I just covered some beautiful and diverse terrain from I10 near Palm Springs at 2K feet to 8K feet above Big Bear Lake. I have completed 10% of the miles (250) and 20% of the climbing (71K) in 12 days. No wonder I am feeling it.
I have identified a valuable practice from my journey so far. By practice, I mean a way of engaging with my experience that makes it more vibrant, focused, and brings me joy. When I have become agitated, it tends to spiral producing increasing levels of negative energy. My hiking days last 11 hours on average, so that is a lot of time to spiral into a dark place.
So far, the area that most often needs attention is my mind. I will call my practice a walking body scan. I start by paying close attention to my left foot, observing how it lands and pushes off for at least 5 minutes. I acknowledge any discomfort and appreciate how amazing it is (already having stepped 130K times). Then I move to the right foot, the ankles, knees, leg muscles, glutes, abs, lungs, shoulders carrying the weight, and then my neck, face, and mind. After the scan, I return to the areas with tension. I can feel the stress pressing my temples as my mind tries to figure out or avoid this experience. I spend another 30 minutes focusing on releasing my mind’s pressure and, with it, the need to do anything but connect with my body and stay out of the way.
