Walking Life's Paths: How Different Terrains Mirror Your Travel Needs

Ever notice how the ground beneath your feet changes when hiking? From sandy paths to packed dirt trails, paved walkways to rocky terrain—each surface requires a different approach and energy level. What if these changing terrains hold wisdom about the type of travel that would serve you best right now?

During a recent solo road trip to West Texas that didn't quite go according to plan, I discovered a powerful metaphor while hiking that perfectly illustrates the relationship between life's seasons and our travel needs. Those sandy stretches where progress feels slow and tiring? They might be signaling you need a trip centered around your passions—music, cooking, hiking—something to restore the joy that daily challenges are slowly depleting. Walking comfortably on packed dirt trails with steady momentum? Your stable life foundation makes you perfectly suited for ambitious multi-city tours or country exploration.

Then there are those moments we find ourselves on autopilot, so overwhelmed we're just trying to survive each day. Surprisingly, these "paved pathway" phases call for wellness retreats or spa getaways—controlled environments that provide restoration without requiring you to make decisions. And those rocky paths demanding your constant attention? When life has you carefully navigating multiple challenges, cruises or organized group tours remove the burden of planning while still giving you the escape you desperately need.

This isn't about running away from life's difficulties but gaining fresh perspectives that transform how we navigate them upon return. In my one-on-one travel coaching, we assess exactly where you are in life's journey and design travel experiences that meet you right where you stand. Whether you're trudging through sand or picking your way across rocks, there's a perfect travel experience waiting for you.

Ready to discover what terrain you're walking and what type of travel would serve you best? Visit CherylBeckEsch.com to learn more about my personalized travel coaching program and schedule a free discovery call today.

Chapters

• 0:00 West Texas Road Trip Reflections
• 2:17 Sandy Ground: Travel for Joy
• 5:49 Packed Dirt Paths: Multi-City Adventures
• 7:23 Paved Pathways: Wellness Retreats
• 10:20 Rocky Terrain: Cruises & Group Tours
• 13:07 Travel Coaching Program Overview

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to Solo Travel Adventures. I'm Cheryl Esch, your host. Well, very recently I went on a road trip to West Texas. I love road trips and if you want to hear more about some important factors on how to prepare for a solo road trip, go back and listen to episode 152, just about two weeks ago. Well, I have to admit, it didn't go as planned and actually my last two road trips have not gone as planned. I think that's kind of the beauty of solo travel, of travel in general, in that it's constantly changing. You're constantly having to pivot and adjust to things. It's never going as you planned. So I did kind of expect that. But I had to remind myself, even though it didn't go as planned and I ended up coming back early, I had to remember what my intent was, and that was to specifically get some good hikes in. And that is what I accomplished on this road trip. I love how it just evolved and it did satisfy that intent the hiking and I was ready to come home a little earlier than intended.

Speaker 1: 1:18

But during one of my hikes, god gave me a metaphor and for anyone who's ever hiked you may have experienced a variety of terrains Even if you haven't hiked this metaphor is for everyone. In my hike I walked through a variety of terrains. I had the ground, meaning it was either sandy ground, I had some paved paths, some packed dirt trails and some rocky terrain, and these terrains reminded me that in life we may experience most of these journeys depending on where we are in the season and where we're walking through. So I'm going to share how each type of terrain corresponds with sort of maybe the season you're in in your life and how kind of give us signals on what type of travel may be best for you, depending on where you are walking today. So the first terrain that I experienced, which was kind of odd, I wasn't expecting it actually that I experienced, which was kind of odd, I wasn't expecting it actually was very sandy ground and this was, you know, kind of had that clay like coloring rustic you know thinking of. If you're from the US, you know that sort of that southwest region there's a lot of that copper in the ground, and so this was actually very sandy, not the packed sand that you would find at the edge of a water, but very loose and even kind of deep and granular sand. And if you have experienced walking, maybe on this type of sand, maybe on a beach.

Speaker 1: 2:58

You know that it takes effort, it's hard, it can be tiring and you're making slow progress. Right, you can't really. It's hard to run or to make any kind of good time in walking in sand, but you're making progress, but it's just slower. If you are feeling like, yeah, I feel like I'm walking on sandy ground. Things are a little shaky. Maybe in your life Things could be a little challenging, but you are still moving slowly forward each day. Maybe it's just a stress of your job, maybe there's some relationships, there's just some things that are uncertain, but you're still making some headway. It's just a lot harder and so you are feeling probably a little tired and if you are feeling you are here in this part of your life, this is where you're at.

Speaker 1: 3:53

I got the sense as I was walking and just feeling how this metaphor relates to travel. I found that if you are kind of walking in this sandy kind of ground, your travel you might be best suited to find a travel, a trip, that is based on your interest, for example, what makes you happy and alive. Some examples might be basing your trip on, if you like, music. Music brings you life. You feel in, you know, just energized by it. Then find a music festival, somewhere that you would like to go to. Maybe you like hiking, find a place to go hiking. Maybe you like cooking and you want to base your travel on, you know, going somewhere where there is some unique cuisine and you take some cooking classes while you're there. Maybe you like to knit. I recently just saw that, uh, you know, there's kind of a, a knitting. I don't want to say retreat, but sort of you can experience that in Iceland actually. Now, that would be fun, but I'm not a knitter. So I would think, basing your travel on your interest to give you back some of that joy in your life, to give you some of that energy back in your life, because you are working, you're walking on sandy ground, you're feeling a bit tired, and so this would give you an opportunity to really find that that joy again in your life and, you know, be able to go back and, you know, continue or find a new path right, and so that's going to be.

Speaker 1: 5:49

The next one that I experienced was that traditional packed, dirt kind of pathway. Now, those are really easy. You can make really good time on those pathways when you're hiking. It's, it's um, there's really, you know, might be windy, there's really nothing. You don't even have to really look at the ground while you're walking because you are assured that it's packed and you're making good time in your travels. And so, if this is you, you are likely maybe doing well in your life and you are going through life, you're making good progress. Nothing major is happening potentially in your life, but you also want to get away, but you haven't really considered where would you go. My thoughts are, since you have already this energy you're not being bogged down by maybe some things in your life that a multiple city tour might be really exciting because it moves fast. You have that energy. Or you could focus your travel on, you know, maybe just one country. There's a country that you just want to explore, and so you just bounce around to those various cities or towns in that specific country and you have the energy to do that and that sounds like a lot of fun. That might suit you and fit with the season you're in right now.

Speaker 1: 7:23

The third pathway that I came across was just occasionally, some path. You know they're paved. Whether it was just like concrete, it might have been a boardwalk, you know, again very easy to walk on. But as I was walking on, you know, certain sections had just some streets that I had to walk on. I recall in my life at times and it reminded me of if you've ever been so stressed or overwhelmed in your life and you get in your car and you drive to work or the grocery store and you get to your destination and you go. How did I get here? You were on automatic or you're actually supposed to go somewhere else, but you're on such automatic, such that you actually go to work because you think that's where you're just like in this tunnel vision in your life right now, and you might actually be in what I call survival mode.

Speaker 1: 8:29

And so when so much has come into your life that you are overwhelmed, often we will kind of box ourself to kind of protect us from having to process or deal with that all at once. Right, maybe there's multiple things that are just weighing on you. It could be an illness, it could be a death, it could just be again. Maybe the stress of work, maybe you're having to care for aging parents, or it could be a number of things, a trauma, and you're just in survival mode. And if you've been there, you know what I'm talking about you. You almost, like you have blinders on and you're, just, like I said, on this paved pathway, just going and you're just surviving, all right.

Speaker 1: 9:25

When we are in this survival mode in life and we're just, you know, we don't want to think about anything else. Honestly, we're just trying to get through each day. Well, often when we're in that place, we are not thinking of travel, right. However, it's probably something that you definitely need, but a specific type of travel is going to be the most beneficial for you. For example, I would highly recommend, if you are in survival mode, you are on this, like, oh, you're just got these blinders on, you're just walking this path, just trying to get through each day, a wellness retreat, a spa retreat or even a silent retreat might be what your body, mind and spirit need right now to kind of help alleviate this whole survival feel and give you a chance to take care of yourself, right? That would be a suggestion.

Speaker 1: 10:34

And then the final pathway that I came across was a rocky pathway a lot of rocks and stones and a lot of times when it's rocky, it's also got hills involved, typically, because you think kind of like mountains, and and for that kind of pathway, you really have to pay attention to where you're stepping, where you're walking, how you're placing your foot. It does require more attention, it is more challenging, especially if you're talking about a rocky pathway with hills, and it does require more energy. And so, if this is where you are maybe in your life, you are, you're challenged, you're working hard. Again, you might be a little tired, you might be maybe somewhat in survival mode, but you're more attentive, right, you're not just blinders on, but you are still burdened by some things in your life. And so you're climbing this hill, this mountain, with those rocks. You're really taking your time with each step.

Speaker 1: 11:45

But again, the last thing on your mind right now might be oh, I just don't have time to travel, nor would you want to plan anything. Again, you might be already handling enough stuff in your life that thinking about planning a trip just isn't feasible, because you're still just trying to manage some of these things in your personal life or even your family life. My suggestion again, we get to the point where we're working so hard, we're feeling pretty physically exhausted and even mentally and emotionally exhausted, for whatever reason. Getting away, getting out of that situation is the best idea and you don't have to go far idea. And you don't have to go far, as I've said before, but for this particular situation, I would recommend again a cruise or a group tour where things are planned for you but you're still getting away, you're still having that opportunity to just for a moment, just for a time being, leaving the burdens or the challenges that you are facing just behind, even just for that week or so.

Speaker 1: 13:08

Now, these ideas and these suggestions for the type of travel dependent on your season of life are just suggestions. However, if you would decide to work with me, this is what I do in my one-on-one travel coaching we assess where you are in your life. You know, maybe I'll start using these metaphors of you know, the sandy, the packed dirt, the paved path or the rocky path, just to assess where you feel like you are in the season of your life. What are you trying to juggle, what are you managing? We look at that, we look at your personality and then we determine what would be the best type of travel for you. And this just kind of gives you an idea of how this metaphor was sort of given to me and I just kind of gives you an idea of how this metaphor was sort of given to me and I just kind of came to my head that it applies as well. You could utilize this and consider these types of travel depending on where you are.

Speaker 1: 14:13

If you're still unsure, I would love to have a discussion with you. I do offer a free discovery call. You want to know more about the program? That one-on-one travel coaching. It is four sessions to get you started, get you out there, and also some post reflection after your trip, your trip. Go to Cheryl Beck ashcom and click on work with me and you can see a little more about the program. You can click and schedule a discovery call as well through that, that page, and I hope to hear from you because I want to see every woman have the opportunity, even if they're struggling with their, their day-to-day life, have that opportunity to see travel as a way not to just to escape it, but to be released from it for moments, to have a different perspective from it, and that's what I work. You know, individually. Each person, each client is handled individually, so it's not a cookie cutter program. We look at yourself, your personality and where you are, and I would love to see that freedom happen for you and that transformation in your next travels.