Inner Journey

Following in his Footsteps

Hiking in Winter Requires Teamwork

One of the keys to efficient hiking in more arduous winter conditions is energy preservation and I’ve found that you can tell if a group is working well together when everyone places their boots in the footsteps of the hiker in front …

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Living an Unscheduled Life

Bushwhack Canister

Guthook said, “I want to see how long I can lead a life without a fixed schedule” when we were hiking in the mountains the other day. We’d blown off work for the day, an easy thing to do since we both …

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The Sound of Cicadas

Mount Katahdin, Appalachian Trail

When I was growing up, I used to listen to the sound of the cicadas in our back yard. It’s the sound that I associate with the hot days and evenings of summer. Yesterday morning, as I was hiking the last few …

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Beginner’s Mind

Rockclimbing at The Gunks, New York

When you get really good at something, it’s easy to fall into the trap of automated behavior. This is where you respond to a situation without thinking about what you’re doing or why. A lot of people think automated behavior like this …

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Fear of Snakes

True confession here. When I was a teenager, I was deathly afraid of snakes. It was so bad that I couldn’t look at pictures of them or watch them on TV. I can even remember one road trip where my family drove …

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Hiking and Meditation

Hiking is meditation, for me at least. It’s one of the main reasons I run off into the mountains and woods whenever I can. I first learned about meditation about 10 years ago when I took some classes and workshops on sitting …

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Solo Backpacking

Harmon Hill

Solo Backpacking I do a lot of solo backpacking. I got started when I hiked the Long Trail in Vermont in 2008. No one I knew wanted to come along, but I still wanted to go, so I did it by myself. …

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My Yoga Wheel

Hooked on Yoga Again I'm hooked on Yoga again. It's been about 2 years since I had a regular practice but in the past month I've gone to several classes per week and I am hooked on the feeling again. This past …

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Why I Hike

I really like hiking. There are lots of reasons why, but I think the most important is mental. My life is a bit stressful at the moment. I have a lot of responsibilities at work and home, and it's hard to find …

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