The Trail Saved My Life —  Alison’s Tale from the Trail

The trail quite literally saved my life.

I used to be a high level professional classical musician. At the height of my career, I developed a neurological movement disorder that made it impossible to perform. It was the most devastating loss of my life and left me without a sense of meaning of purpose.

Somehow I stumbled into hiking and found that on trail, I could grieve and learn to step into a scary and unknown future without my beloved music. I was surprised to discover that I smiled a lot out there even when things got tough. Other hikes gave me the trail name “Blissful,” an ironic name for someone who had all but given up hope.

It was around the time I began hiking in earnest that I learned about another Blissful Hiker – Beethoven. He was religious with his daily walks, but also took long rambles in the Vienna woods to capture the creative muse.

But there was something else Beethoven and I shared.

He was the exact same age I was when he suffered his devastating loss – going deaf. Like me, he also grappled with meaning and purpose and even wrote a suicide note.

But he didn’t kill himself, and instead went on living – and hiking – composing some of the astonishing music ever created. I realized if Beethoven could go on living, so could I.

When I decided to tackle my first long distance thru-hike, Te Araroa in New Zealand, I needed money and realized I owned something of great value that was worth exactly the amount I needed to make this hike a reality – my professional flute.

I sold it to a very talented musician who plays it every day. I traded my flute for a hike, my flute for my life. I walked every step of that glorious, life-changing trail – plus another 10,000 miles or so, stepping forward into my bliss.”

Story & photos courtesy of blissfulhiker (Alison Young)

Have trails shape your life, support your mental health, or help you find a new path forward?

Share your story with us at https://americanhiking.org/share-your-story/ —because every step on the trail is a step toward something greater.