Thank you for this glimpse into the soul of an adventurer. I was particularly struck by his observations about the senses expanding on these mega-hikes.
Me too! Thinking about that sort of connection to our own senses gives me goosebumps. Though I've been in the wild a lot and have done some long-ish backpacking trips and maybe experienced a tiny fraction of this, I've not yet been out there quite like this. I long to be able to do it someday.
I love that Rory knew the Appalachian Trail was what he wanted to do as soon as he saw it, like a hit of magic showing him his special path.
I also love that I live in a part of the world where someone mentioning they are going to do something like that would be seen as the most normal thing ever.
A brilliant interview, thank you Holly and Rory! I think many folks would love a Substack of Rory’s adventures.
A hit of magic! That sounds just about right. I loved that bit too. It speaks to the wisdom of research and curiosity and openness--to listening when something inside us says yes, no matter what it's saying yes to.
Thank you ever so much for reading and sharing and encouraging Rory. He's not online at the moment (it's a work thing preparing for the next hike). But when he jumps back on and reads all these comments, he's gonna be stoked!
Really cool interview! I look forward to more about the folks you’ve met out there, Holly!
This very much reminds me of my experiences meeting folks while living in car and tent in the second half of 2022 — the trip I’ll start documenting, with updates about my itinerant life since, at some point in A Fool in the Woods (substack in waiting).
Thank you, thank you, Nancy. I very much enjoyed having this conversation with Rory and, though it was hard cuz I wanted to use them ALL, picking the photos to illustrate the discussion.
I very much appreciate you reading and sharing. ♥️
Jan! That is so cool. I'd love to see images of her textile art. Art around walks sounds like a pretty cool thing. Tag me if you have shared them somewhere if you feel like it.
"Wild horses. I almost got run over by a herd of them—these beautiful, calico-colored horses." Not too many people can drop that into a conversation.
Thru-hikes tug at me in every direction. I wish I had my 20-year-old back--back then, I didn't flinch carrying 60 pound bags of cement for 12km into the Costa Rican jungle, crossing rivers---all in rubber boots! I do appreciate the Camino routes and the albergues + hostels that permit long walks (and bunk beds) vs. carrying all the tent/stove gear that most thru-hikes require. I love reading about them though! Thanks for sharing this wild horse gallop of the mind.
I thought we'd be stampeded by wild boars in Croatia---the trail we were on was turned upside down by them rooting around. Really, it looked like an excavator had come through. They remained elusive otherwise, but I guess we should always have one eye open for wild horse herds and a sounder of wild boars! AND those fuzzy cacti that jump out at you!
This was great. I loved Rory’s quotes. I am so intrigued and excited by the idea thru-hikes. And I definitely think Rory should share his adventures on substack.
“It gets the white noise out of your head. When you start a hike it probably takes three weeks. And then your senses enhance. Your hearing gets better. Your sense of smell gets better. Your eyesight gets better. You just have a sense of things. Like you could be sitting on a log in the middle of nowhere and go, Man, I feel like something is coming. And twenty minutes later, someone comes by. You didn’t hear them. You didn’t see them. You just had the sense of them.”
I LOVED that part too. I’ve experienced it a little bit, just long periods in the wild attuning to a different rhythm and way of sensing everything around you. Rory describes it so clearly and beautifully.
There was a about a year and a half where I essentially went to the same beach and free-dived every single day. And in that time I definitely felt like I became more aware of an in tune to the ocean and all the little sea creatures I saw on my dives. — that’s the closest I can come to relating.
And yes, I could totally see me being into thru-hikes as well haha
I totally know what you mean Holly. I’ve thought of writing about it before, I just haven’t quite found the angle or like cracked it yet. It’s one of the many experiences/ideas floating in my to-be-written pile. I’m sure at some point (hopefully soon) it will click for me. In fact, hust talking about it is stirring up leads :)
I particularly appreciated Rory's last comment about what I'll call an original connection to the earth, which most people in developed industrial, urban societies have lost. What a profound change in humanity! You get to experience it in a somewhat different way. I think another commonality you share, and that I naturally embraced in my life, is a love of change, which most people hate. The invigoration of it!
Yes, I loved this part too. I’ve experienced that to some degree, and it’s really marvelous to start feeling in tune with what feels … well, so natural, I guess, like a binding of some sort has been removed.
Yeah, I’m the same about change for sure. It’s marvelous, and I go a little stale and itchy without it.
Loving the talk of freedom and camaraderie inspired by thru-hiking! It does seem like a kind of mobile retreat (just as van life) and there's certainly something very alluring about that. I've thought about the Camino de Santiago, but I've gotten so soft! 🫠
Hahaha! I get that. But at least on the Camino there's less gear to carry.
The thing is, if you're like me (and I'd venture you are), there's something very alluring about so many different ways of life, some of them more cushy than others. So many possibilities!
I haven't done thru-hiking or hiking at the length that Rory has. The most I've done is 3 days and 2 nights, mostly due to the amount of food and water I can carry over those days and them not getting spoiled. But plenty of what Rory mentioned here I have experienced myself (and wrote some on my Substack)... walking the war out of myself, the instant connection I've had with those I met on the trail, the freedom it gave me to just be, feeling the difference between the people walking it and those just passing by (it's very distinct!), heightened senses and feeling one with my surroundings, experiencing a waiting game with that snake or kangaroo (I'm in Australia) on the trail, and the greatest gift of all... That if I can do that, most other challenges in life feel easier when I exit the trail.
I would have loved to have sat in that conversation!
Yes! Abigail, I love that you made this point. It's wonderful how our brains work in that way--how stepping outside our comfort zone in one aspect of life or meeting a certain type of challenge truly does enable us to step out in other ways and meet new challenges.
And kangaroos on the trail! Oh my. I have to visit Australia someday. But I must admit I would be very nervous to be waiting out a kangaroo.
Thank you ever so much for reading and commenting. :) ♥️
Last year, I read Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. Though an older book, it was fascinating, and I learned so much about such adventurous souls, much like your friend, Rory, and what it takes to be a thru-hiker and solo long-distance hiking. Great interview. Thank you both.
Holly and Rory, I absolutely adored this interview!
Just thinking of all the freedom and adventure thru-hiking gives a person gives me itchy feet! It has been a dream of mine and my daughters for many years, one that is yet to be fulfilled but damn it I'm determined - before I am to old and wobbly to be incapable - to walk, at the very least, one of the four trails of Santiago de Compostela.They are short by comparison to The Appalachian trail but... One day! in the not so distant future!
Many, many thanks to you both, you just rekindled the fire! 💛
I'm so inspired and also daunted. lol. I deeply want to do something like this, but have no idea how. I don't want to quit my life. I love it. But it involves a computer and internet. Heavily. So maybe that's the thing. I need to do small doses of outdoors and then find a way to take some time off in the future. Thanks for sharing this! It was so much easier to quit my job and live out of a truck when I was 24! :) xoxo
Hahaha! My cousin and I were just talking about this. All that freedom, like youth itself, wasted on the youth!
Yeah, I think whatever time we can carve out is the way to go. There's no right way to enjoy the wild spaces this world has to offer, to fit in the things that call to us.
Thank you ever so much for reading and commenting, Jocelyn!! 🔥♥️♥️
Thank you for this glimpse into the soul of an adventurer. I was particularly struck by his observations about the senses expanding on these mega-hikes.
Me too! Thinking about that sort of connection to our own senses gives me goosebumps. Though I've been in the wild a lot and have done some long-ish backpacking trips and maybe experienced a tiny fraction of this, I've not yet been out there quite like this. I long to be able to do it someday.
I love that Rory knew the Appalachian Trail was what he wanted to do as soon as he saw it, like a hit of magic showing him his special path.
I also love that I live in a part of the world where someone mentioning they are going to do something like that would be seen as the most normal thing ever.
A brilliant interview, thank you Holly and Rory! I think many folks would love a Substack of Rory’s adventures.
A hit of magic! That sounds just about right. I loved that bit too. It speaks to the wisdom of research and curiosity and openness--to listening when something inside us says yes, no matter what it's saying yes to.
Thank you ever so much for reading and sharing and encouraging Rory. He's not online at the moment (it's a work thing preparing for the next hike). But when he jumps back on and reads all these comments, he's gonna be stoked!
Really cool interview! I look forward to more about the folks you’ve met out there, Holly!
This very much reminds me of my experiences meeting folks while living in car and tent in the second half of 2022 — the trip I’ll start documenting, with updates about my itinerant life since, at some point in A Fool in the Woods (substack in waiting).
Thank you, thank you, Joshua. I had such a fantastic time conversing with Rory about his adventures (or way of life, I should say).
Can't wait to read A Fool in the Woods. Great title. Like I say, let me know when it debuts. :)
First post: https://foolinthewoods.substack.com/p/pruning-muscadine
Y’all, if anyone’s reading this, click that link. It’s a beautiful debut.
First post appears in the morning.
foolinthewoods.substack.com
Wow, what an experience. Great story and great photos.
Thank you, thank you, Nancy. I very much enjoyed having this conversation with Rory and, though it was hard cuz I wanted to use them ALL, picking the photos to illustrate the discussion.
I very much appreciate you reading and sharing. ♥️
wonderful. One of my daughter's is a hiker and has also produced textile art around some of her walks so near to the heart.
Jan! That is so cool. I'd love to see images of her textile art. Art around walks sounds like a pretty cool thing. Tag me if you have shared them somewhere if you feel like it.
Thank you much for reading and commenting. ♥️♥️
"Wild horses. I almost got run over by a herd of them—these beautiful, calico-colored horses." Not too many people can drop that into a conversation.
Thru-hikes tug at me in every direction. I wish I had my 20-year-old back--back then, I didn't flinch carrying 60 pound bags of cement for 12km into the Costa Rican jungle, crossing rivers---all in rubber boots! I do appreciate the Camino routes and the albergues + hostels that permit long walks (and bunk beds) vs. carrying all the tent/stove gear that most thru-hikes require. I love reading about them though! Thanks for sharing this wild horse gallop of the mind.
“Wild horse gallop of the mind!” Love it!
Thank you much for reading.
I thought that, too, when Rory talked about almost being run over by a herd of wild horses—that’s a pretty unique experience.
I feel the same about thru-hikes and about my younger back. ;)
I thought we'd be stampeded by wild boars in Croatia---the trail we were on was turned upside down by them rooting around. Really, it looked like an excavator had come through. They remained elusive otherwise, but I guess we should always have one eye open for wild horse herds and a sounder of wild boars! AND those fuzzy cacti that jump out at you!
🐗 !!!
This was great. I loved Rory’s quotes. I am so intrigued and excited by the idea thru-hikes. And I definitely think Rory should share his adventures on substack.
“It gets the white noise out of your head. When you start a hike it probably takes three weeks. And then your senses enhance. Your hearing gets better. Your sense of smell gets better. Your eyesight gets better. You just have a sense of things. Like you could be sitting on a log in the middle of nowhere and go, Man, I feel like something is coming. And twenty minutes later, someone comes by. You didn’t hear them. You didn’t see them. You just had the sense of them.”
— this is amazing!
I LOVED that part too. I’ve experienced it a little bit, just long periods in the wild attuning to a different rhythm and way of sensing everything around you. Rory describes it so clearly and beautifully.
I could totally see you being into thru-hikes.
That is so cool. The attuning time nature thing.
There was a about a year and a half where I essentially went to the same beach and free-dived every single day. And in that time I definitely felt like I became more aware of an in tune to the ocean and all the little sea creatures I saw on my dives. — that’s the closest I can come to relating.
And yes, I could totally see me being into thru-hikes as well haha
Oh, Michael. You have to write about this free-diving time.
I mean, write about whatever calls to you. I mean I would love to read about this. It seems such an exquisite experience.
I totally know what you mean Holly. I’ve thought of writing about it before, I just haven’t quite found the angle or like cracked it yet. It’s one of the many experiences/ideas floating in my to-be-written pile. I’m sure at some point (hopefully soon) it will click for me. In fact, hust talking about it is stirring up leads :)
Loved this interview Holly! Particularly the idea of our senses becoming more acute and expansive as we spend more time in nature.
Me too. Bet you’ve had a test of that. :)
I particularly appreciated Rory's last comment about what I'll call an original connection to the earth, which most people in developed industrial, urban societies have lost. What a profound change in humanity! You get to experience it in a somewhat different way. I think another commonality you share, and that I naturally embraced in my life, is a love of change, which most people hate. The invigoration of it!
Yes, I loved this part too. I’ve experienced that to some degree, and it’s really marvelous to start feeling in tune with what feels … well, so natural, I guess, like a binding of some sort has been removed.
Yeah, I’m the same about change for sure. It’s marvelous, and I go a little stale and itchy without it.
Thanks ever so much for reading and commenting!
Loving the talk of freedom and camaraderie inspired by thru-hiking! It does seem like a kind of mobile retreat (just as van life) and there's certainly something very alluring about that. I've thought about the Camino de Santiago, but I've gotten so soft! 🫠
Hahaha! I get that. But at least on the Camino there's less gear to carry.
The thing is, if you're like me (and I'd venture you are), there's something very alluring about so many different ways of life, some of them more cushy than others. So many possibilities!
Thanks for reading and commenting, my friend!
I haven't done thru-hiking or hiking at the length that Rory has. The most I've done is 3 days and 2 nights, mostly due to the amount of food and water I can carry over those days and them not getting spoiled. But plenty of what Rory mentioned here I have experienced myself (and wrote some on my Substack)... walking the war out of myself, the instant connection I've had with those I met on the trail, the freedom it gave me to just be, feeling the difference between the people walking it and those just passing by (it's very distinct!), heightened senses and feeling one with my surroundings, experiencing a waiting game with that snake or kangaroo (I'm in Australia) on the trail, and the greatest gift of all... That if I can do that, most other challenges in life feel easier when I exit the trail.
I would have loved to have sat in that conversation!
Yes! Abigail, I love that you made this point. It's wonderful how our brains work in that way--how stepping outside our comfort zone in one aspect of life or meeting a certain type of challenge truly does enable us to step out in other ways and meet new challenges.
And kangaroos on the trail! Oh my. I have to visit Australia someday. But I must admit I would be very nervous to be waiting out a kangaroo.
Thank you ever so much for reading and commenting. :) ♥️
Last year, I read Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. Though an older book, it was fascinating, and I learned so much about such adventurous souls, much like your friend, Rory, and what it takes to be a thru-hiker and solo long-distance hiking. Great interview. Thank you both.
Thank you, Paulette! ♥️
I haven't read that one. Should I add it to my list?
Yay for adventurous souls and writing that captures their adventures. :)
I'm thinking you could write it!
He's funny, and as a vicarious adventurer, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Ha! Thank you! I'll take that as a high compliment.
Holly and Rory, I absolutely adored this interview!
Just thinking of all the freedom and adventure thru-hiking gives a person gives me itchy feet! It has been a dream of mine and my daughters for many years, one that is yet to be fulfilled but damn it I'm determined - before I am to old and wobbly to be incapable - to walk, at the very least, one of the four trails of Santiago de Compostela.They are short by comparison to The Appalachian trail but... One day! in the not so distant future!
Many, many thanks to you both, you just rekindled the fire! 💛
Me too, me too! The Santiago one day. And I just love the idea of you and your daughter doing it together.
But I have the itchy feet for the AT too.
Oh, the things I want to do and the brief time to fit it all into.
So happy to have rekindled the fire. 🔥
I'm so inspired and also daunted. lol. I deeply want to do something like this, but have no idea how. I don't want to quit my life. I love it. But it involves a computer and internet. Heavily. So maybe that's the thing. I need to do small doses of outdoors and then find a way to take some time off in the future. Thanks for sharing this! It was so much easier to quit my job and live out of a truck when I was 24! :) xoxo
Hahaha! My cousin and I were just talking about this. All that freedom, like youth itself, wasted on the youth!
Yeah, I think whatever time we can carve out is the way to go. There's no right way to enjoy the wild spaces this world has to offer, to fit in the things that call to us.
Thank you ever so much for reading and commenting, Jocelyn!! 🔥♥️♥️
Totally loved this conversation! Thank you!
Thank you ever so much, Victoria! So appreciate you reading it. ♥️
Masshole is totally a Massachusetts thing. I am a Masshole too. Great interview and post.
Thank you, thank you, my friend! I so very much appreciate you reading and sharing.
Love knowing you're from Massachusetts. Mass, LA, you know a good place.
♥️♥️♥️