Hiking

The philosophy of Climbing and Hiking

I see climbing as a challenge. It is a very straightforward goal that you set to yourself that requires very little thought or planning. A successful climb literally brings you at the top of something and brings a sense of achievement. And the feeling of achievement is what makes you hungry for more achievement, whatever form it may have. It is thus a very simple self-motivating experience that is both good for your health and good for you mind.

I like hiking for the spiritual and physical experience of it. I view hiking as being about following trails where one can observe and be confronted with the greatness of uncivilized nature. Most provincial and national parks have trails that are maintained, and many provide shelters or camping grounds along the way of longer trails. Going in the wilds outside of trails (often called "bushwacking"), even with a map and compass, can be dangerous in some places. I prefer to be in safer conditions, and don't put myself in situations where my safety is at risk.

You can go hiking in different manners: You can just go for a light walk, or admire nature, or explore new trails; you can go alone, with friends, with kids; you can walk, jog, run, whichever you feel like on this day.

I especially like mountain hiking because you have to learn to manage your energy well, and be aware of what are your limits and capacities. Walking or jogging to the summit of a mountain can be a very demanding and rewarding experience. You have to be in tune with the signs that your body gives you in order to be able to reach for your goal. You have to fight with yourself and let down this voice that asks you why you are doing that, and remind you that the final reward (reaching the summit) is worth it even though you know that it is perfectly futile. In some way, I find that it helps me every day to endure all mental and physical obstacles that my life puts me into. It helps me realize that no matter what I undertake, all that matters is to think of the final goal, while being constantly aware of my limits in order to reach for my goal, and also that appreciating the ride is equally important as reaching the goal.

Hiking also permits you to disconnect from whatever you do in your hectic life. The proximity of nature permits to think positively about anything. If you need to let off steam, you can go jogging. You also get to meet other hikers, most of them being friendly and smiling, contrasting with the majority of indifferent faces you typically run onto in metropolitan areas.

Personal records

I have taken hiking in 2002, and more seriously in 2003. I used to do a 10km hike every two weeks, and many of my summer activities used to revolve around hiking and camping. When not on vacations, I prefer hiking in Mont Saint-Hilaire. It is about 30 minutes from Montreal, and offers different trails in terms of length and steepness and three different summits. I also used to climb Mont Royal every week day, normally first thing in the morning, or after a lecture. So far, the highest I have climbed is 1268m (Mount Jacques-Cartier, second highest peak in the province of Quebec) and the longest non-stop mountain hike I have taken is 30km, both in the summer of 2007.

In the past years, I have not had as many opportunities to hike, so I got into the habit of jogging to Mt. Royal during most of my working days. I did that for two years until I eventually found that regularly jogging during the summer heat or winter cold is not fun. I thus then decided to jog up and down the stairs of my work building, jogging up and down 100 stories (1352 ft) each time. I have done that since September 2012, on average 2 to 2.5 times per week during the fall and winter semesters. At this pace, I go up and down the entire altitude of the peak of Mt. Everest every semester. After I realized that after a few months, I set my goal to have climbed ten times the height of Mt. Everest by May 2015, a goal that I have eventually attained on January 15th 2015. I then set my next goal to continue on at the same pace and have climbed a total of one million stairs. I have attained this goal on October 11th, 2016. In more recent years, I have slowed down the pace but I still continue this exercise routine. Between September 3rd 2012 and September 24th 2019, I have done it 526 times. That is equivalent to having climbed this building 3,682 times i.e. 526,000 building levels, 1,219,268 steps, 711,152 ft, or 217 vertical kilometers, or 24.5 times the full elevation of Mt. Everest.