A Trekking Retrospective
So in summer of 2024, after completing my undergraduate degree, I finally took the trip I'd been putting on hold for 5 years: backpacking Europe.
Now unbenownst to me, the term "backpacking" carries two meanings. For someone like me who grew up with scouting, backpacking always meant carrying your stuff and going camping.
Backpackers who go from city to city, hostel to hostel, for a while at a time is such a foreign concept to me it didn't even occur to me that's what everone who said they went backpacking in Europe meant.
While I'm discussing semantics, I should also say that North American camping is very different from European camping - a campsite has trees, a fire pit, and maybe a picnic table.
Campsites in a field full of trailers does not feel like camping, and then most of Europe outdoes themselves and makes wild camping illegal, the best way to actually appreciate the beauty of the continent.
Regardless, there's still plenty of wild campsites, but why try to limit it so much? Don't you get that you're robbing yourselves of the beauty of outside??
I digress. 5 weeks, 8 countries, lots of camping. What a wonderful time, the world is so beautiful. Nothing will beat the feeling of standing alone atop a fell, enjoying the horizon in all directions as you
feel so alone and so connected to world around you at the same time. The feeling of going to bed underneath the vast sky in a valley as lush and pure a green as any fantasy setting, to the sound of a babbling brook.
I can't encourage you enough to go outside and live a little. In my hopes of doing so, here are some pictures of my travels.
Ireland
Atop a mountain in Wicklow
A perfect place to wake up
Historical sites are at least four times as impressive with a blanket of fog
A thicket on a hillside is a perfect place for a hammock to be unnoticed
United Kingdom
Nothing quite like 3 days solo among the fells
I will say that the water here tasted better than Irish mountain water
I'll also say that it was surreal to be here alone
This was not where I wanted to sleep, but one thing led to another... also it is SO WINDY UP ON TOP OF THE FELLS
This view just kind of blew my mind
I seriously considered trying to bring this with me the rest of the way, but left it where it lay in the end
Netherlands/Switzerland
The Netherlands are very pretty. The Netherlands are also incredibly flat
I think Switzerland impressed me the most by actually encouraging people to spend time outside and in the mountains, even with public campfire grill boxes whereas everywhere else tries to keep you from burning anything ever in their wilderness
It's also just really really pretty here. Wish I spent longer but also oh my gosh it's expensive here
Austria/Poland
Met up with some friends in Vienna, mostly inexperienced campers to share the rest of the trip with
The plan was simple though - take a train, get off somewhere, sleep in the woods
And sure enough, we did just that and it was wonderful
The second time around though, we may have gotten to a good spot a little late
That said, you can always marvel at the beauty of the world when you wake up
The polish hillsides are pretty similar but definitely worth a visit of their own
Also had our first big downpour on the trail here. Luckily there was a shelter nearby to cook out of the rain, and my tarp sure earned its keep that night
Norway
The extra effort to reach the northern tip of Norway was rewarded with breathtaking views at every turn
Every single landscape shone under the sun deep into the night
The mundane, nonchalant beauty of the north has definitely embedded itself in my heart
Norway is a place to explore, and there are no bad decisions
Each and every path you reach the end of rewards you with a sight you can't get anywhere else
Open this panorama and look around. You'll be glad you did.
Even pulling over on the road rewards you with breathtaking views, should you not be in the mood to hike for hours
Ironically the worst experience we had was visiting the best known tourist site in the area
When just 5 minutes down the road is the most beautiful night under the midnight sun you can find
Closing Thoughts
Go out and live a little. Take the first step even if you don't know what the last one looks like. You can hike longer than you think you can, but bring some chocolate for motivation. Nature's true bounties come to those who don't fear to look for it.
A little snack, found at the end of the world. Tasted kind of like an apple pie, if you'll believe me.