I don't remember a time that I didn't love exploring the world around me.
From a young age, I remember visits to Roach, Missouri, where my grandparents lived, and hiding around their property along the Little Niangua River. I could always find the best treasures and see the best views from the trails around their house.
My husband and I also enjoyed a little backpacking and hiking when we were first married.
Then things changed.
Life happened, we had children and, as they grew, we enjoyed becoming busy with all the activities that our children were involved in, rather than our own. We still attempted to stay in shape as a couple, but we were doing so in separate directions.
Realizing that we did still have shared goals and wanting to tackle them together, we planned a trip to hike the Maryland section of the Appalachian Trail.
To train for this endeavor, we decided to walk every evening after work together. A lot happened because of those walks, more than I anticipated. We both got in better shape physically, but one of the biggest changes occurred mentally. We both noticed that our stress levels decreased and our general outlook improved. We both looked forward to our time together to decompress and visit each evening.
An added benefit is that we also found wonderful places to walk/hike around our own town. One of our favorite places is a wooded trail off the greenway on West Edgewood. We have also enjoyed hiking at Painted Rock Conservation area, overlooking the Osage River outside of Westphalia, Missouri. Both of these trails are great and a wonderful little escape from the busy reality of our daily lives.
Through our walks/hikes we did get in shape and were able to complete our first long distance hike of approximately 50 miles on the Appalachian Trail through the state of Maryland.
Since then, we have added some weight training to our routine a couple days per week, and have continued to walk/hike together. We have also completed another 100-mile section of the Appalachian Trail through Tennessee and North Carolina, as well as a long hike on the Timberline Trail around Mount Hood in Oregon and sections of the Ozark Trail in our own state.
Having the next adventure on our calendar keeps us motivated to keep moving and to stay physically and emotionally healthy. Hiking and walking together is something that we hope to be able to do together into our retirement.
We still have a lot of our world yet to see, and the views are always so much better from the trail.
Jennifer Hickman is a physical therapist and manager of the Inpatient Therapy department at Capital Region Medical Center, where she has worked since her graduation from the University of Missouri Physical Therapy Program in 1993. She lives in Jefferson City with her husband and hiking partner, Tom. She has two grown children, Josh and Becca, and a dog, Izzy.