We walked for twenty three days on our Nepal Trek. The Germans have a word for it, Zielwanderung or ‘destination walking’. Going on a long walk, where you find yourself walking through a landscape and its culture day after day, is good for your mind, body and soul. As each day passes you will find yourself slowly easing away from the tensions that can be part of your normal daily routines of work, life and how to get everything done that needs doing and you find yourself entering into another, far simpler, better world. A world where carrying all your worldly possessions on your back and setting off walking every day suddenly becomes extremely liberating, an almost rebellious act in our busy, materialistic, goal obsessed world.
In our normal lives we have work commitments that need to be met, deadlines to keep, people to see and phones to be answered. Multi day walking sets us free from those commitments. When you walk every day through an ever changing landscape, culture and weather, the days start to take on a natural rhythm all of their own. Time no longer matters so much because nobody is expecting you to be anywhere at any particular time or do anything to a deadline. You feel like you have all the time in the world. You start to become more attuned to your surroundings and to feel part of the land and the people whose land you are walking through. Your senses become more acute to the sounds of the river, the birds in the air and the wind on your face and you become part of nature and the natural rhythm of life. In the West we have largely forgotten these basic pleasures of life but on a long walk you regain them for a short while. You have time to enjoy the sunrises and sunsets, the sound of the crickets and the changing scenery of forests, mountains and valleys as you walk slowly through them, breathing…… taking it all in.
Multi day walking changes you, it slows you down and gives you an appreciation for the simple things in life, the things that really matter. You are content to take each day as it comes and enjoy it for its own merits. It satisfies your soul, brings contentment to your mind and strengthens your body. It sets you free from the burdens of your every day life and if you let it, turns you into a better, kinder, wiser person. And for those reasons alone, it is to be highly recommended.