Hiking isn’t merely a means. We walk toward a destination, but our goal is to find joy and beauty en route. And our roaming is as much mental as physical. We think consciously, of course. Often about the terrain. But our minds also undertake a subliminal journey, climbing mountainous ideas, exploring canyons of thought, traversing the backcountry of what’s most important to us.

 

We’re happy—doing what we love, in places we hold sacred. We’re free—far from niggling details and tedious responsibilities. We’re alert—relaxed yet stimulated. So this is our best thinking: creative, profound, meaningful.

 

But these subconscious thoughts, once they surface, can remain difficult to express: so subtle we struggle to articulate them even to ourselves; so personal, original or iconoclastic we conceal them rather than risk being misunderstood or ridiculed. And nowhere is the thoughtful undercurrent of hiking celebrated. The wisdom we glean from the wilds is a match lit in the rain.

 

That’s why we created this site: to cup our hands around the flame. 

 

These are journal entries — mental waypoints — we recorded while hiking more than 75,000 miles through wildlands worldwide. Accompanying them are photos of places and experiences that inspired the initial ideas. We hope our words and images compel you to recognize, voice, own, and honor the thoughts arising from within while hiking. Doing so will deepen your fulfillment.

 

A truly adventurous life is contemplative as well as vigorous.

 

Skye & Craig Copeland