Seriously for the chicks.
Answering the question of why I hike is more difficult to answer then you might think. In many ways you can describe this journey as a self imposed death march. If I were to go up to someone and say "hey, would you like to be unemployed for four to five months so that you can hike in the scorching sun, constantly avoid poisonous plants and animals, walk until you are exhausted almost daily, have your feet blister and callus until it is one solid piece of leather, be attacked by hoards of mosquitoes and chafe in places you didn't possible?" I am sure their response would be a sarcastic "sounds great..."
Hiking however is more then what I mentioned above. I could just as easily pitch it as, "Hey, how would you like to leave the pressures of society, push your body in ways you never thought you could, see some of the most beautiful sights this country has to offer, climb this highest peak in the lower 48, meet some of the most amazing people and to wake up every day in some new and spectacular place?" This time I believe the response would be more along the lines of "When do we start?"
The matter of fact truth is hiking is both of these things. There are days that I have to use all of my will to keep going, but in general I am seldom this happy and content with life. Every day I go to bed satisfied with what I have accomplished. Even when it is a challenging and exhausting day, the moment I sit down a eat dinner chatting with friends, I feel happy again. Not to mention that my stress level is almost non existent out here.
There is something very primal about walking in the wilderness. It feels good to move even though I may hurt and all I want to do is sit. Plus I also get to eat as much ice cream as I want (so much Ben and Jerry's consumed on trail). Hiking also has the added benefit of making for some great stories...which can be used to impress the lady's. So I guess I really do hike for the chicks...
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