Even though I have always loved the outdoors, it used to be difficult for me to get into serious hiking. I often found myself overwhelmed with the whole process of choosing a hike and then finding the motivation to wake up early and subject my body and mind to a strenuous journey rather than relaxing around the house and hanging out with friends. Then I found LISTS. Hiking lists. They are checklists…for hiking! As a person who loves accomplishing tasks and checking them off a list, this was perfect for me. Many people refer to this as peakbagging – trying to bag the peaks on a certain list or in a certain region. Some famous lists include the state high points, country high points, and hiking all of the mountains above a certain height in a state.
Suddenly I had a specific and lofty goal that would help inform which hikes I chose. it also gave me a real motivation to get out of the house and into the wilderness. I often hike so that I can cross a peak off of a list. Maybe it’s not the best reason to go hiking but at the end of the day I get out into the woods, see amazing views, and overcome physical and emotional challenges. And after checking off another item on my list I am always inspired to move onto the next item! Thanks to these lists, I have hiked all 48 of the 4,000-foot mountains in New Hampshire and 13 state high points! Whew! If you see me holding up fingers in my photos, it’s indicating what number mountain I am on. Unless it’s my middle finger, in which case I am probably very angry about something!
Carrie Outdoors 