Go on a nature hike.

“The hike was an out-and-back, 17 miles total with decent altitude gain, far from civilization and cell signals, and I was going to solo it in one day. To add to the challenge I want to photograph the turnaround point at dawn, so I camped just down the road from the trailhead and set off in the dark hours of the night. Moon had set. First part of the hike was heavily forested. I could not see a thing past the cone of light from my headlamp. I was clearly the first person on the trail that day (and possibly for a few days) because there was a lot of spider silk crossing the trail, and while I made an attempt to knock it down with my poles I was still walking into a lot of it face-first, which was a bit nerve-racking. Y'know, I'm not afraid of the dark, but I had hours of this pitch-black-spider-webbed-silent-forest-in-moose/bear/mountain lion-territory to go and I began to feel that anxious feeling.”

“My two closest friends told me it was a bad idea. Told me I'd hate it and it would suck. I didn't listen, and I gathered what gear a poor kid like me had: An old tent, a sleeping bag that was too heavy and hot for the weather, and an Army-issue rucksack my little brother lent to me to carry all my old, heavy gear, clothes, and food. We set off on a 7-hour drive to the foot of the Appalachian mountains in NC, where we're all from. Nantahala National Forest. I knew immediately that I was going to love it. The solitude, the camaraderie, the miles of hiking, setting up the tent, cooking over a campfire, filling our water from the river using a pump-filter a friend brought with him, and sleeping outdoors. We spent 5 days hiking and camping all over the park, and the only person we saw was a Ranger on Day 3 who just wanted to make sure we were alright because we had failed to check in with him or submit a plan.”

“i tried hiking for the first time recently and man… it kicked my butt thought it would be just walking in nature, but my legs were shaking by the end. also forgot water and got super thirsty, rookie mistake. but honestly, it felt good being outside, no phones, no noise. just me and the trees. kinda calming in a weird way.”