blissful hiker ❤︎ inspiring you to hike your own hike
Long-distance backpacker Alison “Blissful Hiker” Young has logged more than 14,000 miles across six continents, tackling iconic routes such as New Zealand’s Te Araroa, Europe’s Pyrenean Haute Route, South Africa’s Drakensberg Traverse, Nepal’s Great Himalayan Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail in the United States.
An award-winning professional musician and syndicated American Public Media host, Alison approaches storytelling through a deeply attuned ear. Her series of intimate personal essays — coupled with field recordings gathered on trail — trace a path of self-discovery as a middle-aged, titanium-reinforced cancer thriver. They reveal the often unglamorous but essential truths of empowerment, inviting listeners to find the courage to blaze their own trails on the journey we call life.
blissful hiker ❤︎ inspiring you to hike your own hike
Open to Awe
Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between is a great mindset when planning a major thru-hike – or any major life endeavor.
- Blissful is planning a thru-hike of the Great Divide Trail, a rugged and remote route that winds through the Canadian Rockies, tracing the continental divide between Alberta and British Columbia.
- In getting ready, the best mantra is from Maya Angelou, “Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.”
- Training to be unsurprised is not naive, but it's learning to be flexible and steady when things inevitably go sideways, while also leaving space for joy, wonder, and the things that can’t be plan for.
- In your next big endeavor, what are you preparing for, and what are you hoping for? How can being open make for a more successful outcome.
MUSIC: "Poema del Pastor Coya" by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.
