HIKING AS TYPE II FUN

As I reflect on this past year and the activities that filled it, I look back to writing this post on embracing childlike joy early on. My reflections there colored a lot of my year and how I spent my time outside work. I re-remembered what I loved to do as a child which was spending time running around outside and exploring. I had a busy summer doing just that but on a whole new level than I have previously.

This past year, I frequently embarked on 10+ mile day hikes with a non-trivial amount of elevation gain and I usually went alone. These hiking days took a lot of energy, effort, sweat, huffing and puffing, early mornings, preparation and long drives to accomplish. It turns out, it is quite a bit of work to have what I claim are the “best days ever”! When I looked into this more, I determined, I love Type II fun (I may even be addicted to Type II fun). To help explain what Type II fun is, I included a graphic on the types of fun from Sketchplanations. I also think this Washington Post article may have said it best when it said, “Type II fun? That’s the sweet spot. It challenges you without putting you in danger — and it’s often uncomfortable but in ways that also make you feel alive.”

I’ve never felt more alive than when I feel my heart beating in my throat as I’m hiking through the mountains with incredible scenery all around me. I know it’s an experience I can only have by foot. Many of these longer trails are physically challenging, require early wake ups and usually I’m nervous to hike back into remote areas alone. When I make it to the top of the hike and see how much I overcame and accomplished to get there, all is worth it. Fun, to me, equates to joy. I feel a lot of joy when I’m in my favorite places on this earth, which all happen to be outside, in the mountains or in the woods.

What qualifies as Type II fun is different for everyone as what is hard but rewarding for any one person varies greatly. Type II fun’s definition could change by day depending on how someone is feeling in that moment. This past summer, my Type II fun definition was mostly dependent on trail length and elevation gain. That definition completely changes in the winter! Some of my favorite “Type II fun” trails in Colorado from this past summer were:

• Upper Cataract Lake Trail (11 miles, 2500 ft gain)- This trail is beautiful especially in the fall!
• Heart Lake via South Boulder Creek Trail (9.6+ miles, 2,200 ft gain)- This is a great trail for backpacking as there are so many lakes and additional trails to explore.
• Lone Pine Lake via East Inlet Trail (10.3+ miles, 1,800 ft gain)- There are 5+ lakes you can hike to from this trail so you can make it much longer than 10 miles by continuing to follow East Inlet Trail.
• Willow Lakes via Gore Range Trail ( 11.6 miles, 2,700 ft gain)- This was the most surprising trail of the summer. Willow Lakes was SO beautiful with the craggy mountains surrounding it.
• Mirror Lake and Crater Lake via Cascade Creek Trail (14.8 miles, 2,300 ft gain)- This is one of my favorite trails in Colorado so I had to go back and do it again this summer!
• Crested Butte to Aspen and back via West Maroon Trail (20.3 miles, 5,000 ft gain)- I wrote a blog post about completing this trail. It’s spectacular and makes a great backpacking trip too.

There’s something about planning, preparing and working really hard to arrive at some truly breathtaking views. The extra challenge probably contributes to the mountain views being even sweeter which is why Type II fun is my favorite!

I’ve never regretted an early wake up, the hours planning and physical effort it takes to complete a trail but I have regretted not going, not training and not pushing myself. If you want to do something you think would be fun but are hesitant about the challenge, do it! Plan for it and do it even though you’re hesitant, that’s when the rewards are the greatest. Let’s enjoy more of what makes us feel most alive in 2024!

Until the next tale… Happy trails.

-Hannah