Lessons From A Hike

For the past few months, I’ve been spending more time in nature by camping and hiking. Recently, my girlfriend and I along with a group of fellow hikers went on a hike in Benguet, a mountainous province here in the Philippines. It took us around 6 hours to reach the summit and 2 hours to go down.

The mountain that we hiked was Mt. Ulap. It’s 1846 meters above sea level or 6056 feet. We hiked at around 4:30 am. It was my first time hiking in the darkness. I was afraid to look at the sides of the trail because it was dark and it’s a cliff. I have a fear of heights. It was something that I needed to face to make the climb. It was an amazing experience climbing this mountain. Here are some photos from the hiking:

Here’s what I learned from that trip:

Always enjoy the journey. Don’t think of reaching the top right away.

This is the most important lesson for me. When going on a hike, we often think of the time and distance before reaching the summit. We often ask, “how many minutes to go?” “How long are we still going to walk?” I didn’t think of it this way because I realized that having this type of mindset can make the body respond in a negative way. We feel more tired if we think about the distance.

This is like achieving goals in life. We want it now! It takes time to achieve things. Just be patient. Enjoy the journey. Besides, the journey to the top will make you better, more prepared. That time will come.

Spending time in nature is a great reset button.

No phones, no computers, it’s just you and nature. Take a deep breath and appreciate what you see. Use this experience to reset your mind, remind yourself of your mortality. Never take these experiences for granted.