Because I like hiking. That is about it. I know lots of people do it to find themselves, to break away from technology, get a reset on life, lose weight, or to become one with nature. There are tons of reasons and pretty much all of them are completely acceptable, to each their own, but I have always just had tons of fun running around the woods.
When I was little my grandma volunteered at nature preserves and instilled in me a deep appreciation for nature in me; teaching me how to identify different types of trees and flowers, making plaster casts of animal tracks, and going on short hikes. During middle school and high school, my other grandparents lived out near a couple hundred acres along the Gunpowder River and my brother and I used to get kicked out with the simple instructions “don’t come back until dinner time.” In college I would always spearhead trips to hike in the nearby Patapsco state park, go cliff diving out in West Virginia or up at Loch Raven Reservoir, or really just anything outdoorsy.
I never did much camping until 2013/2014 when two friends and I spent 5 weeks motorbiking all over New Zealand and freely camping deep in the backcountry or on the side of a road. Every couple days we would get a hostel but for the most part we were completely nomadic and I loved every minute of it. Every year since then my love for backpacking and nature has intensified and completing a thru-hike seemed like the next logical next step.
Also, because I am a big proponent of this quote: