HexaTrek Tales Part 5: A Typical Day on Trail

I finish my lunch, stuff everything into my backpack, and start walking again. After ten minutes, I remember what time of day it is. “Free time!”, I exclaim excitedly to no one but myself. It’s then that I realize how many weird rituals and activities I’ve developed for myself on trail. 

What you do on a long walk seems pretty self-explanatory; you eat, sleep, walk, and repeat. When you zoom in, however, you find that every day is broken down into a thousand different elements — oftentimes recurring, perfected, and ritualized. On this hike, I’ve gone through stages of challenging these elements and experimenting with new ones. I wanted to capture what a typical day looks like for me now, both to give insight to those not on trail and for me to remember, years from now, when I’m not amidst walking across a country. 

The specific details of my days (e.g., when I take breaks, how far I walk, etc.) can vary wildly depending on weather, terrain, location, and mood. The general breakdown and major elements, however, are relatively consistent. 

My days start at 5:30AM.

I meditate for twenty minutes, pack up camp, and leave by 6:30AM. I’ve settled into this earlier wake-up time because: a) I love walking with the morning light and birdsong, and b) it works well if hot weather or afternoon storms are forecast. 

Walking starts with an adaptation of morning pages. 

Morning pages is a tool, created by Julia Cameron, where you write three stream-of-consciousness pages each morning. No filter, no reflection, no editing; just anything and everything that comes to mind. When I’ve done morning pages in the past, I’ve found it releases the muck in my mind, allowing my thoughts to run a little clearer. 

Earlier in my hike, I noticed that my mind was quite busy when I started each morning; thinking about how I slept, what happened the day before, what was happening that day etc. Not wanting to delay my day with writing, I decided to try a verbal version of morning pages on trail. That started a routine I absolutely adore.

As soon as I start walking, I start talking (aloud) to myself and verbalizing any and all thoughts that come to mind. I do this until the thoughts have slowed down or started repeating themselves — usually about twenty minutes. I’ve found that the verbalizing aspect is key. There’s an enormous difference between letting your mind wander and talking about your mind wanderings aloud. 

Often I’ll mention how incredible the trail has been in my morning pages.

I’d recommend trying this practice to anyone who has a little time and solitude in the mornings, whether on trail or not. 

Pre-breakfast time is mindful time. 

Between morning pages and when I stop for breakfast, I try to be mindful. What does this look like? I try not to chase any thoughts, delve into daydreams, or resolve logistics. In reality, usually it’s me thinking and then, after some time, noticing that I’m thinking. When I’m more present, I’m taking in the scenery, watching my breath, feeling my body move, or listening to the sound of my footsteps. This section of the day feels difficult but important; it helps me really be on trail for at least some time each day. 

Then it’s time for the best meal (and drink) of the day.  

I prefer to leave camp without eating much (maybe a handful of trail mix), and then have a snack after morning pages. After a couple hours of walking, I’ll stop for the real breakfast deal.

Oats and tea make me ridiculously happy. I don’t think I need to elaborate. 

Oats, tea, and mountains – could life get any more perfect?

After breakfast is optional reflection time.

Between breakfast and lunch, I have a choice; I can either continue with mindful time or choose a topic to reflect on. The topic is something that’s important to me to develop or articulate my views on. Previous examples have included ‘Challenge’, ‘Influences’, and ‘Life lessons’. I’ll start by defining the topic, then just let myself think of anything that comes to mind regarding it (usually taking occasional notes on my phone). I’m a lot less likely to choose this option if I’m tired or going through a challenging section (e.g., a steep downhill).  

Lunch marks the beginning of free time. 

Somewhere between 12:30PM and 3:30PM, I’ll stop for lunch (a little varied, I know). This is an exciting affair, mainly because it marks the end of mindful/reflective time and the beginning of free time. 

There are three things I usually do during free time…

Firstly, I partake in the incredible mind wandering. 

After a morning of trying to be mindful, releasing that expectation feels like an incredible, entertaining luxury. 

Secondly, I write a poem.

I’ve committed to writing at least one poem (or poetic sounding piece of writing) each day. This usually happens in the afternoon while I’m walking. Sometimes it’s about an idea I had, sometimes it’s about what the trail is like that day, sometimes it’s just something bizarre. One day I spent a couple hours anthropomorphising a tourist office I visited — writing a love poem about its beautiful museum and fantastic bathroom facilities, imagining what it would be like to live in that office forever (this was a very hot day where the sun was melting my mind a little).

Pretty spoilt for writing inspiration out here.

Thirdly, I listen to music. 

I spent the first month and a half on trail not listening to anything (music, podcasts etc). I wanted to see what it would be like to cut off that stimulation and potential source of distraction. 

A couple of weeks ago, I introduced music into my days. I felt satisfied with my no-music experiment and wanted to try something new. Now, I’m working my way through the Top 500 Albums of All Time. Each stretch between bigger towns (4-6 days usually), I download one album from the list (starting from number 1). That’s the only album I listen to on trail during that stretch. 

The purpose of this was expand my musical horizons, listen to the classics I haven’t listened to before, and reduce the choice paralysis in having every song imaginable at my fingertips. So far I’ve been through albums by Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, and Stevie Wonder. Next up — Nirvana.

The result? I am so, so glad I’m doing this. It’s great to discover new (old) music, watch how my opinion of it changes over multiple listens, and have albums associated with specific parts of trail (Stevie Wonder now reminds me of dogs growling at me and out-walking thunderstorms). 

Stevie Wonder is associated with this night when a protection dog was snarling at me outside this cave-like shelter.

I usually have dinner then continue walking. 

I’ve taken to eating dinner before arriving at camp. In part, this is so I can choose I really lovely spot that isn’t necessarily a good campsite. It also means I can walk later if I want or need, without having to eat late. 

Lastly, there’s the campsite and tent time. 

I usually arrive at camp just before sunset, around 8PM. Normally I plan to arrive earlier but get derailed by something — a lack of good camping spots, weather conditions I’m waiting out during the day, or unexpectedly hard terrain that slows me down. 

Once I’ve set up my tent, I have a few more rituals. One, well-loved by my tramily on the PCT, is to reflect on (and write down) the high and low of the day, something interesting or random that happened, and something I’m grateful for. I usually do a bit of writing, sometimes draw if I have the time, check the route for the following day (e.g., where the first water source is and a nice place I might stop for breakfast), look at photos from the day, and read a little (it’s taken me three months to get through one book). Then, finally, I turn the head torch off at around 9:30PM. 

Wow, that’s a lot. 

I’ve laughed at myself several times while writing this down. It seems I have a ridiculous amount of particular things I do each day. Probably everyone does — it’s just not until we articulate them that we realize how niche and numerous they are. 

Regardless, maybe this post makes me seem just a little insane. I’m sure the day hikers who overhear my verbal morning pages would agree on that front.