPad, chargers and
connectors, and lots of food. All he had in his
bag was a jacket (which I ended up using), a
bottle of water (which I ended up drinking),
and a bottle of wine (which we emptied that
night).
Though he was the perfect gentleman and
carried both our bags the whole 20-KM hike
that first time, I have since learned to need
less, make do, and appreciate more.
LEARNTOTRUSTANDYIELDCONTROL
As a self-confessed Type A control freak, this
was one of the hardest lessons I had to learn.
I always had itineraries and lists and always
knew where I was going and what I was
going to see and do. Take me to a strange
city and I can make my way around. I can
even drive hundreds of kilometers in a
strange country. Just give me a few days and
Google maps to figure it out.
But going into the forests and the mountains
is a different thing all together. Sometimes,
you just have to follow the path ? and the
boy who seems to know what he?s doing ?
and see where it leads you.
BEPREPAREDTOHAVETIREDLEGSAND
BURNINGLUNGS.
Before I met my hiker boyfriend, holidays
meant lying on the beach reading a good
book in between sips of daiquiri. So it?s no
surprise that, being as unfit as I was and
having way shorter legs than him, it took me
great efforts to fall in step with him. This is
still an ongoing process, but every new hike,
I get better and better at it.
JUSTSWEATITOUT.
The good thing about hikers is that they?re
not easily grossed out. No need to be
self-conscious waking up or sweating next to
them. Chances are, they?ve seen much
worse.
REDEFINEYOURLIMITS.
I never thought I could hike 30 KM until I did.
I never thought I could go through a forest at
night until I did. I never thought I could dip
into a freezing lake until I trekked until my
legs were burning and it was just crazy not
to. Every peak is reached through a journey
of self-discovery.