Thru-hikers get asked a lot why they do what they do and sometimes we tire of the same question. Some cannot provide an answer; others will spoil you with many. The obvious reason is just the pure act of hiking itself, or perhaps the thrill of spending 6 months in the wild is another.
I have pondered this question many times over the years but it wasn’t until a few months ago that a definitive answer suddenly presented itself. So definitive in fact that I reclined back in my chair, clasped my hands behind my neck and I smiled.
Crikey, that’s it!
Dromomania, from the Latin dromas (runner) and mania (excessive or unreasonable desire, even insanity) is an uncontrollable impulse to wander. Appeased often at the expense of careers, relationships and with a blithe disregard to mortgages and pensions, when I first saw the word, despite it sounding somewhat like an ailment, a very bright light bulb plinked on upstairs.
In extreme cases, a dromomaniac may have no memory of their travels such as Jean-Albert Dadas, a Frenchman from Bordeaux who would suddenly start walking and reach far away cities such as Moscow with no recollection of his travels.
The fact that mania is tagged on the end of this word is unfair. Let’s face it; most of us consider anyone with a mania to have something wrong with them. If anything, the act of indulging dromomania should not be frowned upon, it should be embraced. I believed that instead of chastising the condition, the blame should be firmly laid on the act of being stationary in one place for too long.
I don’t really care about the reasons for my wanderings; I’m not one for understanding the mechanics of anything. I expect my car to start when I turn the key and I couldn’t care about the periodic table any more than why these letters appear as I type. I now accept it and far from it being ‘unreasonable’, I bathe in it. It is the one aspect of my life that takes precedent over pretty much everything and I relish the chance to dip into it as often as possible. I don’t feel content when I’m in one place too long, I deal with being stationary because most of the time I have little choice but I’m only truly happy when I indulge and thru-hiking is my chosen method. The world is a wonderful place when experienced at walking velocity.
Some say our desire to wander goes back thousands of years to when we had little choice in the matter. Seasonal changes drove us to the cooler mountains in the summer and back down to the plains in winter. We searched for more hospitable environments to live in, if food became scarce in one area we moved on to where it was plentiful. In the Ice Age we fled south to escape, in times of drought me moved on in search of water. Cook, Magellan, Columbus and others I’d argue were not so much mapping a new world than indulging their appetites to move ever onwards.
Another example would be the mass migration of Europeans to the new world, America, in the early 1600’s. The new world promised cheap, abundant land and a new life for many. Some stayed on their new land but many more felt the urge to keep travelling. The east coast gradually became colonized and even then, we still looked further ahead. The gold rush of 1848 to 1855 saw further migration to California and the west coast. Explorers such as Captain Joseph Walker searched for routes over the great mountains of the western states and people followed.
Exploration was necessary but I’d argue it was the dromomaniacs who were always the first in the queue when an expedition was required.
Even now, the urge to search, explore, move ever onwards still engulfs humankind and a few individuals revel in the opportunity to keep moving. Now our options on Earth are becoming exhausted, we look to the stars.
Having said all of that, I do long for a permanent place to live. Not that I could spend that much time there but a base to return to, a place to call home that is familiar, a location to take stock of the last adventure and plan the next one. The only problem would be a mortgage which scares me because they are a commitment; commitments and travelling are not a good mix. Pensions are the same and anything that involves future financial planning. The main reason I work is to accrue enough funds to go on another adventure.
As far as romantic relationships go, forget them. My history of getting involved with woman is a disaster zone. It’s not something that bothers me; I have come to accept it easily because again, relationships don’t fit with wandering instincts. If I occasionally meet someone I’m up front about my lifestyle, I don’t tell any lies.
Most of my friends have accepted my chosen path and many admit to being a little envious. Others treat my lifestyle with confusion and derision. They are unable to comprehend why I am not chasing my tail, sorry a career, why I am not caught up in a mortgage and why I’m not pushing a pram around the park on a Sunday morning. Some people, amazingly, even become confrontational. A confused few demand to know why I am not conventional and want explanations to why I should get six months out at a time. It’s just not fair that I should be seeing this amazing world when they are staring into a computer screen for eight hours a day.
It does puzzle me as to why someone should become confrontational towards me because of the life I lead. It’s not for everyone and I wouldn’t act the same way to anyone who works a 9 to 5 job. I don’t necessarily agree with their choice but respect those who have chosen it.
I explain as best I can but it all boils down to many people being afraid, understandably so. I’m not casting scorn on the conventional lifestyle, actually I understand the draw and everyone is entitled to make their own choices. The standard life charter that few question is comfortable for most but an increasing number are beginning to question the life we are expected to follow. We’re an intelligent race but for some reason that I don’t understand, we choose to work for 48 weeks of the year and accept 4 weeks holiday. Some, especially in America, don’t even get that and are made to feel guilty for even asking for time out.
Many of you out there have dreams, a desire to do something different but are perhaps a little hesitant to follow them because they are a little dangerous, perhaps risky. OK, some dreams fail but I would urge you to at least attempt what it is you dream about.
Persistence conquers skill, knowledge, qualifications and desire.
If you want something strongly enough and are prepared sometimes to live outside the system and chase it like you’ve never chased anything before in your life, you can succeed in doing what you truly want to do. Whether that choice is hiking a few thousand miles in the wilderness, or forging a career as a graphic designer, it makes no difference.
If you’re reading this there may be a reasonable chance that you’re a dromomaniac and you don’t realise it.
Don’t fight it . . .
