Graham says the “born wanderer is always expecting to come on something very wonderful—beyond the horizon’s rim.” He further explains that this “makes the desire to wander or explore almost incurable.” The Germans have a name for it. Sehnsucht is their word for “longing.” Commenting on sehnsucht, C.S. Lewis says it is the “inconsolable crux […]
“The imagination wishes to be stirred with the romance of places,” writes Graham. He is commenting on a walk he took at age nine with his mother where they observed “romantic and strange sights.” He was walking barefoot along the Lincolnshire sands, which is a stretch of coastline along the North Sea in eastern England. […]
Graham says the walker/artist is teachable, and the teacher is nature. “Nature becomes your teacher, and from her you will learn what is beautiful and who you are and what your special quest is in life.” I get the “beautiful” part, but I’m wondering how nature is going to show me who I am and […]
“The principal motive of the wander-spirit is curiosity—the desire to know what is beyond the next turning of the woods” (Stephen Graham). I think of curiosity when remembering the walks of my boyhood. In those days my buddies and I followed few marked trails, and most of our hikes began with curiosity. “Is that a […]
Going tramping is at first an act of rebellion, writes Graham. “Only afterwards do you get free from rebelliousness as Nature sweetens your mind.” Graham says, “you leave your back door and make for the distant hills.” It’s the natural follow-up to walking in freedom. The walker/artist must rebel against the norm or expected. Take […]
According to Graham, when you make walking an art, “you get into an air that is refreshing and free. You liberate yourself from the tacit assumptions of your everyday life.” I’m guessing it is not an accident that most artists are libertarians (and I’m not talking about politics). I mean artists tend to be free […]
Stephen Graham called it “The Gentle Art of Tramping.” “It is a gentle art; know how to tramp and you know how to live.” I am intrigued by the idea of walking as art and the walker as an artist. When I view great works of art, be they paintings or symphonies or novels, I […]
Years ago my wife visited her sister who lives in Vienna, Austria, and I got to tag along. It would be my only trip to Europe, and I learned something important. Europe is seen best on foot. That is, we traveled by plane, train, automobile, bus and riverboat, but the sites I remember most I […]
Not all mountain summits are above tree line. If your body can’t handle the elevation but you still want to reach a top with great views, here are some of my favorites: For a nice, short hike in the Land of Enchantment, try the Atalaya Mountain Trail, which starts near St. John’s College in Santa […]
Walking in the mountains can turn hazardous—like the time I climbed New Mexico’s Wheeler Peak with three of my students. The hazardous part was caused by freezing fog, not something I expected in early September and a condition that made the footing slippery and the temperature bone-chilling (think of a cold shower using ice water). […]