I didn’t start hiking because I had always been the kind of person who loved trekking.
Actually, quite the opposite.
At first, it was mostly about Tenerife. I wanted to see the island from a different perspective – not just from the car, from viewpoints or from places everyone visits. I wanted to go a little deeper.
And it didn’t take long to realise that this was where I felt best.
These days, I often choose a hiking trail over another tourist attraction. Not because I think the other things aren’t worth seeing. They can be great too.
It’s just that on a trail, I get something that is much harder to find elsewhere.
Space.
Movement.
Nature.
And a few hours that are completely mine.
I like doing things that scare me a little
I often hike alone.
And I’ll be honest – I’m not always completely comfortable at the beginning. Especially when I leave early in the morning, drive up into the mountains along roads that seem to have endless twists and turns, and still don’t know if I’ll even find somewhere to park.
Sometimes, before I leave, I think: Why am I doing this to myself?
And then I go.
I find a parking spot. Put on my backpack. Check the route. And start walking.
And every single time, I discover that I can do it.
It might sound simple, but for me it means a lot.
Because it’s not really about walking ten or fifteen kilometres. It’s about making the decision myself, organising the trip myself, finding my way and knowing that I can handle whatever comes up.
Every hike adds another little piece to the feeling that I can rely on myself.
I don’t need someone next to me to do something new.
And I think that has had a bigger impact on my self-confidence than I expected.
It’s not about reaching the summit.
It’s about knowing:
I can do this.
Then something else starts to happen
The first part of a hike is often quite different.
My mind is still running at full speed.
I’m thinking about different things, analysing, planning, remembering. Sometimes I’m trying to solve problems that really don’t need to be solved at that particular moment.
But I keep walking.
Step by step.
And after about thirty minutes – sometimes after a longer or more demanding climb – something starts to shift.
My thoughts slow down.
I stop fighting them.
I don’t try to control them or organise them. I just let them be there.
And gradually, I start noticing what is happening around me.
My breathing.
The rhythm of my steps.
The wind.
The smell of the forest.
The sunlight.
The landscape that was somewhere in the background suddenly becomes the only thing I’m looking at.
And at some point, I’m simply there.
No headphones.
No podcast.
No music.
Just me, the trail and the sounds of nature.
And the silence.
I hike for the silence too.
Real silence is surprisingly difficult to find in everyday life. On some trails there is barely any phone signal, and I love that. There is nothing to check, nothing to answer and nowhere else I need to be.
It feels a little like meditation in motion.
I don’t have to sit still and try to empty my mind. I just walk, breathe and let things settle naturally.
And somehow, that’s when I feel closest to myself.
I’m not trying to be productive
That might be one of the things I love most about hiking.
For a few hours, I don’t have to achieve anything.
I don’t have to have an answer.
I don’t have to fix anything.
I can just walk.
And there is something incredibly freeing about that.
After a few hours, I come home physically tired, but with a much quieter mind. Sometimes I feel like I’ve come back as a slightly different person.
Not because my problems have magically disappeared.
But because, for those few hours, I was closer to myself.
I also like that I can’t control everything
On a trail, I never know exactly what I’ll find around the next corner.
The weather can change. The path can look different from what I expected. I might take a wrong turn. I might discover something I never planned to see.
And I actually like that.
Because everyday life can easily turn into an endless attempt to control everything.
On a trail, sometimes you just check the map, look ahead and keep going.
So why do I hike?
For the views, obviously.
For the smells, the fresh air and the light that can completely change the landscape within minutes.
For the movement and that good kind of tiredness you feel throughout your body.
For the silence.
For the feeling of being alone without feeling lonely.
For nature.
For the moments when my mind finally stops analysing everything.
For doing things on my own, even when they scare me a little.
But most of all, I hike because it brings me back to myself.
I don’t always need another answer.
Sometimes I just need a backpack, a good pair of shoes and a few hours on the trail.
Step by step.
Poco a Poco
A.
[poco a poco]. 
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