Lessons from the Trail, are simply Life's Lessons!

As a section hiker, “Earl L. High” took from 1973 – 1985 to complete the Appalachian Trail, but, looking back, it is obvious to him hiking helped him in his life.  He is now 82 years old and still enjoys hiking.  In addition to the health benefits, he believes there is much to be gained from long distance hiking that is sometimes overlooked.  The tasks may be more specific, but the situations encountered have similarities useful in coping with life.  Here is a list of what came to his mind:

1. Learn to accept the bad days along with the good ones.
2. The same applies to the people you meet, the meals that you eat, and the places you sleep.
3. Just like the A.T, life has its ups and downs – get over them.
4.   Don’t bring along a lot of excess baggage; it hinders the trip – whether it be a week or a lifetime – and we don’t need a lot of “things” for contentment.
5. Try to recognize the pitfalls before you fall into them.
6. You make the decisions – right or wrong – learn to accept the results.
7.  Learn to set priorities to realize what’s most important.
8.  Learn to set goals, and know when to change them if needed, but always with the final objective in mind.
9. The longer you’re at it, the more you appreciate what you used to take for granted.
10. Getting lost is not so bad, as long as you find your way back before it’s too late.  The most significant difference between the two is: with hiking you get to pick the start and finish dates!

    Peace

   ~Dreamer