Urban Hiking: Yes its a thing

Fundraising, run-raising, and the cure for doom-scrolling

This month I’ve committed to hiking fifty miles to raise money for Wounded Warrior, an org that supports the physical and mental health needs of veterans. With the brutal imagery and trauma streaming steadily, I wanted to do something to help those who’ve had devastating direct contact with war. Action beats internet is my guiding principle, and getting outside is my safe space. Raising money while doing it? Win/win. I’ve run marathons for maternal health access, climbed mountains for organ transplant recipients, and the list goes on. If I can exercise to raise money for a cause I care about, I’m in. Plus, along with kneading bread dough and swimming, it’s one of the best ways to stay off the internet. Whenever the doom-scrolling takes over, it’s my cue to Power down and do something.

So I joined the Facebook group (yes I see the irony in that) and posted my fundraising page. “All hikes will be urban!” I announced in my pitch (which so many friends and family immediately coined up for, to the tune of 700+ dollars - Thank you!) and started walking, basking in the beauty of New York City’s fascinating coastline.

Value Add: In the midst of incessant division, hate, death and destruction - there is hiking. Walking outside is an act entirely devoid of controversy, free of conflicting opinions. Hiking is inherently happy, like cupcakes; you can take it or leave it but you sure don’t have to take a position against it. It is a liberatingly neutral act. Or so I thought.

WTF? Seriously dude? I nearly answered but... At this point, I’m aware enough of the brain science behind internet conflict and how absolutely alive all that hate makes us feel. Plus, I’m from New Jersey. Shit talking was an integral part of my upbringing. But years of therapy and Jia Tolentino’s book Trick Mirror has cured me of the need for hot takes, to be cuttingly clever, the need to win absolutely nothing. I let the debate unfold without me and went for a walk during which I considered the politics of the outdoors and access to undeveloped natural spaces. I don’t currently have that, not this week, but I’ll take Manhattan. It’s not the Camino de Santiago, it doesn’t have waterfalls, cows or transcendent mountain peaks. But I can get spaghetti at the end of the trail.

Next week: Walking Manhattan, a route unseen on Broad City, bro movies, and not one that I recommend…Cheers!

ON THE PATH:

AUDIBLE: DOPPLEGANGER

Naomi Klein’s mesmerizing new book comes at (and for) the current culture from a completely surprisingly angle, one that I am so often guilty of - confusing similar names. Unwillingly associated with the extreme misinformation campaign of Naomi Wolf due to similar names and career (writers both), Klein uses this experience as a device for seeing the self and the country we live in. Steve Bannon, the “personal brand” and the politics of Covid are looked at through Klein’s clear eyed lens into the mirror world. I struggle to describe it, (it’s form is unlike any book I’ve read) but I’m midway through and it’s completely compelling.

POD: PIVOT Meredith Levein, CEO of the New York Times masterfully communicates the current and future health of the New York Times, and why, she believes, it succeeds where other newspapers flounder. “The pursuit of truth” is a pretty much an unshakable brand pillar (and guide for living). Like Meredith, I too listen to Pivot while running. Scott Galloway and Kara Swisher became my imaginary friends during covid and our relationship has only gotten stronger over the years.

LISTENING: BOY GENIUS was the musical guest last week on SNL. There were five guitars on stage but I could only hear 1.5. Would I like them better if I listened rather than watched them perform performing? The answer is no.

If the mission of Wounded Warrior speaks to you, please donate to my fundraiser HERE