I’ve been walking most days when and for as long as I can. Right now I’m usually able to cram a good three or four miles in with at least the vase weight of my thru-hiking pack.
In addition to this addition to my routine, I’m also starting to journal with a focus on my upcoming hike. My intention is to use these words to capture where I’m at, understand where I’m headed, and sort out complications along the way. It will also serve as “research” should I ever decide to write about the hike in the future.
I talked to my therapist before hiking today and we touched on an important idea. What do I want or expect from this hike?
Immediately I typed “To figure out how to make hiking my life. How to make a living from walking.” The caveat was that there was more, perhaps much more, that I expect spiritually and mentally from the hike. We then discussed some ideas I’d had on the topic of making a living at it which include creating geospatially accurate recordings of trails and then selling that somehow. Writing about my time on trail. Even coaching thru-hikers before their hikes.
I’m still writing science fiction, but publishing in this space still feels like a young person’s game. There’s also the possibility that I’m not as interested in writing SFF as I am about reading it. I’m on my 5th trail journal since December right now and gobbling it up as fast as the others.
What I’m reading often fills me with an overwhelming sense of joy. I live vicariously through these authors and their journeys and can vividly see everything they describe.
Honestly, it feels very much like low-hanging fruit, and isn’t that what we’re supposed to grab first?
FeetForBrains 