A Quiet, Confident Walk Through The Wild

My hurried sidewalk pace does not work in the woods. It is noisy and does not cope with obstacles well. As a result, I am often feeling out of place.

In addition, because of positional vertigo I can lose my sense of balance on uneven ground fairly easily. I occasionally lurch even walking on level ground as if I encountered an obstacle. Growing up I just figured I was a klutz and it was a bit of relief to get the medical diagnosis in my early thirties. Again this adds to my sense of discomfort with walking through the woods.

I am beginning to learn a different way to walk that is better suited to the wild. Actually, I am beginning to learn about several better ways to go through the woods. Some of them promise the ability to get much closer to wildlife.

However, I have learned that I need to increase my overall fitness and strength, and particularly my balance, to be able to effectively use most of these new ways. For now I must make do by taking much smaller steps and going much slower.

One of the great advantages of one these new ways is that it allows you to walk without looking constantly down to see where your feet are going next. Instead, you learn how to place your feet so that during placement you get feedback on what is under your feet before committing to the step.

This means you can continue to look around you while walking. It also means that if you are blindfold or in the dark, you can step quietly and confidently!

This is quite different from my usual way of going along and will take practice. But the goal of a quiet, confident walk through the wild is very powerful.

Now if my thighs would stop aching!