Original Hiking Poems
These are original PineTreePoet hiking poems. They were all written on my favorite trails locally in North Carolina, and abroad in various state and national parks. Some were written on shady single track with a heavy pack, and others crossing small streams only a few minutes from civilization. Please share this list of hiking poems with your adventurous, outdoorsy, sunshine-loving, all-day-hiking friends & family.
A hiking trip is my favorite kind of work trip. Dirt trails, high up in mountains, is where I do my best work. I’m lucky to share that work with you below.
Enjoy! (And let me know your favorite in the comments)
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1.
Wear hiking boots
to my funeral
and then take the smiles
my life left upon you
into the mountains
to live forever.
2.
Paperclips hold things together
like our taxes and wills.
But trees
hold something else together
the dirt beneath our feet
with their roots
and our all-day-hiking thrills
3.
I’m hiking up
a cold mountain ridge
I smell the pine of the season
and I close my eyes
for a moment
that cannot be described.
When I open them again
I am at my desk
and I see I left the window open.
4.
I just can’t relate
if you don’t love the color green.
With how much of a forest
is that same color
it seems an odd thing.
5.
The sign said:
LEAVE NO TRACE
but I couldn’t help
dropping on the trail
a few of my worries and anxieties.
6.
I started taking less pictures
because I imagined all the trees
stressed about how they looked
and all the rocks
wondering if I’d tag them.
7.
Friends want me to visit
but I’d almost always rather
go hiking.
8.
My neighbor asked
where I spent my weekends
and I told her among the pines
I said I couldn’t bear
long grocery store lines.
9.
People
with a good pair of hiking boots
are more trustworthy.
10.
Trailhead signs
point us where we need to go
they warn us of bears and coyotes
of water sources they let us know.
But they can’t take our pictures
they’re only wood and steel
if they could just capture those
emotions
soon-to-be-hikers can only feel.
11.
I might be doing
nothing
in these woods
but I bet the universe
infinite
and never to be understood
looks upon your busy ‘something’
the same as my busy ‘nothing’
12.
Hard times
are coming your way and mine
but my hard times
I hope
are too much snow
on the trail
and too few pictures
taken on my phone.
13.
The forest closed around me
and I lost my trampling way
but then I felt
in its environing
it was begging me to stay.
14.
Heavy pack
crunchy snack
steep switchback
little mountain shack
15.
Red pine needles
trampled smooth underfoot
the forest swells
with earthen pride.
My eyes fall down
then climb a big green tree
they move from stream to stone
to moss
and follow a buzzing bee
the red and green, yellow and blue
all hold hands and sway
a dance so ancient and distant
ordained from the first day.
All day long
they hold each other tight
and I, an alien hiker
with my pack and poles and boots
smile with all my mortal might.
16.
Let’s stop up here
and unpack
our worries.
17.
Teachers like to ask us
what we wish to become
but I’m afraid such questions
likely leave you quite dumb
and deaf to adventure’s beckoning.
So look them in the eye and say
“Wherever the pines grow
and freest birds do fly
even without money
I’d gladly go to die.”
19.
She thought she hadn’t read
any poetry lately
but she looked around
the trail she was hiking
and saw Creation’s perfect verse
musing.
19.
Every trail I’ve walked
is a book page I’ve turned past
sewing a great literary sail
not without curiosity’s mast.
20.
I met someone on the trail.
He said good morning.
Typical.
21.
Stopping for pizza
after hiking
is almost as good
as the hiking itself.
Almost.
22.
I keep my trail shoes too long
but I can’t just throw them away
they’ve got the dirt and scuffs
those dirty maps
of all the places
I need to revisit
23.
I always keep a map
of my favorite trails
in my bag
just in case I get lost
among all these people
and their material hurry.
24.
Let’s rouse
the great spirit
of adventure
so weakened these days
by smooth roads
and soft beds.
25.
I found a dollar in the forest
perhaps someone paid
for their fresh air therapy.
26.
We’re quite good
at climbing social ladders
and tax brackets
but we walk into a wood
and can’t climb a tree
or summit a boulder
lest we scrape a spoiled knee
27.
I hike to work
pretending cars are big friendly bears
and people are cheery birds.
It helps with the smog and the bustle
and the whole not hiking thing.
28.
You know
if you don’t do a couple good hikes
every year
your life
isn’t all it could be.
29.
I wish less people
hiked my favorite trails
but I wish more people
deeply appreciated forests.
*sighs happily*
30.
If you want to see
someone at their best
take them hiking
somewhere far away.
31.
The rugged trail said to me
follow me
deeper and deeper
into your own soul.
32.
Stillness is the playground
of Earth’s wildest things.
33.
Flowers in the mountains
have a particular way
of making me smile
at the ground.
34.
We’re all born
tree huggers
some of us
only forget.
35.
Craftsmanship:
I construct a little canvas house
and sew myself inside a little bag
and maybe I’ve cooked a little dinner
over quite the little fire
but really, I shouldn’t brag
36.
Wet pines tall as cell towers
but they carry a better connection
every drop of the wild’s waters
rain and river and dewed needle
tether me to immortal reflection
37.
Fries and shake
I’ve had a few and more than many
this day reminds me
of fries and a shake
smiles and good company
plenty
38.
Roads are too smooth
for my liking
I prefer to walk
over roots and rocks
and through the pines
where great explorers
did their wild calling
39.
It’s a weather forecast
and cold wind
pulling down through the trees
Then it’s a fine rain
like soft needles falling
from a blue ridge fog
Then it’s the sun
a clouded and blue and yellow relief
from something I didn’t need relief from
It’s the warming sun
and some rugged hillside
and my day has just begun
though I’ve been hiking
for near five hours
Hiking trips can be little or big adventures. They can take you to a local park, across the country, or around the world. That’s what these hiking poems do for me, and what I hope they will do for you. I want them to transport you to another time and place, perhaps a time and place where you were smiling big and surrounded by pines, mossy boulders, and birdsong. Or to your favorite mountaintop, lake, or trail.
As I write more hiking poems, I’ll add them to this list, so check back intermittently. And don’t forget to let me know your favorites down in the comments.
Happy trails!
Some thoughts on hiking…
What is the joy of hiking?
The joy of hiking is the sensations of wild places: the sights, smells, sounds, and even tastes of the natural world. When we remove ourselves from concrete, plastic, and steel (and all those screens), we recalibrate our desires and ambitions to align with something deeper than ourselves. That is the joy of hiking.
Why is hiking so therapeutic?
Hiking is so therapeutic because it encourages deep breathing, elevates your heartrate, and immerses you in fresh air. Hiking embraces calm wandering, or diving into nature without hurry or expectation. That’s important in our modern, busy lives. Slow down. Breathe deep. Smile. Nature is smiling with you.
Are hikers happier?
Hiking manages stress, inspires creativity, and floods your body with crisp oxygen. I’d say hikers are happier.
What should I caption hiking pictures?
Check out this list of original hiking poems for a perfect caption or quote. Just remember to tag @PineTreePoet!
You might also like…
⛰️ Original Mountain Poems
🐬 Poems About the Ocean
🐻 Environmental Poems
🌇 Sunset Poems
🎃 Original Autumn Poems
❄️ Winter Poems
Check these articles out…
📚 Best books for hikers
🥾 My favorite classic adventure novels
🐶 5 tips for backpacking with a dog
