Five-minute read: Beth Taylor realises just how precious time is while bushwalking with her daughter.
I was a late bloomer when it came to discovering what I like to call Adventure Hiking. It may have been that I had more discretionary time because my children had by then become less dependent and more ‘self-care’. Or it may have been that my children, by then young adults, had become the perfect hiking buddies.
And so began my incredibly memorable and exciting hiking years. Although I had always loved bushwalking – the half day variety – I was now able to venture on multi-day hikes, with a varying crew of people which nearly always included my daughter. Her university years with their seemingly continual semester breaks gave the perfect opportunities for annual multi-day hikes, and even when she entered full time employment and then met and married her man, our hiking plans were able to continue. Then came the pregnancy and the impending baby...well, that’s another matter...
Hiking long distances with a pack is not just about fitness, exercise and stretching your physical limits. Nor is it just about a beautiful shared experience with a loved one or e xperiencing the mind-blowing grandeur or minutiae of wilderness scenery. It’s also sometimes about facing your own ‘giants’ and learning invaluable life lessons, no matter how insignificant these may seem.
Hiking the Overland Track with tiger snakes as your constant surprise companions (why didn’t anyone tell us that February is tiger snake mating season?!) and twisting ankles on those treacherous tree roots. Flooding tracks and landslides on the Great Ocean Walk. 'Man-eating' sandflies on the Milford Track. Snow, deep mud and a suspected snake bite on our next hike on the Overland Track. Gale force winds, driving rain and near-hypothermia amidst the volcanic craters on Tongariro Crossing. Pushing on when your body is screaming for rest or when the blisters or back pain are excruciating. And they were the fun times!
Experiencing the exhilaration of facing a ‘giant’ and coming out the other end in one shape or another, whether that is by pushing through fear, exhaustion or frightening weather, leaves us with a skill and mindset that is transferable to other ‘giants’ in life. Sometimes what we learn here is an un-chartered way for us. We can rewrite our own self-image and expectation of ourselves. So often it is not about the physical challenges as much as the psychological.
Together my daughter and I teach each other about fun, beauty, perseverance, creative problem-solving, adventure, toughness and the healing therapy of silence and solace – a place where the white noise in your head fades. Because as I have said often – “Once you’re on the track, you’re on the track”.
All you have is each other and what you carry on your back, no matter what you encounter and what goes wrong. That’s an amazing gift in this day and age of obscene plenty. But sharing that journey alongside your daughter is indescribably special. And I hope that one day my daughter and my grandchild can be saying these very same things.