It’s World Hiking Day (Nov. 17) and most people won’t even pause to think why taking a hike in the forests should have a special day. Most likely, the reason is they have never had the time to go hiking, or they do not like being outdoors.
These people are missing a lot, and if you are one of them, pause to read my story.
I am a senior citizen, I still go hiking in the mountains, and I believe I take my energy from being in the company of nature. I did not realize there is a science behind my belief until I read about “Shinrin yoku” or forest bathing, which was “discovered” through many scientific studies in the early eighties in Japan.
Before the 100-km, six-day walk to Santiago de Compostela from Sarria in Galicia, Spain, my longest hike took 12 hours in May 2019, from 7 a.m to 7 p.m. My son Carlos and I, with a guide, and about six other companions way ahead of us, traversed the many hills of Mt. Ulap in Itogon, Benguet. The guide said that was actually five mountains.
There are three peaks in Mt. Ulap where mountaineers stand to have their photos taken — to certify that they’ve reached those peaks.
The local tourism office rates that as a “day walk” that can be done in six to eight hours. I did it in 12 hours, with one episode of leg cramps and walking slowly under heavy downpour.
I was the oldest woman Jeff, our guide, has guided through that trail.
The trained emergency responders at the barangay trail exit worried that a woman, especially an old woman, was still in the trail at nightfall. They called my guide at least three times while we were negotiating the descent — that’s a steep 70 percent descent made over hundreds of steps carved out from the cliff. I negotiated that trail of endless steps in almost two hours!
When I later met the emergency responders waiting for the last hikers, they were all smiling and showing thumbs-up signs. Jeff had told them the news – my age and the feat of traversing Mt. Ulap!
In Aug. 14, 2019, I attempted to climb Mt. Fuji up to the summit. But there was what the Japanese tourism center called a “severe storm” from Aug. 14 to 16. They did not allow climbing when we registered that morning. But we were allowed to hike up to station 7 (that’s 2,700 MASL which is only 226 meters lower than the official summit of our Mt. Pulag) — and go down that afternoon.
My son and I were also in Mt. Fuji in 2018 but we failed to get to the summit because of a medical issue. That Aug. 14 climb was supposed to be our “revenge climb” — as the lady at the Mt. Fuji 5th station registry called it.
Alas, it was not meant to be. We were all very disappointed. But that’s one fact you accept when you hike — nature will dictate if you will be allowed to go on.
I was the most disappointed because I know I will be older next year. When you are a senior, the loss of energy is a major factor in hiking.
Hiking is just a long walk
Climbing a mountain, or to use a friendlier term — hiking through forests — is just a long walk.
Hiking is a way to appreciate nature. You take your time, follow your own pace, and enjoy the view. There’s more time to think. And there are more instances to feel absolutely awed by the beauty of nature!
I would take time to walk around the forest because it made me feel good. In the trail, I feel happy. I am friendlier to strangers. I notice the aging wood of a fence; the graceful arch of the branches of a tree; the sound of dried leaves crackling under my trekking boots. I notice the curling clouds; the colors of the sky as the day rolls on.
I discovered that the trek through the forest was actually giving me good energy. Without my knowing it, I had been doing what the Japanese call “forest bathing.
Don’t put it off for next year
I hike more often now because I do not know if I will still have the energy and stamina to climb next year.
When I started climbing seriously more than 30 years ago, I was pushed by the thought that I will not have the energy to enjoy the mountains next year. It was always like that — next year I won’t be able to go that far, I would tell myself. Yet, I went farther every year.
In 2017, we went to Nikko, Japan to trek. We, my two children and I, went up Mt. Toyama and we hiked through a beautiful forest of cedar trees — each shooting up to the sky straight as a pencil! At the summit we looked down at the forests, its leaves all in orange. It was a beautiful sight that still releases happy hormones in my mind when I think of that scene.
I’ve walked through many forests and when the trails turned difficult, I said that would be the last time; months later, I am back.
In between, I had gone hiking several mountains here and there and found several favorite trails. In Baguio, there is a three -kilometer trail they call the “Forest Bathing Trail” at Camp John Hay, and another that meanders through a thick forest and leads to a peak. Early this year in New Zealand, I walked many trails, each one so lovely that the landscape just made me stop many times to stand awed by God's creation.
In September this year, I put all that hiking stamina to a test when I walked the last 100 kilometers – mostly lovely forests – of the Camino Pilgrimage for six days. And here I am thinking of doing that again next year.
I’ll probably keep walking long after I’m 70.
Experience sunrise
But I have another reason to climb. It is to experience the sun rise. That is an awesome experience that money cannot buy!
In the dark, you walk above the clouds. And then, a strip of orange appears in the horizon of the sea of clouds. Light peeks through the heavy curtain of clouds and begins to color the sky. The dark sky bows out of the scene, the thick clouds roll away to reveal more light. The colors change from black to dark blue to orange to light blue and yellow. And a new day is born!
Nature is always magnificent! Take a long walk to view it.