The trail up to the Harding Icefield is deservedly popular. They say it’s only 3 1/2 miles but its steepness makes it feel longer than that. This was my first solo walk of the summer. I was eager to make time. I started briskly but soon found myself getting winded. I remembered a trail lesson learned long ago – always start off slower than you think you can go. I started slowly but soon found myself pushing myself and getting winded yet again.
Start off slower than you think you can go. The breathing will rise to that occasion which will then allow you to walk a bit faster. Breathing and one’s pace coevolve upwards to the maximum sustainable pace but only if one defers to one’s breathing rather than one’s ambitions. With many false starts, I began dropping into my pace on this steep trail.
I became more aware of the act of walking uphill. Each time I discovered that I was outpacing my breath, I noticed I was walking in a way that “clenched” my body. When I slowed down and let my breath catch up, I noticed that the walking felt like a delightfully releasing stretch – like a cat stretch. Lay my front foot down rather than stomp it down. As I relearned how to stay within my breath, the trail became more engaging because its steepness or ruggedness determined my pace. The trail, in turn, is shaped by the land. I started feeling how my walking, my breathing, the trail, and the land were all connected. The land shapes one’s breathing. A kinesthetic awareness of the land flows through the mindfully walking body. “Getting a feel for the land” takes
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