Get Inspired

This article is for all the thru-hikers who are longing for a new adventure, for the lost souls who want to hit a trail but are struggling to choose one, for the people who are afraid to get out of their comfort zone, but also for everyone who simply loves a good outdoor-related story time.

You’ll read about the many different ways for getting inspired about new trails and outdoor adventures.

✨ The call:

Sometimes, all you need to do to get out there is to simply start dreaming about a new adventure… soon enough, a trail will call you. And once you get the call, it’s hard to resist it. If you know you know.

Enough with the “blabla”… let’s get to it!

Here are my top 5 sources of inspiration when I want to leave everything behind and embark on a new adventure but I am short of ideas.

1. Talk to people 👄

The people I meet while traveling are often the primary source of inspiration for my next thru-hikes.

While getting to know other hikers, I always try to get inspired by their stories and their dreams. If they talk about a specific trail towards which I feel particularly drawn to, I like to think of it as a sign of destiny. By doing so, instead of choosing a trail myself, I kind of let the trail choose me… like a Harry Potter wand.

🪄 The Harry Potter wand strategy: 

I don’t know if this makes sense or if I sound mental, but I really like this strategy for choosing my next long-distance hike.

This is also how my love for thru-hiking started in the first place… the fascinating stories told by my grandparents about their hike on the Camino de Santiago gave me the very first push!

Long story short… talk to people, get to know them, listen to their stories and let them inspire you!

When thru-hiking, you must stop for trail magic… that’s where magic unfolds!

2. Watch movies 🎬

There are plenty of beautiful movies for outdoor-lovers to draw inspiration from, whether for a particular trail or for another crazy adventure. 

You’ll find a few “blockbusters” about famous long-distance hikes like the PCT, the AT and the Camino de Santiago, but also movies produced by smaller studios, and documentaries filmed by amateurs.

The types of expeditions are even more diverse, and I’m sure you’ll find yourself rooting for the strangers on the screen on their crazy adventures, whether they are hiking, bikepacking, driving a van, rafting or sailing across the world!

🌲 Wild:

The movie “Wild” is a great example, as I am sure it was source of inspiration not only for me, but for many other hikers. It tells the story of Cheryl Strayed, a brave and strong woman who embarks on a solo hiking trip on the Pacific Crest Trail, an adventure which turns into a healing journey of self discovery. This movie made me fall in love with the idea of hiking the PCT.

I can therefore highly suggest to pick a movie, grab your favorite snacks (the ones that remind you of the simple life on trail), sit back and enjoy!

And if you like the idea of the adventure you’re watching but you fear you’re not capable of it, please don’t let go of that dream. Just take me as an example. While watching “Wild”, I also thought a hike like the PCT was impossible for me to accomplish. However, I kept working toward that goal. Ten years later, that dream of mine became reality… I thru-hiked it, and it changed my life forever.

Guess the (obvious) movie by the size of that backpack!

3. Read books 📚

I know… books are not the easiest option if you’re not a bookworm. It is indeed much easier to just turn on the TV and hit the “play” button. But what if I tell you that you’re missing out? Are you feeling that FOMO? I would…

Compared to the amount of movies, you’ll indeed find many more books out there, telling beautiful and inspiring stories about real adventures. The choice is almost overwhelming, and that’s why you could really find some hidden gems between the shelves of a library! 

Who knows… maybe it will be a book about a trail you didn’t even know the existence of that will ignite your dreams once again.

🦋 Butterfly feelings: 

I lately realized that I slowly lost my adventurous spirit. I was missing inspiration, and I desperately wanted to feel butterflies in my stomach again. It was time for me to obsess over a new trail, a new adventure. 

A few days ago, I found myself in a big reading slump after finishing the third book of a fantasy series about dragons and romance (yes, I am into romantasy… judge me). 

I ended up choosing a book I found out through an adventure podcast. The book tells the special experience lived by a young brave woman on her thru-hike of the Pacific Northwest Trail (no, we’re not talking about the PCT)… this trail is something new to me, something out of the ordinary, a badass trail. 

I am now glued to the pages of this book since a few days, and I am slowly starting to feel those butterflies flying again.

A few adventure books from my personal collection.

4. Listen to podcasts 🎧

Podcasts are a great way to get inspired and to detach your mind while setting your body on “autopilot”. There are quite a handful of interesting and captivating podcasts out there, targeting outdoor lovers and adventure enthusiasts, like you and me.

So… if you are traveling, cleaning your apartment, doing some boring shit or, even better, walking on a long distance trail, do yourself a favor: put on your earphones and listen to an adventure podcast!

In my case, I really enjoy it when the hosts interview different guests in each episode. I simply like variety, and I am very curious to learn about different types of extreme sports and adventures. I’ll probably stick to long distance hikes forever… but who knows, one day I’ll maybe get a new crazy obsession thanks to a podcast!

Close your eyes and dream.

5. Browse through Youtube 🎞️

Youtube is probably the best social media to get lost into, if you want to obsess over a specific adventure and follow the people vlogging it.

There are so many channels documenting crazy outdoor projects, like building a van and traveling the world in it, bikepacking or thru-hiking across a country. Just type in some keywords in the search bar, like the kind of activity or the name of a trail, press “enter”, and let the magic unfold!

🎥 Romanticizers, silent hikers & vloggers: 

You’ll mainly find three different styles that people use for documenting a journey like a thru-hike on youtube (don’t ask me which one is my favorite… I would not be able to answer).

Romanticized style: these are carefully edited short movies, charmingly narrating the experience lived on a thru-hike. Good shots, good soundtrack, good storytelling… such videos make trail life look like a dream. Although it’s important to remember that reality can be different and much harder at times, these are the videos that will make you instantly fall in love with an adventure!

Silent Hiking style: videos featuring “silent hikes” became increasingly popular over the last few years. They are usually filmed with good quality cameras and drones, and the sounds of nature and of the rhythmic steps hitting the trail is what makes such videos extremely relaxing to watch.

Vlogger style: these videos are, you guessed it, raw vlogs that show the true nature of an adventure. I personally really like to follow people on a thru-hike, periodically posting a video and documenting both the good and the bad moments, along with the mistakes, the failures and the successes. Such videos are often not professionally edited, but simply show the beautiful, hard and unfiltered reality of a journey.

One of the Youtube channels I love.

Now… have fun discovering new trails and adventures, let them inspire you and guide your dreams!