Spending the weekend outside

When I was a teenager, I used to think walking in nature was all about getting it over and done with and then go home. I saw it as something exhausting I had to go through, and my main motivation was reaching the place of destination to get a bar of chocolate as a reward. Luckily things change and people as well.

This weekend I have been on two trips, one short one in the forest, and one large one in the mountains. There's something special about walking for hours nearly without meeting other people. It's wonderfully good shutting out everything having to do with noise, pollution and stress. No TV, no fighting neighbors, no phone calls. Just calm, peace, quiet and physical activity that feels good. It's amazing how much thinking one can get done being outside walking. It's equally amazing witnessing the landscape change as one walks. Forests, narrow paths, rivers and waterfalls, tiny purple flowers, wet moors, openings, crooked trees at the timberline, the occasional bird of prey, big rocks, small rocks, and at the top, an incredible view of snow-covered mountains in every direction.

At the end of the day the body feels tired, but the notion of having spent the day wisely is still very much present.