I once thought there are three main reasons for hiking. One reason is to use the trails for exercise, for the health of heart and lungs and limbs. The second reason is to test our physical and mental limits by climbing high summits or crossing hot deserts or walking great distances. The third reason is for the love of nature, for its beauty and its mysteries. I have imagined that this third reason is the main reason I hike.

But now, as I listen to my friends on the trail and listen to myself, I think there is another reason for hiking, and it may be the main reason, a reason that encompasses the other three.

We hike because we have anxieties about life. Hiking is for many of us, perhaps all of us, ultimately, pacing.