I have been reading two books about walking the sacred trails in Spain , Japan and Ukraine and hiking in England. 'A Sense of Direction' by Gideon Lewis-Kraus and 'Walking With Plato' by Gary Hayden are the two books. I always dreamed of walking the pilgrim trials to Santiago de Compostela and Shikoku as well as the trails in England. This maybe the closest attempt that I would ever achieve in experiencing these hikes.
I have done some modest walks in the nearby state parks and have felt a certain calmness and satisfaction in long lonely treks in the woods. I guess I wanted to find out from these works if there was further lessons to learn from these long difficult hikes; perhaps some enlightenment that would justify the hardship and loneliness of these walks.
I guess the lessons would depend on the individual doing these treks; resolving what ever issues that are plaguing them at that point in their lives. For me, it was to recover from depression after the death of my father. These walks have turned out into healthy excursions to keep sane from work stress. I have not been hiking lately and I hopes these books would spur me on again.
Other books that I have read abut these subject were 'The Roads to Sata: A 2000-Mile Walk Through Japan' and 'Looking for the Lost' by Alan Booth; who died of colon cancer shortly after finishing his last hike. These books have better writing and excellent in the adventure travelogue vein but with deep insights into Japanese culture.
I had read these books in the Philippines and I had some modest hikes in the mountains of Batangas and Rizal; camping overnight with friends. Mostly I had enjoyed walking the cities that I had visited; enjoying places like Tokyo, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang. But only the the recent years have I enjoyed the hikes in the wonderful state parks near the place I live; mostly to exercise and relax the mind.
I have done some modest walks in the nearby state parks and have felt a certain calmness and satisfaction in long lonely treks in the woods. I guess I wanted to find out from these works if there was further lessons to learn from these long difficult hikes; perhaps some enlightenment that would justify the hardship and loneliness of these walks.
I guess the lessons would depend on the individual doing these treks; resolving what ever issues that are plaguing them at that point in their lives. For me, it was to recover from depression after the death of my father. These walks have turned out into healthy excursions to keep sane from work stress. I have not been hiking lately and I hopes these books would spur me on again.
Other books that I have read abut these subject were 'The Roads to Sata: A 2000-Mile Walk Through Japan' and 'Looking for the Lost' by Alan Booth; who died of colon cancer shortly after finishing his last hike. These books have better writing and excellent in the adventure travelogue vein but with deep insights into Japanese culture.
I had read these books in the Philippines and I had some modest hikes in the mountains of Batangas and Rizal; camping overnight with friends. Mostly I had enjoyed walking the cities that I had visited; enjoying places like Tokyo, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang. But only the the recent years have I enjoyed the hikes in the wonderful state parks near the place I live; mostly to exercise and relax the mind.
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