It’s pretty bad.

Married 20 years, happily, six children, oldest graduating this spring, undergoing a job transition, no ability to step out of responsibilities and life.

But I can’t stop thinking about, dreaming about thru-hiking.

Somehow I’ve hit 44 and not experienced the hobbled back, the bad hip, the blown out knees that everyone else my age seems to have. I am blessed with good health for my age and I want to use it.

I want to roam, to see what’s beyond the next hill, to enjoy this beautiful wild world we live in. To feel nature all around me, to experience self-sufficiency, to meet people on a journey themselves and to share life with people who are grateful for the company around a fire or shelter, who don’t see how you are different from them, but how you are the same.

I have been trying to quantify this itch, to figure out why it’s hitting me so hard. I hope if I can understand it maybe it will lessen because the truth is I am not going to walk away from everyone who needs me right now.

My latest theory is this: thru-hiking is an expression of minimalism. Here’s why: