Long-distance hiking at home: The art of journeying out of your own back door

“In COVID times it’s harder to get on a plane and go hiking in, say, Austria or Italy. So we said, ‘why not do a 20-mile hike out of our back door?’” –Kristen Bush

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Kiki sit in a Kansas town known as “Little Sweden” and talk about the joys and challenges of having walked 22 miles there the day before (3:00); the difference between urban, rural, and wilderness walking, how these experiences differ for men and women, and how the suffering of a long walk affects the experience (20:00); the subtle beauty, idiosyncrasies, and historical narratives contained a landscape like Kansas (28:00); Rolf and Kiki’s resumed hike to Coronado Heights, and how meeting a dog named “Larry” the day before made their day more interesting (41:00); how walking enforces a more deliberate pace of travel, and how people see you differently when you’re walking (53:00); how routine tasks like “using the toilet” or getting tired when you’re walking allow you to get in touch with your body in a new way (1:00:30); how walking frees you from having a “consumer” relationship to the world, and how it makes you realize the miracles inherent in everything (1:08:30); and an “Easter Egg” bonus about walking and silence (1:16:15).

Kristen “Kiki” Bush is an actress, known for Paterno (2018), Liberal Arts (2012), and Synecdoche, New York (2008). Her TV credits include The Affair, The Good Wife, Elementary, and Law & Order: SVU. She has performed onstage at Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public, the Old Globe, Goodman Theatre, and Lincoln Center.

Notable Links:

• Lindsborg (Kansas town known as “Little Sweden”)
• Ol Stuga (restaurant-bar in Lindsborg)
• Grain elevator (building that stores grain)
• Flâneur (urban mode of walking)
• Wanderlust, by Rebecca Solnit (book about walking)
• The Flaneur, by Edmund White (book about urban walking)
• Of Walking in Ice, by Werner Herzog (book)
• Christina’s World (painting by Andrew Wyeth)
• Larry Lapsley (African-American pioneer in Kansas)
• Nicodemus (Kansas town established by African-Americans)
• Coronado Heights (butte near Lindsborg)
• Dala horse (traditional Swedish carved horse)
• Hemslöjd (Swedish gift shop in Lindsborg)
• Edward Abbey (American author and essayist)
• Thomas Swick (travel writer)
• Søren Kierkegaard (Danish philosopher)
• Thích Nhất Hạnh (Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk and author)

This episode is brought you by the Santa Fe Workshops, which offer a variety of online and in-person classes and seminars in writing and photography, including “The Particular Beauty of Our Pared-Down Lives,” an online writing workshop featuring author Pam Houston (March 30 – April 15, 2021).

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.