Documentary: Liminality on Trail

Lizzie Nelson

In the documentary one of the hikers mentions how each is a new day to reinvent yourself on the trail, and I kind of latched on to that idea. In class we discuss the effect spending months walking on these journeys does to your inner self and how you perceive the outside world, but we didn’t really talk much about each day changes you or how each day you can become a different person. I really liked the idea this movie seemed to come back to, that this journey is more than just strenuous physically; it is also strenuous mentally. Each day you are having to overcome some barrier in your head that tells you tp stop and turn around, to sit down and never get up. It is beyond a body exhaustion, it engulfs every part of your being. Because of this it is almost like you start off on a clean slate, you are in the same place as everyone you meet. This means you can completely reinvent yourself each day and reflect what you wish. I think this is an extremely rare and beautiful thing. It allows you to truly reflect inward and feel safe in this “liminal space” the journey creates. This freedom allows the type of true connections between people and the environment that happens on these trails, like the PCT.

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