I'm from Minnesota but I lived in England for two years and I was very stuck by rambler's rights in the country and the way old footpaths worked. The first time I took a public footpath from village to village in the peak district, hopping stiles and trudging through sheep fields, I felt the prickle of anxiety of an american who knows they've accidentally gotten onto someone's property, but when a few farmers passed me by without even a glance I was able to relax and wonder at this old, wondrous passage. I'm back in the states now and though while in Atlanta I've been loving exploring the southern appalachians (you have absolutely inspired me to bite the bullet and plan another camping night soon!), I do miss the pure openness of the peak district, where I could just choose a direction and walk as long as there was some ground beneath my feet that others had trod before.

As a kid (I'm 73 now and still a kid), I spent a lot of my time exploring the woods and the surrounding areas. When I was 20, I had a friend who asked if I wanted to hike in the Smokies. I went on a week long hike with a blanket and saddlebags. I had a great time. A couple years later my girlfriend and two other friends hiked the Appalachian Trail with more proper equipment and better prepared, but I found out my friends didn't enjoy the hike as much as I did. Over the years I have hiked different parts of the Trail with different people. You find out a lot about people when you hike together. Some enjoy it and some complain, and some do both. My favorite was taking my daughter when she was about 10. She was such a pleasure to travel with and have fun exploring. I took her to California a few years later and we hiked in a variety of places there and always had fun. I have been able to travel on business to quite a few places around the country and find new places to hike and explore. Walking is wonderful, except maybe in Mordor.

You forgot one part of walking, the walking song. No Hobbit hiking trip is complete without one.

One thing I appreciate about the journey in the Lord of the Rings is that it wasn't just a hike. They also had a phase where they went by boat, and another phase where some of them rode. There was even a marathon run across Rohan. Those different phases brought out different dynamics of party interactions and interactions with the environment.

1 year ago. 200 subscribers. As I type this, 132,000 subscribers. WELL DONE and well deserved.

In the nordic countries the right to walk anywhere is preserved from old times. You can't cross planted areas or damage vegetation where you go, and not in close proximity to buildings where people live (so not their backyard) but you can pick wild berries and mushrooms wherever you find them.

When I lost the use of my legs due to an auto accident, I became Obsessed. With some thing that it up till then perhaps been not even in the top hundred on my “bucket list,”… To do the cement, the Chemin de Compostelle- Santiago de Compostella. I am a medievalist, Henrique my obsession to be able to work in order to do this… I’m happy to say that today I’ve done it three times twice from Toulouse and then across, and then once back from Compostela to Albi. Amazing you really must try it… I think everyone should have this experience once in your life

Been starting long walks for exercise recently. I actually drew inspiration from fantasy stories like LOTR, The Hobbit, and Conan The Barbarian to start, so much so that I listen to a playlist of fantasy music when I go outside. Thank you for sharing and validating how much fun walking and hiking can be!

This video definitely made me want to go for a walk.

" a glorified basketball game for the fate of the world" That's just Space Jam.

Interesting connection of walking as a pastime with English history. I understand Tolkien also went on a hiking trip to Switzerland in his youth. I'd love to do the AT some day. I live in Utah along the Wasatch Front and there are many popular mountain trails here.

Yet again, you impress me with your perception! As a Brit, I can say that that was one of the best summaries of the beggining of outdoor pursuits in the UK, and a really interesting link in with Tolkein. Why do you still have so few subscribers? I for one will be spreading the word. Can't wait till you become a full-time hobbit :)

Hiking Jess silently pleading with camera: "I, an intellectual, really need to be saved from this unexpected exertion. HALPPP!!1" :'D Loved the juxtaposition between the researched lecture and the nature hike with the family group :)

I like to hike anywhere with water, because I love seeing running water, and part of me is still a little kid who loves to go splashing in streams.

A lot of thoughtful prep went into this….it is well done, and beautiful as well!

Ok you've earned my subscription. I was born in Leeds in the 1960s, everything was black with coal soot; stones, trees and probably our lungs. The river Aire running through Leeds was described as being black too. Walking in the local dales was an absolute necessity for me. JRRT would have seen this industrial pollution as he lived in Leeds for 4 years in the 1920's. As it happened I walked past Tolkien's old house in Leeds every day on my way to school. During Tolkien's time it would have been on the outskirts of the city, but even now, 100 years later you can just get a glimpse of a distant wooded hill from the area.

Such lovely and thoughtful content. As a local living off-grid in the Appalachian, hiking and nature are a massive aspect of my everyday life. I could never move back to the city...

Recently my wife and I went to the Olympia National Forrest in the State of Washington, what a wonderland of mosses hanging in the trees. We went in the winter and hiked through the snow running into elk and deer. Last October we went the Grand Tetons just as the leaves on the Aspen trees change to their fall yellow, another wonderland of beauty with the back drop of the Teton Mountains.

Those are a lot of ferns! I love all the footage of the trails, and it really made me miss the mountains

I am from the northern mountains of the Philippines. I remember how, in my younger days, we used to walk through the mountains, along rocky edges, rivers, valleys, cliffs, and magnificent pine and mossy forests if we want to visit friends and family. Those walks holds to me so many wonderful stories. Many of the trails still exist today, though many of them are seldom used these days. The ever expanding road works, the privitization of lands, and technology have rendered the old trails to be part of a vanishing culture. Your analysis of walking adventures just brought me back to my younger days. Thank you very much.

You were so happy when you mentioned that you hit 200 Subscribers at the end of this video. I looked and you now have 45.2k subscribers, one year later. You go girl.

I got the chance and was lucky enough to be able to go to greece. The island I was on, along with the rest of my group, would frequently go on hikes through barely posted signs. The signs were painted dots on rocks or trees so you had to pay attention to know you were not lost. I think about how great those trips were. truly amazing landscapes to be seen all over the place.

I hiked all 2194.3 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 22. It was a life changing experience. Best decision of my life. Can't say I didn't think of Frodo and Sam more than once. Cheers! @Jess of the Shire : good on you for tacking your portion of the AT 🖤

I enjoyed being in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia for hikes of indeterminate length. The debate was usually, “Do we make this a circle hike (a loop) or a there-and-back-again?”

Wow, these videos are great and insightful. Stumbled on your channel after the Tom Bombadil video. I keep coming back and find more great videos like this one. Might as well subscribe at this point…

I appreciate your efforts to dig into perspective based topics. It's refreshing in a sea of lotr videos rehashing the lore over and over!

When I first found this channel, in May, I think, you had less than 3,000 subscribers (unless I am misremembering) and when this came out you had 200...as of me typing this you more than 46,000. That is some amazing growth. Congratulations!

Just spent much of the weekend hiking, its such a pleasant activity!

Tomorrow, we'll go for a 6 mile stroll, followed by a few pints in the pub. That's the beauty of local footpaths; it doesn't gave to be a full-on hike every time.

What a thoughtful exploration of walking and narrative. Love the way you wove it with an Appalachian trail section hike. Really connects I think with the phenomena of AT "thru-hikers" who form little bands of hikers to share their 6 month journey to a foreboding mountain in Maine.

One of my favorite things about reading is the time travel. I can sit on the couch for an afternoon and spend weeks or months or even years alongside characters I love as they journey across lands strange and beautiful, and then come out the other end having only aged a few short hours. Reading is almost like a magic wardrobe. (And yes, that was an intentional nod to the pseudo-rivalry between Tolkien and CS Lewis :D )

This video wasn't what I thought it was going to be. It wound up being 100 times better.

As an Eagle Scout who's hiked quite a lot, around town, getting to and out of campsites, briefly on the Appalachian Trail, and out in Philmont; this video on Tolkien resonates perfectly with me. I completely agree with what you talk about, I'd just never thought of The Hobbit and LotR in these view points, but they make total sense. It coincides with my first viewing of the movie of The Fellowship of the Ring, why certain paths were chosen by Strider and Gandalf: the landscape itself made other paths impossible. Just seeing the fellowship hiking alongside The Misty Mountains explained in a few seconds of film as to why they wern't trying to cross them! Even less imposing mountains are very much still mountains when you're on foot! Thank you for this video and for this interesting and often overlooked view on Tolkien and other "walking adventures". Hope you can spend more time hiking and walking.

Hi Jess, I enjoyed the enthusiasm and curiosity that filled this video. I also recognized the funky yard sculptures at the remarkable Quarry Gap Shelter near Caledonia SP. The amount of sweat and devotion the trail volunteers put into their work makes the Appalachian Trail pretty special.

I'm a new subscriber working my way through your past videos, so this seems like the appropriate one to say I'm enjoying the journey so far.

We have many lovely parks that we love to hike.

A great channel that views and brings out Middle Earth and Tolkien from a different view. Great!

There are so many places and ways to 'walk'. You can walk in a quiet and moderate countryside. Plains, hills, or mountains. Forests, bushes, grass fields. Peaceful, or with wildlife that considers you a chow. Hot, or arctic extreme colds. They all differ a lot in challenges and also the kind of thoughts they will provoke. For various reasons I often walk alone too, when I won't meet and talk to others for days. And the mind will always be going too...

I'm officially on a channel binge. I want to walk every where I go now! Also you have a relaxing voice.

As someone who grew up in the rural coastal forests of British Columbia, I got into hiking after living in the city for a while and craving the forest. You're so much more grounded when you travel slower over the land than driving, where you need to keep your eyes on the road, catching only glimpses of the scenery you rush by. I used to do a lot of cycle touring, but much prefer hiking, to completely remove you from the vehicle traffic. One of the things you get from backpacking is a renewed appreciation of refrigeration and indoor plumbing.

Very interesting - the Leakey's said that a primary driver of big brains was the anatomical change to walk upright. This shifted the skull to sit more squarely on top of the spinal cord, reducing the need for large muscle attachments to the back of the skull, increasing the space available for more brains by reducing the thickness of the occipital area of the skull. This also freed the arms and hands to bring home more snacks, to feed a growing brain. The MIT Leg Lab (website still out there) that lead to Boston Dynamics realized that bipedalism centers on constantly "catching" the body from a fall with every step. It was their best answer for walking robots after failing with much more advanced algorithms. Using this allowed them to move from a one-legged robot to a bipedal device. Nice observation linking the walks in the Hobbit and LOTR to today's D&D and other game walks. Well done!

What an underrated channel! Hiking is one of my great passions, and I'm lucky enough to live in the Pacific Northwest where we have some of the world's most beautiful scenery.

My favorite place to hike is Mt. Monadnock in NH. Absolutely love that mountain. And I love your channel! Glad yt put the Tom Bombadil video in front of me. Cheers!

As a teenager I did a lot of hiking, both day hikes and extended trips with backpacks, including a 50 mile section of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. On one of these hikes with two friends, there was one of us who had not read The Lord of the Rings. Myself and my other friend told the entire story (to the best of our memories) to the third friend while we hiked. Perhaps the story was even more magical to that friend as we traversed our woodland paths.

Thank you for putting into beautiful words the exact reasons I am drawn to hiking over and over! I used to hike in Wisconsin when I lived there (I mean trail walking mostly, there aren’t any mountains). Now I live in the southeast and have backpacked overnight in north Georgia once. Loved it 😊

Great Tolkien perspective. Thank you! When I read LOTR for the first time in 8th grade I could not stop smiling because I saw myself embodied in Frodo and Sam, walking, and I could not get the thrill of the drawn out pace mixed with nature and adventure out of my soul. Have you tried orienteering?

It's important to remember what Tolkien ment by escapism : I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which 'Escape' is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?

"I'm a rambler, I'm a rambler from Manchester way... I may be a wage slave on Monday But I am a free man on Sunday." [Ewan MacColl] Written for the Kinder Mass Trespass, designed to open the Mancunian countryside in the same way the Cadbury family in Birmingham had opened the Lickey Hills as a country park, and building the tramway (now Bristol Road) to get there on Sunday.

What a great, insightful exploration! Thanks for sharing it! I enjoy spending time outside, just walking in nature. It's good for the spirit, grounds me in my himanity and brigs me closer to the eternal.

haha - as a rural dweller I am amused by the city folk coming up here to the California Foothills to walk, ride their bikes or whatever... I figure I walk 4-5 miles a day just tending the ranch . Though sometimes it DOES strike me as spiritual - a few weeks ago I was out putting up fencing and got stuck out in a thunderstorm... just beautiful.

That was wonderful. And yes, I'm late for a nice walk in the woods. And to read those books again.

Came for a hiking video - stayed for a really thoughtful and well-written piece - very nicely done! I’m in the UK and frequently hike in the Peak District - to follow on your story a little further… an organised mass-trespass took place in the Peak District in the 1930s in protest against landowners and the limitations to rambler’s rights… most protesters ended up arrested, but such was the public outcry that it served to be a turning point, and ever since there has been a continuing increase in established trails and footpaths which allow you to walk freely through the countryside 😊

Recognized one of those views from near where I grew up! Susquehanna River, I-83 bridge looking toward the railroad bridge. Gosh I haven’t seen that in a long time! The Appalachian Trail went right by my neighborhood, so this really took me back!

I've seen and read numerous more recent theories that suggest interestingly that .. bipedilism gets you height, and we have decent vision (not great, but pretty good.) More to point, one of humanities unsung super traits is _endurance_ - more than many/most (or our prey at least) animals; a cheetah is very fast is bursts, but a human can run it down. Human tribes have been done to run to evade animals until the animals gfive up or just become xhausted; likewise, humans have stalked fleeing prey until the animal cannot run anymore. So, we ea better, get taller, see further (due to height), and run things down; plus, thumbs and intellect giving us tools and adaptability. Pretty sweet package! Glad to hear you're going full time! Good luck with the channel :)

the rithym of the feet will tune the breath and heartbeat into a more epic mood

Really nice! I think at some level, we all enjoy walking. On my day to day, I usually complain about it (I live in a small city, so some stores are like 20 blocks away but, if I can, I try to go through the beach). All I'd add's that, besides the thinking on the journey, there's also the thinking when it's time to rest (especially when it's too hot or too cold). Also, for some reason, it helps clear one's head, which is sometimes great. Keep up the great work, cheers from Argentina!

I like hiking the Appalachian Trail too, but my favorite hike is a place called Old Rag. Since I live close to Shenandoah National Park, there are a lot more hikes I like around there.

The Appalachian trail is my dream. I've hiked the first 40 miles and also day hikes on other sections but one day I'll go and hike the entire trail.

your channel has to be among the best things i ever stumbled upon on the internet, and this video is the best example. so well-researched, so profound, so beautiful in language and message. thank you very much, i will spread the word and recommend your channel to everyone i know :)

An unexpectedly, fascinatingly in-depth and interesting video! Between the history, biology, wine, and ferns, I had to sub. Even after the mispronunciation the colloquially-accepted “Appalachian” 😛😊 Loved the video 🙂

Your writing for these segments amazes me. Not only the writing but the thought you put into on how it is going to sound as you speak. Thank you for sharing all your hard work. It doesn't come off as hard as we can tell the love you put into it.

As a longtime backpacker, I really appreciated your insights on this. I think I have always felt and understood what you are saying -- but never could have explained it as eloquently as this video did.

Just recently found your channel. This is a really beautiful reflection. I've been personally fascinated since childhood with stories involving long journeys, and as I grew into adulthood started taking walks and going on long bicycle rides. There's a really human dimension to those forms of travel, you're submerged in the landscape and terrain in a way no other means of travel provide. I'm from Argentina, and although I live far away from our mountains, I often plan my holidays around a specific hike I want to do in the Andes. Thanks for the inspiration for getting more outdoor time even in this cold winter days

Wonderful words and thoughts. I chuckle listening to this for the first time a year out from when it was posted. 200 subscribers! You are now at 38.7K. This is a wonderful channel and I am slowly getting through all your videos. Your content is amazing. Looking forward to the future and many more times with The Part Time Hobbit.

Excellent video, thank you! I agree, completely, that walking is a wonderful and healthy occupation. My favourite place to walk is the English Lake District. It must be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. However, the most emotional place I walked was Kinder Scout in the English Peak District, at the site of the “mass trespass“ of 1932, where walkers fought for the right to roam; many were imprisoned, but they won the day. Recently I was in the Alps, and of course, these mountains blocked the route for the pilgrims from northern Europe to reach Rome, and they had to cross high Alpine passes. Many of these passes have ancient monasteries, which were built, at least in part for the benefit of pilgrims. Of course, the fellowship had to cross the Misty Mountains. And perhaps Rivendell “the last homely house“ was inspired by the sanctuary provided by the wise monks. You seem to suggest that Tolkien would be drawing on his memories of the countryside of his childhood, and I’ve no doubt that’s true. But I understand that he actually wrote much of the Lord of the rings while staying at Stonycroft College near the River Ribble in rural Lancashire. That is a stunningly beautiful area, and I’d be very surprised if he was not hand every day, drawing inspiration from that locality. I am English and I’m proud of our walking pioneers such as the Wordsworths and Coleridge. But a shout out to an American that I thought you would mention - the wonderful John Muir!

What a remarkable idea for a family to hike together every year! A way to keep familial bonds intact and insure future memories. I find when I reread The Trilogy that I do so at a slower pace, much like enjoying a peaceful long walk in the woods, and at the very end when Sam returns home I long for another extended walk in the woos. Wonderful video with tremendous insight.

I love the tea house trecks in Nepal, affordable and a bed to sleep in at night so no need to lug a tent around, plus the Himalayas ❤

Fantastic job! I have enjoyed returning to the trilogy for several decades now. Every time I read through it, I seem to stumble upon something that I hadn't thought about before. You're video really made me think. Keep up the good work.

We need a video of hobbit travel clothes and gear😁

In the Army you march 20 miles just to march 20 miles... Or run 20 miles when some General comes to visit. My favorite walk was from Fliegerhorst Kasern to Hanau through the forests of West Germany, though I only walked to Hanau 5 or 6 times.

In the book, Elrond tells the Hobbits, "The time has come...If the Ring is to set out, it must go soon. But those who go with it must not count on their errand being aided by war or force. They must pass into the domain of the Enemy far from aid...And I will choose you companions to go with you, as far as they will or fortune allows. The number must be few, since your hope is in speed and secrecy. Had I a host of Elves in armour of the Elder Days, it would avail little, save to arouse the power of Mordor."

When I was young and living in London England myself and my family would go for walks in Epping Forest that links London to rural Essex. When we mover to Sussex I would go for long walks on the South Downs way with friends and would go for walks with my Mum and Day in Pevensey. Sometimes to go fishing plus sometimes to walk around Pevensey Castle a medieval castle and former Roman Saxon Shore fort. In Essex I like to walk the Essex Marshes by the Black Water river. I am coming to the end of my foundation year doing film at Falmouth University and can wait to start exploring Cornwall's great land.

Awesome! Beautifully spoken.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, English gentry liked exploring the Swiss Alps. (Many Swiss mountains were actually first climbed by Englishmen). Tolkien was one of them. He spent a summer in the Swiss Alps, including some time in Zermatt. One of the mountains in Zermatt (much more accessible for the casual mountaineer than the daunting Matterhorn) is called Rothorn, or Red Horn in English. I like to think that Tolkien once climbed Rothorn and there got his inspiration for the Red Horn pass in the Lord of the Rings.

I love hiking the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan

Mesmerizing and extremely analyzed/discussed. Thank you. Appalachian Trail near Great Barrington, Massachusetts followed by North West Jersey.

what a nice essay. I had no idea how the notion of walking would have been so fundamental to tolkien. personally my answer to the eagle thing is that it was only the fall of sauron that allowed the eagles to venture as far into mordor as they did. it is enemy territory far behind enemy lines and they would have been easy prey when the lines held.

I am fortunate to live in Switzerland where there are beautiful countrysides and breathtaking mountains not an hour of car away from my home. Hiking has been part of my life since I am old enough to walk and I love the peace of mind and wonder for my surroundings it brings. Also, three years ago, I got the occasion to make a long and difficult hike with two friends who were much more expert in mountain paths than me and, even though out little group wandered away from each other in life, this hike is still one of my most magical mountain memories. I have chronic pain issues and pretty strong vertigo yet, with the help of these two friends, I was able to walk for eight hours, reaching a place at 2000m altitude.

9min onwards is just so damn good, I've come back to it several times.

I'm a historical re-enactor, trust me, after hiking 7-8 miles with a pack and kit needed for the 'adventure' I have a great experience for what they went through-pack(for bulk stuff), haversack(for what I'll need that day, especially food.), canteen, then of course because of the risk of attack, keeping sword, musket and ammo well balanced but not encombered

At 15 years old while backpacking in the Black Hills and Custer State Park, my scout group missed the camping spot and accidentally entered an area without water. We ended up going another 8 miles before we found water and just camped there. Said water was a stagnant pool full of cow dung, but we had run out of water so we just double sterilized it with boiling and chemicals. That was a 23 mile day with a 40lb pack on my back. Now I'm 27, have late stage talar avascular necrosis, and can barely get from my car to a doctor's appointment with just the weight of my body. 😮‍💨

This was such an interesting angle for literary analysis!

Where is the next crossing? Brandywine Bridge, 20 miles!

Hiking or trekking is ingrained in Tolkien's Middle Earth. Your exploration is thoughtful and well conceived...Very well done. Walking and hiking are an inherent part of my two outdoor passions, fly fishing and bird hunting. I often find myself musing on Hobbit lore with a fly rod working a hidden creek or walking open woodlands, shotgun in hand. In Britain, Tolkiien would most likely havd knowledge of lengendary British fly fishing rivers. And he possibly would have walked some ot the heather crowned moors in Northern England and Scotland where folks still celebrate "The Glorious 12th" - The 12th day of August; which is opening day of Red Grouse season. While fly fishing, I do not carry a staff. I wear a battered fishing hat and vest loaded with gear; and I carry a classic old fly rod. Working up and down creeks and rivers searching out pockets and long riffles, deep corner cuts and rock outcroppings. Many of the prime places for fly fishing are accessable by hiking into deep canyons, crossing large, fallow fields or across private lands and riparian habitat. The same goes for bird hunting. I wear a well worn shot- shell vest and carry a classic side-by-side shotgun. Upland bird hunting can entail walking and hiking incredibly beautiful and varied terrain. It extends from harvested corn and milo fields for pheasant; to long prairie tree lines where wild dove roost. There is also steep and rocky canyons for hunting chukar partridge, and old, overgrown New England apple orchards where we search of ruffed grouse. Quail hunting in the deep South is a tradition that harkens back to the Antebellum plantation days. "Sing hey! for the bath at the end of the day that washes the weary mud away! A Loon is he that will not sing: O! Water hot is a noble thing...."

You don't look old enough for 10 miles to hurt your feet. It didn't hurt mine, but for most of my life I was lucky enough to live in places where I didn't need a car, so maybe my feet were just used to it. It didn't hurt to hike 10 miles, but the time I went 17 gave my feet a unique pain that I'd never felt before or since. That was one of my favorite hikes. Some of it was similar to what you showed here -- bright green ferns and a trail just wide enough in some areas for one person to walk through ground covered in very low green cover that wasn't grass. The trees were very different. We went to see the world's tallest tree -- and back again :) Usually what hurts my feet is standing in one place for too long. We'd all be a lot better off in many ways if everything weren't built around making us need cars.

About 5 years ago I began walking for exercise, recreation and what I would come to understad, mental health. Now I regularly walk 6, 8, 10 miles every week for 3/4 of the year. Its become absolutely essential to my overall well being.

Walking may also have contributed to human evolution by making throwing easier. People are the best at throwing compared to animals. Throwing takes a lot of mental computation, and it's possible that the spare capacity for throwing is part of our intelligence.

Walking is also precarious especially when something is chasing you, hunting for you. It builds tension to be slow, it forces one to be reckless & take otherwise unadvisable shortcuts...

This video really did make me want to go for a walk! 👍

Very insightful!! A love of nature is threaded through throughout Mr. Tolkien's work. I'm guessing everything he ever wrote was triggered by remembering the peaceful sounds of nature he'd enjoyed during his childhood. Water trickling, birds chirping, rabbits scratching in the hedgerow. A good, vigorous (or leisurely) walk through a natural setting, breathing fresh air, can really help someone clear their head and sort out their thoughts. 🚶‍♂👣🐰🌳🌲

Good thing you did the hike, because I sure wouldn't want to.

Wow. You are a talented writer. Impressed.

I live right outside the Smoky Mountain National Park. It is a privilege to walk these trails and along its streams. It is tamed land that has been returned to a wilderness that we may all access (for a nominal fee). I love living here and as much as I would enjoy tramping the woods in hobbit finery I like my trail runners a bit too much!

Walking, or biking, along the shore of a lake or river is the best. Or a path through the woods, if it's familiar or well-marked. Otherwise it's too easy to get lost.

I think having experienced long hikes changes how you read fantasy. The need for time and effort to change scenery is more ingrained into your brain, and you tend to notice irregularities like characters inexplicably changing locations to fast.

200 subscribers 1 year ago? You have grown fast. And deservedly so.

My favorite place to hike is McCormack's Creek State Park in Indiana.

I'm visiting family in England in a few weeks and plan to take full advantage of the footpaths ❤

It's adorable that eastern North Americans call their leftover stumps, mountains

Great video...👍