The approach to hiking I’ve been sketching here helps us cultivate a way of paying attention, of being in the woods, that diverges from the desire to prove something or add a summit to our list of exploits. It’s about emptying ourselves of our drivenness and simply giving our attention to the act of walking and the place through which we move. Though we get sweaty, dirty, and covered with DEET, we are cleansing ourselves internally, and this, in turn, clears our sight.
