From the least likely person to tell you to go on a hike
Words by Laura L. Quick
There are two kinds of travelers.
The ones with a color-coded itinerary, dinner reservations locked in weeks ahead, and a subtle panic if you’re five minutes late leaving a wine tasting.
And then there’s me.
The flexible friend. I’m fun if you made the plan. I will absolutely go along with it. I will also absolutely forget my phone charger, need to borrow your toothpaste, and realize halfway through the trip that I did not, in fact, pack deodorant.
I am also not the girl you’d expect to tell you to go on a hike.
At least, I wasn’t.
A little over a year ago, I went through what can only be described as a very sad country music song season. Divorce. Unexpected. The kind of life disruption that makes you feel like you’re walking around in someone else’s body.
And somehow, the thing that got me through it…was hiking.
Not in a hardcore, ultra-runner, “close your Apple rings” kind of way (my sister has that covered for the entire family). I’m talking about walking. Trails. Getting outside. Moving my body just enough to feel like I was back inside it again.
Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with it, and now it’s one of the first things I look for when I travel.
Not because I’m trying to be healthy in a performative way or to counteract the wine and the desserts (which I am absolutely still having and is a cool added benefit), but because it makes the whole trip better.
The views are better. The conversations are better. I’m better.
So if you’re like me—the least likely candidate for “outdoorsy”—this is your invitation.
Here are 5 reasons why every trip needs a trail:
1. Nature will regulate you faster than anything else
You can be overstimulated, overbooked, slightly hungover, or just off—and nature doesn’t care. It still works.
There’s something about stepping onto a trail that immediately quiets the noise. No notifications. No expectations. Just movement, breath, and whatever is right in front of you.
You don’t need a five-mile hike. You don’t need the perfect outfit. You just need to go outside.
2. It gives you a real mental reset (not the fake kind)
Lying in a hotel bed scrolling on your phone is not a reset. It’s a distraction.
A trail—especially one that’s just challenging enough—pulls you back into your body. You’re paying attention. You’re breathing differently. You’re present.
And that shift? It changes everything about how you experience the rest of your trip.
3. You actually experience the place—not just visit it
I love a good restaurant. I love a local boutique. I will absolutely find a mercantile and convince myself I need something handmade.
But a trail lets you experience a place in a way those things can’t.
The South alone proves that. The trees in North Georgia feel completely different than the Lowcountry. The air, the light, the pace—it all shifts.
You don’t just see it. You feel it.
4. The best conversations (or silence) happen there
There’s something about walking next to someone—not across from them—that changes how you connect.
No pressure. No performance. Just time.
Some of the best conversations I’ve had while traveling didn’t happen over dinner. They happened halfway through a walk, when we weren’t trying so hard.
And if you’re alone? It’s one of the few places you can actually hear yourself think.
5. It makes the whole trip feel better in your body
Let’s be honest—traveling usually means more of everything.
More food. More drinks. Less structure.
And that’s part of the joy.
But moving your body—even a little—grounds you. Not in a punishment way. In a “I feel like myself again” way.
It’s not about earning anything. It’s about enjoying everything more.
The Takeaway
You don’t have to be “outdoorsy.” You don’t have to be athletic. You don’t have to change who you are.
You just have to be willing to find one trail—on every trip—and see what happens.
Because if you’re anything like me, it might become the thing you didn’t know you needed…until it changed everything.
