Hike Alabama Challenge: Join the Early Morning Walking Club (EMWC). Post a picture from your morning walk on social media, tag @HikeAlabama, and use the hashtag #HikeALChallenge.
Many of my most cherished memories are with my late grandpa, Frank.
Frank, who I affectionately remember as “Pa,” is probably where I picked up my appreciation for the outdoors.
Before moving to Nashville, my grandparents lived in Huntsville. My mom (their daughter) says that when she was a kid, every Saturday morning began with my grandpa taking my mom and her sister to Monte Sano Mountain.
In my case, growing up in both Huntsville and Birmingham (Huntsville area in the younger years and Birmingham in my later years), my grandparents always lived a couple of hours away in Nashville. And visiting them was always involved adventures with Pa.
Every day of each visit started anywhere between 4:30 to 5:30 a.m. with my grandpa waking me up and whispering, “Ready to go walking?”
We would hop in the car together to drive to a nearby state park, but before we got there we always had to make a crucial pit stop at McDonalds to get some coffee.
Despite many of the same crew members working at McDonalds each visit, he would proudly remind them when ordering our coffees that he was a senior citizen who should be charged the senior discount of 50 cents.
Of course, he also proudly reminded them each visit that I was his grandson.
Coffees in hand, we would get back in the car and drive during what felt like the middle of the night to Long Hunter State Park, which is about 30 minutes east of downtown Nashville.
Our favorite trail was a 2 mile trail that he walked nearly every day. The walk usually took us about 30-35 minutes to complete, and throughout the walks he served as the tour guide by pointing out his observations from the trails.
Observations included things like, “This is where I saw some deer yesterday,” and “This is where I was when it started raining the other day.”
He also was good at plant and tree identification along the trail. He always enjoyed watching survivalist TV shows like Man versus Wild and Survivorman, so he always pointed out plants and berries that were edible in the event we got lost.
Fortunately, we never had to put those skills to the test as we were walking along the nicely paved path as the sun was coming up.
Many of the fellow walkers along the trail recognized my grandpa after seeing him every day, and they would exchange “good mornings” as we intersected others on the trail.
One of my grandpa’s many observations included the demeanor of morning walkers versus afternoon walkers.
“People who walk in the mornings are friendly,” he always said. “They will always say hello to you. Afternoon walkers look the other way or down at their feet.”
All these years later, I have found that he was right as that’s typically the case. Morning walkers are usually pretty friendly, pleasant, and will say “good morning.”
While I do not get in the car every day and drive to a state park, my morning routine is not much different than those mornings with my grandpa.
I am usually up between 4:30 to 5:30 a.m., the first order of business is making a cup of coffee, and after some quiet time I am on my morning walk around the neighborhood.
Just as my grandpa did, I try to make it a point to say good morning to everyone I encounter on the walks. It’s usually the same group of people you see walking around the neighborhood at that time every day.
Over time, both you and other walkers develop rapport because you are both part of what I call the Early Morning Walking Club (EMWC).
It’s great because membership is free, and all it takes is a little initiative to wake up a few minutes earlier than you normally do. And while it may be tough in the beginning, especially if you are not a morning person, the benefits of a 20 minute brisk walk are exponential for both your physical and mental health.
For me, it provides a clear start to my day. I feel good after going on the morning walk, and it provides a mental reset that offers a sense of calmness and clarity.
According to this much more scientific article, a 20 minute walk releases endorphins that improve your mood, creates energy by enhancing blood flow, lowers your rick of stroke and heart disease, helps you live a longer life, lowers your risk of diabetes, improves memory, and helps lose weight.
As a communications professional and someone whose master’s degree spent a lot of time examining things like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I would be remiss if I did not mention the positive social elements that come with developing a sense of community with your fellow morning walkers.
And if you are still whining about how much you enjoy your sleep and how vital it is to your day, here is my simple solution: GO TO BED EARLIER!
I will be the first to admit I need plenty of sleep as well, and in no way am I suggesting you compromise any sleep by not getting the 7-8 hours recommended by many medical professionals (which I am not).
What I am suggesting is that instead of laying in bed looking at social media until midnight every night (with the exceptions of our Hike Alabama pages where I encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube), you can put the phone down and cut down on screen time before bed, get a good night’s rest, wake up and go for a walk, and actually feel good and be productive.
Another one of my favorite benefits is that before and after your morning walk, you have some time to chill, recharge and get your mind right before work/school/your day begins as you are the master of your morning domain! You are reclaiming those several vital hours that you gave up by laying in bed for a couple of hours on your phone.
I do not understand how people can be woken up by one of those annoying, buzzing alarm clocks/cell phones, angrily hit it, fall back asleep for 10 minutes, and begrudgingly roll out of bed realizing that they have to be ready for work in 20 minutes.
Talk about miserable!
So that’s the Hike Alabama Challenge this week: Join the Early Morning Walking Club (EMWC). Post a picture from your morning walk on social media, tag @HikeAlabama, and use the hashtag #HikeALChallenge.
Try to make it a habit to wake up a little earlier than you normally do, go for a brisk 20 minute walk, and see how your life changes. The important thing here is momentum.
Don’t get discouraged if you sleep in one day and don’t make it, don’t try it once and say, “That was awful! Hike Alabama gives awful advice” and then let everyone know in the comments section how much we suck.
Housekeeping item on a related and important note: I am about to start blocking haters in the comment section. Why? Because it’s annoying. It’s not doing anybody any good.
Hike Alabama is something I enjoy doing as a public service, it’s one of my hobbies, and it is basically my living room. You don’t see me being a hater when you are participating in your hobbies. And if you are going to come in my living room and act like a jack___, I’m probably not going to invite you over to my house anymore.
Sure, if I tag the wrong location or make a minor mistake (which I have inadvertently done plenty of times), keep letting me know in a nice way. I’m sure I have accidentally tagged Desoto Falls as Little River Canyon and stuff like that more times than I can count, and while I strive not to screw up I occasionally do.
But to be clear, moving forward I have a zero tolerance policy for people being a jerk about it. This is not a democracy. It is a Hike Alabamocracy.
It makes me not want to invest time in this thing and post a cool picture that 98 percent of our community will like when I am getting ready to hit post, but I can already hear the 2 percent of haters in my head saying, “Actually, you’re technically wrong because while today is the first day of summer, tomorrow is actually the first full day of summer” or “How can you post a picture of someone doing that?! That will make a child try that, and a child can get hurt if they try that!”
We are oftentimes simply reposting a picture, and there is never a call-to-action for anyone-especially children-engage in any potentially harmful or dangerous activities.
That’s my ask: Keep encouraging us when we get it right, nicely let us know when we get it wrong, and let’s keep this a positive environment and community.
Now that we have that cleared up, have a great day, a great weekend, keep tagging us in your photos, take part in the #HikeALChallenge, and go to the Birmingham Botanical Garden’s Fall Plant Sale if you enjoy plants and you’re looking for something to do.
-Hike Alabama-
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