Head to the hills for a blast of New Year medicine...
There isn’t much to hear, save for the crisp and crunk of the snow beneath my boots, and the rustle of my jacket. The air feels filtered. It’ll snow again tonight. Ahead of me, a grouse flies from the rough, skimming low and then up to perch on the drystone wall beyond. I stop and we both wait to see who will make the next move. I don’t have much patience today, and take a step forwards. The bird tips down and away from me, and once again I am alone. I plod on, towards the horizon. I’m walking today so the cold doesn’t creep in
– not the outside temperature, but the one within. The cold that comes with being busy, tired and wired. The kind where your back aches and your head aches and everyone wants something and you feel lonely in a noisy crowd.
The cure that works, for me and for so many of us, is to walk. Sometimes I’m alone, sometimes with a friend, sometimes, these days, with the baby snugged close against my chest. But whoever I’m with, those walks are for me. They begin as a slow, heavy trudge on leaden legs. But then the oxygen percolates through me, the air scours my mind. The route is as long as the daylight allows, with no viewpoints and no honeypots. And slowly, as step follows step, the colour of my thoughts change. My legs are tired but stronger, and I push on. I feel the burn of my cold-reddened cheeks, and feel the thaw deep within.
I don’t need an NHS ‘nature prescription’ to issue this medicine.
I don’t need to read a book with 10 tips to happiness. Experience has taught me that when I get out of the house and into the hills, life is better. And I know that I’m not alone. I’ve loved reading the Trail readers’ ‘The Day A Mountain Changed My Life’ essays this past year. I love knowing that you are also out there, walking to find adventure, but also space, kinship and peace. And so it makes absolute sense that Trail has a new campaign for 2019 ‘Mountains For The Mind’ (see p32).
Winter can be exciting, technical and glorious. It can also be a time for small thoughts in big landscapes. Whether you’re hunting for that perfect ridge line, ticking off snowy summits, or taking a gentler jaunt with loved ones and a flask of hot chocolate, enjoy it with all the multi-sensory wonder you can muster. And if you’re umming and ahhing about whether to bother, if you’re feeling tired and wired and a weekend of tax returns and home repairs beckon, please… stop. Grab your backpack and your waterproofs, pack some food and a map and then… go. Let winter scour your mind, let it percolate and work its chemical transformation. It won’t solve all ills, but it might just stop the cold getting in.
“When I get out of the house & into the hills, life is better”