Don’t be afraid of the loneliness-Tamara

My name is Tamara. I am an enthusiastic long-distance hiker. I completed my first long-distance walk in 2018 of 96 miles (154km) – the West highland way. Everyone who knows me knows how enthusiastic I am about Scotland and that certainly hasn’t changed with my walk. I had many great moments, made many interesting acquaintances. At that time I was hiking with a friend. Unfortunately, it turned out that I am not so compatible when it comes to hiking.

So I decided to walk the West highland way again in 2019, this time alone. I also wanted to follow the East highland way with 82 miles (132 km). The reason was that my mental health was not the best. I wanted to get away from it all and just be myself and do what I love most: walking.

Setting out on a 178-mile (290 km) hike, and doing it alone, gave me a lot of anxiety. However, I knew that I would be fine on my own, as struggling alone has been a part of my life. However, I was not spared from being afraid when it was dark. This darkness you look into when there are no city lights around you almost swallows you up and it took a long time to get used to it. Every twig that moves sounds like something creeping around the tent. It took a few days before my tent was the safest place in the world for me. And that hasn’t changed to this day.

I can only recommend everyone to have experiences like this. I could go on forever, but you can’t fit so many words into these posts. That’s why I’ll leave it at that!

Not all who wander are lost!

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