Do we still need Trail signs?
In the Era of Digital Map Services and GPS Navigation Apps.
There is something magical when you hike.
Once you arrive at the parking in the valley, get your backpack on the shoulder and close the car. You check in your head if you have the minimum equipment with you:
Water, Food, Knife, Rain Jacket, Wallet, charged mobile phone, all set.
Let’s go.
You take a last look at the Trail Sign Cross and…turn on your GPS Navigation.
Wrong!
The hiking path should be a place where we slow down.
By slowing down I mean:
- you do not rush
- you enjoy and observe the nature around you
- you use your phone, only in emergency
- you are happy and present
Trail signs lead you towards the top of the mountain, or to a point of interest, but they don’t tell you how much is left, how fast you are going or if you should hurry up. They only make sure that you do not lose yourself.
They give you the comfort that you don’t have to think about the direction, because the next sign is always there. Behind the next tree or on the corner of a stone.
Very often we forget about the freedom you can feel once you hit the trail. Trail signs will always route you to your destiny. I often feel that people who first built the trail, or marked the blazes were pionieers. A difficult trade in our times. It’s good to appreciate what they did, and still do.
Can you think of other elements of our life that are so helpful, but we don’t cherish or at least recognize that they exist?
All the Best and hit the Trail!