There’s a Word for that

Lewis Pass to Arthur’s Pass

Google tells me there are over 6000 languages spoken today by people around the world. Compared to some of these languages, the English lexicon is poorly equipped to adequately describe the multitude of experiences that one might encounter whilst tramping. In light of that, I tried to expand my vocabulary this New Years and this article is the result.

After Christmas I found myself experiencing fernweh [German], ‘distance sickness’, an ache to get away and travel to a distant place. It was the 30th of December and days were passing lazily by without much to punctuate them. Something had to be done but even at the 11th hour I didn’t know the full extent of the adventure I was spontaneously about to undertake.

31st of December, 2020: Devil’s Den Bivvy

Dérive [French]: n. A spontaneous journey where the traveler leaves their life behind for a time to let the spirit of the landscape attract and move them.

Quite how I found myself on the side of SH1 early on New Years Eve remains a mystery to me. In the…