Why we go....

I was recently asked why we do it? 

Why we take the risk of the hikes, the crazy trips, the explorations, the bike rides and all the random adventures we go on? We being anyone who leaves the safety of home for the unknown. 

It’s a strange mentality that I don’t know if I can quite explain, but I will try. We go because we can or because we want to know if we can. The trip you actually have and the trip you share with the world on social media are very very different. You don’t talk about the parts of your trip that really made you grow. The nights you were up crying because you weren't sure if you could do it. You don't always talk about the times you got terribly lost or the fear of the unknown, but those are the parts of the trip that actually matter. Those are the parts that challenge everything in who you are and make you stronger. The tough parts make the beautiful sights of the trip that much sweeter. 

The travels give you a chance to feel more connected to the human species. You will find yourself in the middle of nowhere and yet there are still people all around you to connect with.  People with their own story and background and life that they are struggling through and you share your experiences and bond. You find that everyone has their own unique story that they are crafting as they go. A story that you may very well hold a tiny spot in. 

It’s when you’re sitting alone in a tent, at a KOA in South Dakota, watching a movie on your slowly dying computer, slamming beers to ease the pain of a fractured rib…it’s in those moments that you learn who you really are. Learn how strong or weak you are. Wonder why you take so much crap from people every day. Wonder why you aren't living a different life and promise yourself that you will change it all when you get back. You don’t, but for a moment you feel like you can change the world.

You go because you know you are going back to the job that you may love, but is still always going to be a job and you’re going to take the same old crap from the same old people. It’s because in those moments on the top of a mountain or sleeping in the back of your car that you are free from everything else in the world. Free from jobs, responsibility, and judgment. Free from everything. You are just you, writing your own story wondering what the next moment is going to bring. What sights lie around the next bend? Wondering who you will meet tomorrow and what kinds of things are going to happen that may change your life forever. We go because it gives us hope that there is more out there than what we see in our daily lives. We go to remind ourselves of who we really are when you strip all the BS away. We go because we can.