#BlackHikersWeek - How I Started Hiking

@BlackPeopleWhoHike are hosting #BlackHikersWeek and are inviting all Black hikers to share their stories with different prompts everyday. Today’s topic is: “How and why did you get started hiking?” I started hiking as a young kid. My earliest memories in nature are from camping in the Smoky Mountains (Cherokee territory) with my family. We would pack up for a week and go car camp with the other “city folks”*. My parents took me out into the woods just like their parents took them when they were younger. We’d spend our time going on nature walks to see a beautiful overlook or some old preserved settler structure, always on the look out, hoping to spot bears and other animals.

As I got older and started going to summer camp, I started hiking with “nature guides” who knew how to identify every plant and creature we saw. I remember feeling overwhelmed at the variety around me and even more so when I learned that there were even more names to learn and memorize from different eco systems around the world.

When I reached high school, hiking became something I did on the weekends with my friends. We’d hike out to a waterfall and lay out on the rocks in the sun all afternoon. Hiking has always been a social experience for me as much as anything.

Speaking of social, I want to hear from you. If you’re a hiker, how did you get started? Where are your favorite trails? What are your best hiking memz? Anything you want to share!

If you’re new to hiking or want to learn more, ask below and we’ll try to get your Q’s A’d.

#BlackPeopleWhoHike #BlackOutdoorLivesMatter *Note: we were very much “suburban folks” lol Knoxville doesn’t have much of a “city” to speak of. 📸📍: Wabanaki, Abenaki, and Penobscot territory