Our prep has been simple: rucking, hiking, and eating — a lot of walking with weight on our backs, a lot of miles side-by-side, and a lot of fueling our bodies to keep up with the demand we're putting on them.
Somewhere in the last couple years, whether we are training for long hikes together or simply living our day to day life, we landed on something we now believe deeply:
People who walk together, stay together.
Not just couples — friends, families, teams. There's something about moving through the world side-by-side, at the same pace, toward the same horizon, that builds a kind of connection nothing else quite replicates.
Why Side-by-Side Beats Face-to-Face
Walking creates distraction-free space for real connection. There's no eye contact pressure, no phone buzzing between you, just movement, breath, and conversation that unfolds at its own pace.
Side-by-side movement tends to feel safer and less confrontational than sitting across from someone. Research on this keeps pointing the same direction: shoulder-to-shoulder movement can open people up emotionally in ways that direct, face-to-face conversation doesn't always allow — especially for men, who often find it easier to talk while doing something rather than while "having a conversation."
It builds intimacy without pressure. No agenda. No performance. Just two people, moving forward.
The Power of Level 2 Fun
Something we have learned over the last 17 years of adventuring together: the best memories rarely come from the easy stuff.
There's a concept called Level 2 Fun — the kind of fun that isn't always “fun” in the moment. It's hard. It's uncomfortable. There are a lot of unknowns you have no control over. Your legs hurt, you're tired, maybe you're a little cranky. But you look back on it and it becomes one of the best things you've ever done.
Doing hard things together — on purpose — creates memories that doing easy things together never will. Intentionally putting yourself in situations that stress and stretch you is exactly how you expand your capacity, in your body and in your relationship.
That capacity-building shows up everywhere:
- Physical capacity — literally training your body to carry more, go further, and recover faster
- Emotional capacity — learning to stay steady, communicate, and support each other when you're depleted and uncomfortable
- Mental capacity — problem-solving in real time, adapting when plans change (see: our lodging situation)
- Relational capacity — trusting each other more with every mile you log side-by-side
This is where hiking and backpacking start to intersect with all six pillars of stress mastery. A long trek forces you to:
- Disconnect to reconnect — no notifications, no noise, just each other
- Remove distraction — nothing to do but be where you are
- Return to nature — which is inherently regulating for the nervous system
- Realign with natural cycles — waking at dawn, moving all day, calming & connecting at night as the sun fades, sleeping deeply because your body actually earned it
There's an Ayurvedic principle that fits this perfectly: opposites balance.
As two people who use our minds constantly and spend far too much of our lives sitting, walking and hiking is how we balance the scale. It's the counterweight to a modern life built on in-activity & screens.
