A sign of a good walk is surely how immersed you are in it. And it has been ages since I have been on where I am. Usually, if its short and local the headphones are on and I’m in the middle of a triumphant metal chorus, idyllic folk enhancement mode or revolutionary period France, the Wild West, Middle Earth or the planet Arrakis depending what’s on Audible.
This has its pros and cons. Reading, or listening, to the struggle of the hobbits while going up a mountain lost in the fog was intense and emotional. Listening to Heilung or Wardruna deep in the woods is spiritually uplifting. But to truly get lost in the woods you need to be listening to absolutely nothing else, which is something I struggle with. There’s always a goal rather than just enjoyment and I need to return to the enjoyable part. This is more the way my mum walks and I never thought about this before. Yes its exercise but it’s also good fun. My walks always seem to have to have an element of achievement attached. A LW photo op, an unknown summit, an end point. The journey itself, the experience, fully immersed in it should be the important bit. Engaged, from my feet to the smell, to my brain, in everything with every sense to the task at hand; enjoyment.