Yes, yes it can.

We've had a run of good weather here (dry, sunny, mild temps, very unlike typical April) so I've been hitting the trail pretty hard.

It was not fun to face how weak my legs felt, how tenderfooted I was, at the beginning of the month. Can you relate?

But we're not here to talk about legs or feet (...or are we?), so let's get to it!

INSPIRING HIKING WOMEN

In their 50s, they wanted to explore the Adirondacks but found little information that spoke to their needs as older female hikers. (I know you're as shocked as I am.)

Read how they went about figuring things out on the trail, then started a podcast to help other women attain the 46 high peaks:

46 High Peaks

One more source of inspiration for you this month: the Wendy Outdoors Youtube channel celebrates hiking through the eyes of a woman in her 70s.

Wendy Outdoors Youtube

MEA CULPA

This month: Is Long-distance Hiking an Emotional Roller Coaster? Evaluating Emotions and Weather Effects on the Appalachian Trail

This is an interesting area of research because coming off a long hiking trip can be depressing and hikers are often unmotivated to return to “real life”.

I've experienced it myself after returning from a long backcountry trip. Being "out there" is so much more real than doing laundry.

If you're not inclined to read the entire article, here’s the punchline: “The findings indicated joy and fear are the pervasive expressed basic emotions in hikers’ blogs and showed how weather, an inseparable component of outdoor activities, can affect hikers’ basic emotions.”

Emotions on the trail

ALPINE DIVORCE

This article gives horrifying examples.

Abandoned on the trail

Have you ever gone through an alpine divorce? Hit reply and let me know how you managed your emotions and the intensity of the situation.

HIKING RESOURCES FOR YOU

That's how I started this newsletter.

Which got me to thinking about foot care as a hiker.

So that motivated me to round up all my feet-related resources for you.

Let me know if you have a related question or a great way to handle these issues, I'd be glad to share any trail-tested tips!

Hiking Foot Care Tips

Swollen Feet After Hiking

Handle Sore Feet After Hiking

Hiking Toe Problems

LET'S TURN IT AROUND!

If you’re up for it, I’ll email you 3 questions, and feature your answers in an upcoming newsletter.

Why?

We can all use more inspiration!

Please don't use any type of comparison to judge yourself worthy of inspiring others.

I, for one, am tired of the farthest/fastest/most punishing stuff and would rather hear about real people visiting real places that I've never been to.

So what do you say to being an inspiration?

Just in case you're shy, here are the questions I will ask you:

1. How do you describe yourself as a hiker?

2. Where are you headed this year to spend time in the outdoors?

3. What is your number one tip for happy trails?

Hope to hear from you!

Wrapping things up for April

My new motto when I take a hike: Keep it kind out there!

For me, that means stopping to answer questions an unprepared hiker (flipflops, ugh) asks about the trail.

It means taking a moment to compliment someone on a well behaved dog or an unusual hiking hat, rather than pushing through to my hiking goals without connecting with others.

And it means being kind to myself, too. Mileage means less these days than immersing myself in the moment.

In fact, on my last hike, I spent about an hour sitting beneath a behemoth of a maple tree, thinking of the kindness of her shade on a sunny afternoon. I tiptoed through ankle deep stinging nettle seedlings to get to her trunk, being kind enough not to crush their viciously haired little leaves beneath my boots. (although I wanted to!!!)

What does kindness on the trail look like to you these days?

Diane a.k.a. Happy Hiker Trying To Practice Kindness

diane@hiking-for-her.com

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