Why I hike
Up on the mountain things are much more simple
Everything I need is carried on my back
Each item has a purpose
Because I hike each day and camp in a new spot each night
My restlessness, my wanderlust, is pacified
Maybe because I am bathed in sunlight
Because I breathe chilled morning air
Because the crickets sing to me
And the trees whisper to me
Because of this, my mind becomes clear
When I come down from the mountain
My vision is not so clear
I carry a lot more down here
Most of it in my mind
And I can’t seem to sort it out
The load I carry here below is much heavier
Than when I ascend the ridge with a pack
The wound can’t heal down here
Like one with a chronic illness
Who returns time and again to the physician
I return to the mountains
And they ease my pain