The voice of the Great Spirit is heard in the twittering of birds, the rippling of mighty waters, and the sweet breathing of flowers.
Zitkala-Sa (Red Bird)
ABOUT US
My name is Greg McMehen, and with my wife Dalila, and kids Ethan and Lauren, we are Day Hiker From the Six. We are normal folks with normal jobs and kids in school who want to share the positive difference outdoor experiences have made in our lives.
While we've always enjoyed going camping, we never strayed much from the campground beyond heading to the beach or to a lookout you could access from a carpark. Things changed for us on a trip to Madeira. We were there for my son's soccer tournament, but in between games we were doing tourist activities. And wouldn't you know it, but the main tourist activity in Madeira is walking. The island is covered in a spiderweb of stunning trails through the mountains. We did a couple of the more popular hikes, and it was a double epiphany: first, just being on a trail provided a peace and calmness that was missing in our lives, and second, you don't need to be a mountaineer to hike to the top of a mountain.
We loved walking in nature so much, that we started exploring trails around our hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We found that incredible mountain views-while amazing-are not a requirement to enjoy the benefits of a hike. There's something nourishing about being amongst trees, flowers, and birds no matter where they are.
Not to say that we don't love the mountains. We decide to head to New Zealand because of its incredible mountain hikes, and during that trip we got hooked on using an RV as our way to get from hike to hike. Since then, we've done epic RV/hiking trips to the North Shore of Lake Superior, the Canadian Rockies, and Georgian Bay. Plus plenty of visits to Algonquin Park, the most famous of Ontario's parks. We've worked our way up to 25km day hikes, so we're definitely getting further from the carpark these days! And we continue to explore all the trails around Toronto on weekends.
Hiking in wild spaces is free therapy for body, mind, and soul, so the goal of Day Hiker From the Six is to inspire you to walk in nature, whether it's part of an epic RV trip in the mountains or at a walking path 5 minutes from your house.
If you're new to hiking like we were a few years back, just start with a quick walk in your local park. Trust us, you'll love it. And if you want to travel by RV and do epic backcountry hikes in the mountains, we'll share what we've learned so you can avoid the mistakes we've made along the way!