Finding the Right Pace While Hiking With Others
Josh Wolfe 02.21.12
We’ve all heard the old adage, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” The same is true in various scenarios of life, including hiking. Finding the right pace is a key component to making a hike enjoyable for the entire party. If you’re hiking alone, consider yourself lucky. If you’re hiking with a partner or multiple partners, you should still consider yourself lucky, but be prepared to adjust your pace a bit.
Last summer, I planned a weeklong hike with a friend on the Appalachian Trail. Upon arriving at the trailhead, she informed me that she has asthma. Right there, I could have done two things. One, I could have fretted over the small, but important factor, knowing that our pace would be slow and that we probably would not make the hike I had planned: north from Sam’s Gap for 20 miles and then the 65 mile trek back south to Hot Springs, NC where we left her Jeep. Or two, I could have appreciated the fact that for the next week she and I were going to be living in the woods! Which do you think I chose?
I let her walk in front 95% of the time, giving her the freedom to walk at her own pace. We stopped often so she could catch her breath. Those frequent stops just gave me more opportunities to look at my surroundings and appreciate the whole adventure that much more. So, to make the hike enjoyable for the whole party, give a little when it comes to pace and you never know what you might receive in return.
It didn’t take long for me, following in my father’s footsteps (literally), to develop a deep appreciation for the outdoors. Because it’s there in the wind, in the rain and a cool summer sunrise where I’ve learned more than in all the classrooms combined. My journalistic work is the sum of all I’ve taken from the outdoors and all I want to give back.
It was during a long, grueling two-year stint working as a banker in Huntsville, Alabama, I finally realized I needed to follow my dreams. After sojourning several places across the country, I now call Asheville, North Carolina, home, where I am the co-founder, publisher and editor of The Golf Sport (www.golfsportmag.com) magazine and editor of Sporting Classics Daily (www.sportingclassicsdaily.com). I am also a contributor to OutdoorHub and Global Outfitters, and hope to really inflate that balloon over the next couple years.
For me, it’s the power of the pen that makes the outdoor adventure live forever – as it is resurrected on the page in front of me. I am so fortunate to be a part of the outdoor community and make my passion a career.
