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<\/a>Connection<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
I started the drive back to the UP the following day.\u00a0 As I was driving on 61, I saw a southbound thru-hiker I had met near Carlton Peak.\u00a0 He was hiking on the gitchi-gami trail on the Gooseberry detour.\u00a0 He was using sticks as trekking poles and booking it like a mad man.\u00a0 He had that determined thru-hiker look, getting some easy miles in.\u00a0 I wondered if the other cars driving by knew what he was up to?\u00a0 Did they know this guy was spending rainy nights out in the woods, breathing in beautiful vistas of Lake Superior, drinking yellow-ish water from rivers, dirt and grime under his fingernails?\u00a0 Or did they think he was homeless, on a day-hike, or walking to a friend\u2019s house?\u00a0 Perhaps they didn\u2019t notice him at all.\u00a0 I felt a connection to the man that I imagined few to no other passerby did.<\/p>\n
I am so grateful I was able to take this time to get away and hike, to walk from one place to another.\u00a0 That\u2019s all a thru-hike is, putting one foot in front of the other.\u00a0 After spending the past six months feeling as though I was operating under everybody else\u2019s whim, I needed to do something on my terms, to set and reach a personal goal.\u00a0 I have struggled in the past with needing validation from others, with letting the words and actions of other people hurt my feelings and make me feel small.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to walk 260 miles to get over this.\u00a0 In fact, dealing with an issue such as that is a continuous journey with ongoing internal work to be done.\u00a0 But walking 260 miles allowed me to connect once more to the wild spaces that I love.\u00a0 Through this connection, a space I am continually attempting to unveil, I have started to move past people\u2019s ratings of me, their comments, and preconceived notions.<\/p>\n
Non-attachment\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This hike reminded me that I don\u2019t need validation from others and honestly, that Mother Earth does not give a sh!t.\u00a0 Mother Earth does not care that you\u2019re freezing, or you have an unreasonable fear of wolves, or that your feet are tired, or that you need to take a poo when there is no pit toilet in sight, or you don\u2019t feel like carrying three liters of water, or that mud is a pain to walk through.\u00a0 She simply is.<\/p>\n Mother Earth will provide for you if she is respected.\u00a0 If you take care of her and listen to her wisdom, she will take care of you.\u00a0 By joining her rhythm of sunrise and sunset (anyone heard of \u201chiker midnight\u201d??), we move with the grain of the world.\u00a0 Raging against a wild space never did anyone an ounce of good, we all become losers.\u00a0 Mother nature doesn\u2019t take things personally or hold a grudge, and neither should we.\u00a0 I am continually working to let go.\u00a0 To let go of others\u2019 expectations and judgments.\u00a0 To be kindness and compassion.\u00a0 To be understanding and nonjudgmental myself.\u00a0 And when interacting with someone who does not operate under those values?\u00a0 If I have realized it is pointless trying to control nature, maybe one day I can apply this wisdom to other people\u2019s actions, expectations, and perspectives.\u00a0 Relinquishing control and non-attachment, learning points on my path.<\/p>\n Empowerment<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n What to do when someone tells you that you aren\u2019t smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough?\u00a0 It is easy to say that other people\u2019s opinions do not matter, because they don\u2019t.\u00a0 However, for those of us still affected by other people\u2019s words and judgments (us non-enlightened folk), it may be time to look inward.\u00a0 There is peace, grace, love, and spirit within.\u00a0 Can we swim through that pool of negativity, regret, shame, and inadequacy (self-imposed and\/or imposed by others) to reach something higher?\u00a0 For me, perhaps I received some external validation by completing a hike, but on that hike, I started to relinquish control.\u00a0 Being solo, with few critics, I began to let go of thoughts, allowing myself to just \u201cbe\u201d.\u00a0 I also began to tap into my own perseverance, power, and strength.\u00a0 Through my strength, I found grace on a climb.\u00a0 Through that power, my love for the gift of my body grew.\u00a0 By putting one foot in front of another, I found peace at the top of a mountain.<\/p>\n For anyone that wants to accomplish a goal.\u00a0 Set your goal.\u00a0 Set a lofty goal and don\u2019t listen to the critics.\u00a0 I can\u2019t tell you how many people were in disbelief I was hiking alone.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re by yourself??!!\u201d\u00a0 I would shrug my shoulders and tell them I was.\u00a0 People have even used the term \u201cbrave\u201d.\u00a0 I can\u2019t help but think these reactions would be different if I was male.\u00a0 What\u2019s with the stigma of women in the wilderness?\u00a0 Do not let people\u2019s expectations put you in a box.<\/p>\n Humility<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n After accomplishing my goal of hiking from Duluth to Canada, the leaves were changing with spectacular reds, yellows, and oranges on my drive back to the UP and I was reminded that not only is Minnesota\u2019s North Coast special, but my hometown is too.\u00a0 Change is coming, most notably a lot of white stuff after the leaves fall, but hopefully also a change in myself.\u00a0 I hope to completely internalize the empowerment, non-attachment, and peace I experienced on my trip.\u00a0 Values that can easily fall by the wayside in our rat race of a world.\u00a0 Later into the drive, there was a nearly full, giant moon hovering over town.\u00a0 She lit the way and reminded me of the sacredness of our surroundings and I felt extremely humbled to be on this Earth.\u00a0 What a special place to walk this windy path.<\/p>\n