Over my 20 years of walking long distance trails, I’ve noticed that practically all of my questions can be addressed with five essential considerations. I have started calling them my Five Essentials for Creating a Radiantly Fulfilling Walk of Any Length.
The five essentials are:
- Know your Trail
- Consider your Timing
- Love your Gear
- Magnetize your Trail Angel Network
- Nourish your Inner Journey with Practiced Tools for Shifting Energy, Beliefs, and Challenges
Bonus Essential: Know your Why!
I’ve elaborated on them in my report, which you can read here:
Five Essentials for a Radiantly Fulfilling Walk
My view of creating a walk is that the trail is a blank canvas on which we get to paint our own version of fulfillment. I’m a fan of distinguishing between accomplishing your walk and fulfilling your walk. When I create a journey, I always focus on creating a journey that makes my heart sing, that supports an inner transformation, and that provides me opportunities to be aware of how I have met my challenges and grown as a person. For me, I can literally use each step as a moment for personal growth, which is what I’m all about! The trail, and my physical accomplishment of its miles, is the venue, the medium, the stage upon which my inner journey unfolds.
With the Five Essentials as quick answers, here are starting points for answering some questions about hiking the Appalachian Trail. See if these are helpful for fulfilling your own inner journey! I’m happy to explore them in depth with you as a client of Forgiveness Walks!
What types of gear do I really need to purchase first?
- Know your trail
- Know your why, so you can design your trip to fulfill it.
- Consider timing
- Love your gear
How can I keep myself safe on the trail? Especially being a triple minority (black, queer, woman)?
- Have practiced tools for shifting energy, beliefs, and challenges
- Magnetize your Trail Angel Network
I have 2 mental disorders how to prépare for life on thé trail living with severe depression and anxiety?
- Know your trail
- Have practiced tools for shifting energy, beliefs, and challenges
- Magnetize your Trail Angel network
When is the actual best time to start? As I know you’re never truly alone.
- Know your trail
- Know your why
- Consider your timing
- Magnetize your Trail Angel Network
The dark scares me. What methods did you use to adjust to nights on thé AT?
Have practiced tools for shifting energy, beliefs, and challenges
Hiking though streams and rivers. Wow how do you prépare?
- Know your trail
- Love your Gear
- Magnetize your Trail Angel Network
- Have practiced tools for shifting energy, beliefs, and challenges
How safe is it to hitchhike as a woman, especially in thé South?
- Have practiced tools for shifting energy, beliefs, and challenges
- Magnetize your Trail Angel Network
What if you have a pet? I don’t want to bring my dog
- Magnetize your Trail Angel Network
- Know your Trail
It may sound like I’m avoiding giving you specific answers, which may be true from one point of view. What I’ve discovered about trails is that each of us has our own answers to discover and the most reliable answers are the ones we generate ourselves. There’s no one way to fulfill a walk, and my answers for my own walk aren’t necessarily the answers for your best walk. Discovering yours are a delightful journey!
Some resources to get started:
AWOL Guide to the Appalachian Trail
Radical Forgiveness by Colin Tipping
Preparing for an AT walk is part of the journey! Enjoy each step!