Hike Your Own Hike (HYOH): Bring Meaning to YOUR journey

Bucket List: Hike the Grand Canyon
There is a phrase used in hiking that some people love and some people hate.

Hike Your Own Hike

Sometimes referred to as HYOH, the phrase pretty much means do your hike the way you want it.  On a trail like the AT or the PCT, you will meet up with people who are experts about everything, but at the end of your day, it's your own hike you are hiking, so own it.

This phrase really applies to all hiking.  You don't have to be a thru hiker, section hiker, flip flop hiker, or master hiker to embrace the sentiment.  Just hike your own hike.  Just keep in mind that hiking YOUR hike doesn't mean you get to dictate how others hike THEIR hike. 

So, what's your hiking style?

Purpose

Everyone sets out with a hiking purpose.  Some people want to hike for fitness.  Others want to hike for the nature.  Some just don't want to sit home.  For me, hiking is about getting away from technology.  I use technology all of the time, and in ways that most people don't use it.  I work with Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, game design, ethical hacking, Internet of Things, and programming.  I am on machines all day long, and that isn't even my main focus. I oversee an online program at a community college in NJ and run an innovation center. My main focus, every day, is to help students succeed using technology.  My goal is to make sure students are prepared for all of their potential tomorrows.  But, at the end of the day, I just need to unplug.  I need to charge my own internal battery, and it's not Lithium.  Nature is my charging station. 

My hikes force me to slow down and think about the natural world. 

The Payload

Payload is a hacker term, but for hiking, it means, what do you want at the end?  I want to finish what I start, so I plan hikes that I can manage and complete.  I want time to talk to God.  I want time to look around and see stuff...birds nests, bear poo, waterfalls.  I also want to leave with some pictures.  If I've seen something interesting, had a good chat with God, and snapped a few photos on a full hike that wasn't cut short by injury, I am as good as gold.

Strategy

To hike your own hike, you have to have a strategy.  Knowing what you want out of the hike is essential to getting out of it what you want.  To get what I want (Interesting/God/Photos/Completion), I consider these elements:

Length

Right now, for me and my life, I need short hikes.  I work FT, I teach PT, and I am a mother to two amazing teenagers, one of whom is disabled.  I can't do a thru hike right now.  My hope is to do it in retirement, but seeing as I am only 45, that is a ways away.  I would love to do section hiking, but, alas, being the only bread winner, it just isn't an option right now.  It may be in the future, but, for now, I must do my hiking in and around NJ and PA.  That may change one day, but I am OK with what I can do now because there are always trails, and I live near the AT, so I can do sections near me to get closer to nature.

Stuff

What you take on a hike is up to you.  It really depends on where you are going and what you need for the length of time you plan to hike.  For me, I do mostly day trips, single overnights or weekend trips, and I try to pack light.  I am a big enough girl without all the extra crap, so I just choose not to bring stuff I don't need.  I pack the essentials, but I am never 3 days out from a shower or food, so it isn't necessary to bring a huge kit.  For example, I've never needed to chop wood, and I don't even own a hatchet.  I do make room for a journal and pencil and an extra charger for my phone because connecting with nature is my payload.

Photos

After a while, hiking photos tend to look the same, so I try to capture really interesting things that are unique and showcase the trail I am hiking.  This isn't always easy, but I try, and I like the trying.

Quitting

Quitting isn't an option for me.  I try to plan hikes that are doable and will give me the payload I want.  But, for any number of reasons, you might have to quit.  Don't get discouraged.  Just hike your own hike, and then go back to it when you can.  Modify it if you must to get out of it the payload you want.   Hiking isn't a competitive sport.  There are no gold stars for through hikers or section hikers.  They do it because it's their hike they are hiking.  It's ok not to climb Mt. Everest, and it is ok to not even WANT to climb Mt. Everest.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Adventures of Rambo & Squeak: Mushrooms, Gnats, & Inspriration

Image
Yesterday, I wanted to hike, but my son, Sharpie Boy, who is Autistic and has CP as a result of an infant stroke, was having none of it.  Nothing is more miserable than hiking with someone who hates it, so I didn't force him to go. Instead, he wanted to go to Taco Bell.  The kid clearly has a stomach made of steel. I get very depressed when I can't get outside.  The weather has been horrible, so it was the first nice day to get out, and I was stuck at a Taco Bell. But, this is the life of a parent with a child with special needs.  He appreciated getting to choose our activity, and 3 burritos later, he was all smiles. So, instead, I went hiking today. Alone. This is actually my favorite way to hike.  I like to camp with others, but I prefer to hike alone. I can go at my own pace, stop when I want, take a million pictures when I want, and I am not holding anyone up or going too fast. I did a section in New Jersey that I have done about 10 times as a trail angel d
Read more

The Adventures of Rambo & Squeak: Pick me up a Tomahawk

Image
I am actually heading out the door to take a hike with my unwilling 15 year old son when my phone vibrates with a text. It's Rambo. "Can you look in the hiker boxes for a Tomahawk?  I don't have one of those." My first thought was, who is putting Tomahawk missiles into hiker boxes...but then I remembered there is an axe thing called a Tomahawk, and this is Rambo. Eye Roll and laughter. I text back, "um, I will ask around, but I've never known anyone to have a Tomahawk or even a machete." "I already have one of those." "You need both?" "We've got to be prepared." So, I am not sure what my brother thinks lives on the AT in the 13ish mile section between Blue Mountain and the Lehigh River in PA, but I am fairly sure it isn't Nessie or Bigfoot.  Surely, some selfies would exist, right? I mean, we grew up there.  He still lives there.  Are there sightings?  Have I missed something in the 12 years s
Read more

Law in the Court of Public Opinion: Mumkey Jones V YouTube

Many years ago, I participated in Harvard's Second Life experiment called "Law in the Court of Public Opinion."  It was a fascinating class because it spoke to how our collective opinion of guilt and innocence is framed not by law but by the perceptions of those deciding the fate of others. In speaking to my 17 year old son, Moustache Man (spelled wrong for impact), we often discuss when we think something is being treated fairly or by the "court of public opinion."  Mumkey Jones, a YouTuber, has been ill treated by this circus court, and his channels, Mumkey Jones I and II, were taken down from YouTube for 6 infractions. Now, I had watched some of the videos when they were up on the channel before the channels were taken down.  I can't say I understood most of what he was talking about, but I am also not a teenager or young adult in the target audience.  I never get the humor from PewDiePie's channel, either.  Of all the modern YouTubers that my t
Read more