Travel and Trekking Go Together | JourNiackery

Travel and trekking create situations that bring out the best in people. On the surface, there are some obvious parallels to draw between travel and trekking:

• Carrying a backpack
• Constantly being on the move
• Sleeping in a different place every night or two
• Showering or bathing irregularly
• Staying alert and aware of surroundings (for theft prevention or wildlife watching…)

But there’s more to it than that. Travel and trekking go together because they come with the same uncertainties and possibilities.

When in need of help, whether alone in the wilderness or in a foreign country with an unknown language, the same feelings of loneliness and helplessness can overwhelm. In both cases, the approach of a friendly stranger can be a true blessing.

At the same time, it can feel risky, opening yourself up to the people you meet on the road or the trail. But when there’s no choice but to rely on the help of a stranger, there’s a sense of relief and gratefulness that someone cared enough about you to step out of their own comfort zone.

And in both cases, the end result is often the satisfaction and pride that comes with overcoming such personal obstacles.

Even when everything is going well and it seems that nothing can get you down, travel and trekking go together. The same risks exist, even while they’re cloaked behind enthusiasm and adventure.

And the same character-building benefits are always part of the outcome: self-reliance, resourcefulness, adaptability, patience and tolerance, trust, perseverance and courage…

Travel and trekking go together because they’re aspects of the same side of the coin.

Ultimately, travel and trekking go together because they teach the same life lessons. In particular, travellers and trekkers learn (and relearn) during their journeys a most important piece of wisdom: It may seem like a scary world, but there’s really nothing to be afraid of after all.

Which is why travellers and trekkers keep taking the same risks over and over again. It’s a whole different mindset. Travel and trekking go together because they’re two facets of the same lifestyle.

One in which risks are taken with pleasure and looking forward to the unknown is common. One that has a sort of magnetic draw, an insatiable attraction: wanderlust.

I’ve shared this theory with others, travellers and trekkers both, and it’s resonated with them right away…