I have thought a lot about this question, because I am asked this repeatedly. It is complex, but simple answer, because I can.
Physically, I feel like have been training all my life for this hike. I started running away into the woods for peace and safety for as long as I can remember. And, I have been walking almost every day of my life, it was my way of coping with life, thinking, re-centering, grounding. I cannot do a lot of things, but I can walk. I can live in the woods.
On a more personal level, I hike to heal. I hike for my own repentance, for my own forgiveness. I hike to bring awareness, to speak the truth, to ask forgiveness, and to find peace as last.
I hike for my sisters and brothers, those little children, forever in my mind being beaten and broken in every way imaginable. I hike for my daughters, and my nieces and nephews. I have watched them struggle with the darkness that we passed on to them. And I hike for their children. May their children never be touched by this dark past.
In the end, it is because I can. If I do not, who will? No one else has my innate gifts and abilities. No one else has my life experiences. I can walk. I can listen. I can understand. I can talk. I hike the trail and tell the story. Through my suffering, I can help others.
If you have the ability, you have the responsibility to act. I have a big mouth; I am not afraid of social rejection for speaking the truth. I have the responsibility to speak for those who cannot yet speak. I have the responsibility to walk the path, to show the way, to tell the other people on the trail of life how to navigate the rock climb, the river crossing, the long water carry…all the hazards that lay before us all. The problem is that I am only one voice. I need to do something to cause people to pay attention to me and what I am saying. I need other people’s voices to join me. I need my voice to start the chant, but I need you to add your voice. Because we are all in this shit show together. We need each other. Join me, and together we will amplify our voices….NO MORE! In the words of Gandolf the Grey, to the dragon of fire. “YOU SHALL NOT PASS”. I will not allow myself to add to the pain. I will not stand by and say nothing. I will not allow this darkness to pass on to the next generation. I will be part of the solution. Together we will be heard.
I hike because I can. Because I have been training for this hike in every way, all my life. Someone needs to do it. Someone needs get this movement started. So, I lace up my trail runners, I strap on my pack, and I start to walk. Day after day, mile after mile, heartache after heartache. I hike, because I no longer want to be haunted by ghosts that no longer exist. I hike because I want to be a better person. I hike because I want my life to have meaning. I hike because I want to change the world.
See, I told you it was complex, yet simple. I hike because I can. Sometimes, that is all you can do.