THE HIKER BEHIND GRAVITY HIKES
They call
me "Gravity"
Outdoor enthusiast. Curious wanderer. Occasionally defeated by a tree root. Glad you’re here.
HOW I FOUND MY WAY OUTSIDE
Somewhere along the trail,
I found a little more of myself.
As a teenage literature fanatic, I was drawn to Thoreau’s writing in Walden Pond, and his idea of a life close to nature. I got older, life got busy, and that fascination slipped into the background.
Rediscovering the outdoors in my forties brought that feeling of serenity back. Hiking became a source of joy and peace, and a way to appreciate the world around me.
Since then, I’ve explored trails across the Midwest and beyond. I’m always looking for new places to venture on foot while also enjoying the ones right here.
That’s what I want to share here: the places that make me pause and the fun of getting out there.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854)
Why Gravity?
On a section hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2024, my hiking companions gave me a trail name that fit a little too well. I’m grounded and down to earth. I’m also a walking trip hazard. Put those together, and you get “Gravity.”
The name stuck. I embraced it. And now it’s a reminder to bring a sense of humor along for the hike.