This is why I hike

This is why I hike
The sounds of civilization fall away as if dying in the distance
Feeble murmurs of the world I leave behind
Trail blazes mark my way so I'm never truly lost
Tethering me to the reality I escape from
Tiny animals scurry beside me
Never seen, only heard
I hide with them
I exercise a body too often sedentary
I still a mind too often in motion
I balance my being
I center my soul
I leave behind the concrete and the gas
I divorce myself from the noise and the hurt
And when I am filled to the brim with stillness
I come home to my love
And my life is complete