About a month ago, I dropped my friends Maggie Slepian and Jeff Garmire off at the Ouachita Trail in Talihina, Oklahoma. I was both filled with excitement and experiencing a bit of painful nostalgia as I made my drive back to Edmond, which gave me the push I needed to share some reflections of my experience on trail. Jeff and Maggie are both well known in the outdoor world and hiking community. They are intentional, loving, and thoughtful human beings, exemplifying what we all could be doing better. They live out each day leading with their passions and sharing their gifts*.
I met Jeff hiking the Colorado Trail. When we met, he was going eastbound, midway through a successful fastest known time attempt. He completed the trail a total of 9 days 8 hours and 18 mins, less than half of the 24 days I spent on the trail. He’s a nominee for the 2020 FTK of the year, presented by NorthFace. I was filling up my water at a stream and when I looked up there he was! We all knew we’d run into him eventually and were anticipating the moment. I excitedly snuck in a quick chat and cheered him on. After a long day of hiking, running into THE “Legend” was a real treat. He was so kind and willing to take photos with me and each of my three friends, Jason (Achilles), Taylor (Haiku), and Dan (Rubber Band Man).
It’s been two months since I was on the Colorado trail, and man, do I miss it. I miss sharing meals and conversation with Taylor, Dan, and Jason. I miss having the simplicity of life and not thinking about my job/career or where I want to make my next move. I miss only having to think about how many miles I had to walk that day, where I was going to get water, where I would set up my tent for the night, and what questions I wanted to ask the guys to entertain myself. I miss being able to look out and see so many different bright and vibrant colors that all came with the natural beauty of Colorado.
Trail life is so good. Even on days when it wasn’t super great, when it was gray and sleeting icy rain droplets and every step was a slip, it was still good. It was an opportunity to be so fully alive. I try my best to incorporate that feeling in my everyday life, but it’s difficult to replicate.
On trail, you don’t need the things we think we need as a society. You need food, water, and shelter. You don’t need the “extra.” It didn’t matter that we had a presidential election looming, it didn’t matter that I was no longer living in Bangkok, it didn’t matter that I wasn’t checking my email, it didn’t matter that there was so much stress in the world. I could just be.
During my hike, each day had structure. I woke up every morning around 6 or 6:30 AM and rolled up my sleeping bag and sleeping pad after writing for a few minutes in my journal. Yes...I am that dedicated to my journaling practice that I brought my journal on trail. Each morning, I scurried off to the bathroom before I finished packing up my tent. I ate a large helping of overnight oatmeal and then my legs took off for the day. I hiked until about 10 AM before finding a place to fill up with water and eat a snack. I always enjoyed the trickling sound of a stream, birds chirping, or whatever natural sound came with the day’s resting points.
My decision to hike the trail came in conjunction with my resignation from my job. The simplicity of life on the trail was great but equally important for me was the immediate sense of purpose it provided. Purpose is so crucial to daily existence. When you’re an adult without a job or kids or some other circumstance of responsibility, finding a sense of purpose feels different. You have to seek it out in something that’s not inherently or blatantly part of your day-to-day life. On the trail, your purpose is to walk. Your purpose is to get to your destination. Your purpose is to feed yourself. Your purpose is to love yourself. Your purpose is to care for yourself and for the people around you.
Days on the trail were always full of excitement and adventure. Most of the time it was in-the-moment fun, but occasionally the trail provided what we like to call “Type Two Fun” (when you’re having “fun” that isn’t actually fun in the moment but is fun to talk about after). My biggest day of “Type Two Fun” happened after a snowstorm that left us waiting for five days in the town of Silverton. When we started hiking again, the trail was covered in snow. The first day back was cold and slushy, but we made it through. The following day, I woke up with frozen boots that I had to rub and breathe on in order to warm them up enough to crack open the crusted ice on the laces. On that day, I ended up hiking until 9 PM in the dark. When the sun went down, I couldn’t find my headlamp. I thought I lost it until a few days later when I figured out it was at the very bottom of my pack. I was hiking in freezing cold temperatures and slipping all over the place. I kept focusing on my breath to keep me warm, or at least avoid the thought of “I AM FREAKING FREEZING MY A## OFF RIGHT NOW!!” I needed to fill up on water, but missed the stream where I planned to fill up. I wasn’t really sure where the trail was and it was exhausting navigating without daylight. When I arrived at the campsite (about an hour after the boys), Dan let me sleep in his tent with him. It was nice and warm from our shared body heat--a much-needed comfort at the end of a long day.
I lucked out with the community I had on the trail. Not only were the random people I met throughout the trek wonderful but on my first evening, I met the two best hiking buds ever, Dan and Taylor. Taylor is a very seasoned hiker. He’s been all over the world hiking solo and with friends in Nepal, Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand...his list is seemingly endless and undoubtedly impressive. Taylor is such a quirky and fun character. He’s also a brilliant poet and a genuinely good person. Dan and I had actually met on Facebook before each of us began our hikes. He posted something in the Colorado Trail Thru-Hike 2020 group about starting mid-August and I reached out during the planning phase to share tips and ask for his insight. I assumed that we’d meet, but I didn’t know that we’d become friends. He left his automotive engineering job and built out an awesome van in order to live a more adventurous life for a while. He consults other people on how to make amazing vans, if you’re considering it, you should definitely check out his site. Dan is good to the core and I just enjoy being around him.
On the first day hiking with the guys, Dan made an early start with a friend Joe (who also hiked the first 100 miles with the three of us). Taylor and I started hiking about a half-hour later. After about two hours of hiking together, I realized I was asking a lot of questions (as I tend to do). Worried I was causing frustration or annoyance, I said to him: “Taylor, please let me know if I get annoying and if you want to take some time alone or want me to shut up, I won’t be offended!” He said to me, “Ehh, I’ll give it three days, and then we’ll see.” I felt super encouraged after I made it a week and we were still spending most of our days side-by-side. I tried to keep up the best I could with my short legs, but for a good conversation, I am up for increasing my stride/pace.
About a week in, Jason (Achilles) joined our trio. He’d started the trail earlier than us, but hurt his Achilles tendon and had to take a couple of days off before we met up with him. He is a strong ex-military man. Unfortunately, he had a couple of traumatic brain injuries and had to retire early due to them, though they were completely unrelated to his time in service. Jason had a ton of great stories and we shared a lot of meaningful conversations about life, family, and partnership. I so appreciated the fact that he wore his wedding band on the trail. Every time he talked to his wife, you could tell how much he loved her.
We all spent a lot of time talking about food, hiking gear, and 90’s movies. The guys made a bit of fun of me for the little I knew about the films, even though I’m not a lot younger! I guess being born in ‘95 makes you a little more of a 2000s baby. Needless to say, I learned a lot and added quite a few “classics” to my watch list. I appreciated all of our conversations and how we quickly developed relationships of respect for each other. When you’re together without phone service for a few weeks, it’s pretty easy to share a lot of history. Anyway, the boys were so good to me, and I feel so lucky to be a part of their crew.
When we got stuck in Silverton, Dan and Taylor made me feel okay that I wasn’t hiking and put me at peace as we shared Hunt Brother’s pizza and a tiny hotel room. They let me sleep on the floor and pay a fraction of the mountain town prices for a place to crash. I considered pushing on through the storm, but I’m so glad I stayed with them. It was definitely the safer bet and was such a joy finishing that last bit of trail with Taylor and Dan. Jason went ahead and completed the trail before the storm hit, which meant hiking 50 miles in one day.
When Taylor, Dan, and I said goodbye the morning after a night of beers and celebration, I teared up under my sunglasses. They are such special people and it’s so strange to go from spending every single day with the same people to not seeing them AND not knowing the next time you will see them. I always like to say “see you later” and not goodbye, but it’s still hard.
Community is crucially important to my life. When I had to leave Bangkok and unexpectedly move back to Oklahoma in March, it felt like an important part of my livelihood was ripped away from me. Getting on the trail helped me regain my appreciation for forming community anywhere and acted as a reminder of the love that exists in the world.
I feel so incredibly fortunate to have a family that was supportive of me going out and hiking for 500 miles in the Colorado wilderness. I am also grateful for the time to go and hike and not have to work or do anything else with my life. Thank you to all of the people that I met along the trail who help make this world that we live in more beautiful. I can’t express my gratitude enough. I am already excited to plan my next adventure and am so incredibly happy to be a part of a hiking community. If you need a reminder that life is good, I encourage you to get outside.
*Maggie and Jeff recently started a website called Backpacking Routes, which gives helpful information on trails all over the United States. Jeff wrote a book called “The Free Outside” detailing his completion of the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail all in one calendar year. You can follow their journeys and work on Instagram @backpackingroutes, @thefreeoutside, and @maggie_slepian