Admiring the little things

I read an article the other night in a local magazine that debated the merits of hiking alone. Opinions were mixed, safety was a primary concern, or not for some as it can be easily managed with preparation. In the heart of the article was the bigger question, why do we hike?

One person interviewed spoke about what he notices when he hikes alone and is not engrossed in conversation. To him it was a time of meditation, another thrived on company for motivation. It got me thinking. In the beginning many of my hikes have been alone out of necessity, seems other people have to go to something called work most days. I have grown to enjoy it, setting my own pace to meander about looking at things or if I wish powering on if the mood takes me. That said I have had the pleasure of some great company lately, namely a lady called Sue, whose imagination is limitless. I was taking pictures of cobwebs on the Kepler Track and she remarked that all the spiders must be at the mall as all the webs were empty! I do enjoy the little things while hiking. I decided there is no right or wrong, once you are out and about and enjoying it all.

So here are some pictures of little things from some big hikes alone recently as I had the time to enjoy them.

Have been through lots of forest recently, mainly beech wood but in Fiordland’s cool temperate climate, lots of moss and ferns close to the ground, so many shades of green…….