Go Hiking and Be A Badass

How can hiking help you become or stay a badass? That’s easy. Do it every week! There are a few exceptional badasses that hike multiple times a week. Usually, they don’t have a job or are independently wealthy. Maybe retired? But what about someone with daily obligations? Well, most of us have at least one day off a week. Do it then.

The reason weekly hiking qualifies you is because of its relatively rare quality. It is hard to get yourself to hike every week especially in all kinds of weather conditions.

Hiking The Burners

Another way to be a badass is to regularly hike the burners. These are the climbs that make your legs scream at you to stop.

When a friend says, have you climbed this or that route and it is “interesting,” they are trying to get you to experience a burner (link).

You Hike No Matter the Weather

You are not badass unless you are out there in all kinds of weather. Rain, snow, wind it doesn’t matter. You do your climb. Now I am not talking about Alpine climbing. Weather is an important consideration in that arena.

I am not an Alpinist nor do I wish to be one. However, I do admire the Alpine badasses out there like Jimmy Chen who makes movies too.

How Do You Know For Sure?

The only way to really know if you are a badass is if someone tells you. This is the test.

Then of course even if someone says you are a badass, remember, someone else thinks you’re a minor league player. Actually, any real Alpinist would look at a weekend hiker as a being in the minor leagues.

Once when I was on my way down from Camp Muir on Rainier an older gentleman was climbing up with his girlfriend and we had a casual conversation. I mentioned I was seventy-something and he said when he was my age he was summiting one of the seven summits. It is kind of like the old west. There is always someone faster on the draw. However, if you want to get faster the only way to do it is, go hiking!