I went somewhere beautiful recently, and I can’t tell you where. I shouldn’t even be telling you this, because it violates the first rule of hike club.
Two friends and I went into the backcountry, far off-trail, immersed in a mountain landscape full of lush, green forests, glimmering lakes, and uninterrupted views. I’d like to show you pictures of it, but I don’t want you to know about it. Not to keep it selfishly for myself, but because I fear that if too many others found out about it, it would attract too much foot-traffic that could hurt the environment and upset the fragile land. My friends and I were very careful about where we set up, sleeping on gravelly ground far away from any plant life in accordance with backcountry guidelines, but if people knew about the spot, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine scores of people damaging the neighboring flora as they tromp their way over for a dramatic place to snap their photos.
So, I’m keeping the place secret. I’m not even sharing a picture from the spot in case there are any internet sleuths out there who want to triangulate our position. The featured image is just a photo I took somewhere else in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, far away from where we camped. And that’s good enough. (Although the pictures I have from the campsite might be the coolest I’ll ever take.)
The only reason I’m even telling you about this discovery is that it got me thinking about how so much of our existence these days is tied up in over-communicating where we’ve been and what we’re doing on social media, that we forget to keep some places sacred for ourselves. That not everything needs to be shared and that the earth doesn’t need us to pin every location for everyone else to see. Some magic should be kept to ourselves, both for our spirit and the sake of the planet.
So, if you’re a hiker and planning a backcountry adventure anytime soon, or if you’ve already found some place special that nobody else knows about, whether that’s by yourself or with some awesome wingpeople—do yourself this favor: keep the location of the adventure to yourself. Because you didn’t go there for the gram. You didn’t go for the recognition of the discovery. You went because you were looking for adventure and hopefully found it. And you also hopefully found out a little bit more about yourself out there, too. You can share that bit if you like, if it feels purposeful to do so. But as for the newly discovered backcountry place you found?
Well, the first rule of hike club is…