It was a hot climb out of Mt. Shasta on an exposed trail that took us up 4500 feet from the trailhead. This was the first day that I thought: this is not very fun. We were trying to do 25+ mile days, it was hot, and there was significantly less water to play in throughout the day. I realized that I had adopted a mindset where hiking was the "workday," and your "job" was to get in as many miles as you could, which meant that breaks should be short. The goal was getting to the next town. Then I stopped and thought, well now, if the goal is to get to the next town, I really should just rent another U-Haul because that is a far easier method of transportation.
Now, I understand that it's not always going to be epic wilderness with glacial lakes along this trail. (Some fellow hiker friends of ours referred to the less-than-scenic days as "commuting days"). But I also know that I can stop and enjoy myself just about anywhere. I just need to shift my mindset to remember that the trail is the vacation.
Which brings me to the reason I am doing this. Obviously I'm not in it for the miles, or the continuous walk from border to border, but I'm here for the journey, on and off the trail. I'm here to learn, and to live life a little differently. And of course, I'm here to have fun.