Sobriety Made My Life Bigger: How Hiking and the Outdoors Became Part of My Sober Life

If you were to look at my Instagram channel, it would immediately become obvious that I'm a hiker and I love the outdoors. I'm regularly out on the trail, love exploring new areas and love to share photo evidence of the beautiful adventures and places I get to visit. You might assume that I've always been outdoorsy and into hiking but that's not the case. My deep love for hiking and the outdoors emerged and blossomed in my sobriety.

10 years sober has taught me a lot about alcohol, sobriety, and what it means to build a life you actually want to live. One of the biggest surprises? I didn't expect sobriety to turn me into such an outdoorsy gal.

But somewhere along the way, I became the person who checks the weather before making weekend plans, has multiple hiking socks in rotation, carries a tick-removal kit in her backpack, knows where her headlamp is, and gets genuinely excited about finding a new trail.

I hike year-round now. I hike when it's hot. I hike when the leaves are changing (fall is the BEST season for hiking IMO). I hike when there's snow on the ground. I mostly hike alone (my preference TBH), occasionally with friends, and my perfect Saturday usually involves a solo hike on a new trail, a thermos of coffee, and several hours of being outside rather than a bar, a patio, or a bottle of wine.

And honestly, I love it. Nature heals, calms, shifts perspective, invites introspection and growth and so much more. 

As I approach my 10-year soberversary on August 22, 2026, I keep coming back to this: sobriety didn't make my life smaller. It gave me the opportunity to discover how much bigger my life could actually be. Getting sober was one of the most expansive decisions I've ever made.

Getting outside has been a huge part of that.

I didn't get sober because I wanted to become a hiker

When I first got sober, I wasn't thinking about hiking. That wasn't even on my radar.

I wasn't dreaming about scenic overlooks or learning how to read a compass (still working on this one) or researching trails on a Monday night because I wanted to know where I could go on Saturday.

In the beginning, I was just trying to figure out how to live without alcohol.

That sounds obvious, but it's worth saying because so much of the conversation about sobriety focuses on what you're giving up. Don't drink. Don't go to the bar. Don't have wine with dinner. Don't use alcohol to relax after work. Don't do the thing you've been doing to celebrate, socialize, cope, numb out, reward yourself, or make an ordinary weeknight feel slightly more interesting.

And yes, in the beginning, there can be a lot of emphasis on what you're not doing.

But eventually, the much more interesting question becomes: What are you going to do instead?

Not just instead of drinking for an evening, but instead of building your life around drinking.

What do you want your weekends to look like?

What do you want to spend your money on?

Where do you want to go?

What sounds fun?

What makes you feel alive?

What makes your world bigger instead of smaller?

For me, one of the answers turned out to be: go outside.

Sobriety gave me the space to discover that I actually love hiking and the outdoors

There's something about getting sober that creates room for experimentation.

You get to try things simply because you're curious about them, rather than because they fit into the social life you've always had. And with alcohol out of the way, I actually had the space and time to figure out what I liked.

I started spending more time outside and eventually realized that I really, genuinely liked it.

I started noticing how different a familiar trail feels in different weather. I started appreciating the ridiculous satisfaction of reaching the top of a hill when I was pretty sure I was going to regret choosing that trail halfway up. I started understanding why people talk about being restored by nature rather than simply entertained by it.

And the more time I spent outside, the more adventurous I became.

Hiking led to exploring new parks and trails. Exploring new parks led to longer hikes.

Longer hikes made me more comfortable going farther from home. Eventually, kayaking entered the picture too, because apparently once you discover that you like being outside, there is no shortage of ways to acquire hobbies and gear.

I bought an inflatable kayak on Amazon which has since become one of my favourite ways to be outside.

Ten years ago, I never would have predicted this plot twist - that I'd be the outdoorsy gal with a kayak in her hatchback so she can paddle at the drop of a hat.

But that's one of the things I love about sobriety: you don't necessarily become the person you thought you would become. You get the chance to find out who you actually are.

Hiking became more than exercise

I think this is the part that's hardest to explain if you've never experienced it.

I don't hike because I'm trying to hit my daily step count or for cardio; I hike because I genuinely love being there.

I like the physical challenge, but I also like the mental shift that happens when I've been walking through the woods for an hour and realize I haven't thought about my phone, my inbox, my business, or whatever minor crisis was occupying my brain before I left.

It's truly an opportunity to decompress and disconnect from the pressures and stress of the world while re-connecting profoundly with myself.

I like seeing a trail in spring when everything is waking up, then returning months later when the forest has completely changed.

I like getting a little lost in the process of figuring out where I am, while also being grateful that I have an app telling me approximately where the hell I am.

I like the feeling of coming home tired in a way that feels earned.

And I love that hiking gives me somewhere to go. An incredible third space (or maybe second for me because I work from home?)

That sounds simple, but I think it's actually pretty profound.

When alcohol was a bigger part of my life, there were plenty of places I could go, but my options were often organized around drinking: restaurants, bars, parties, patios, someone's house.

Sobriety expanded the map.

There are trails I haven't walked yet. Parks I haven't explored. Lakes I haven't paddled.

Places I haven't seen.

There is a whole world outside and I want to see more of it.

My hiking gear is part of the story too

I am not a person who believes you need to spend a fortune on outdoor gear before you are "really" a hiker. If you follow any hiking influencers, you might get trapped into thinking you need a new outfit for every hike and all the latest and most expensive gear and that's simply not the case. One of the best things about nature is that its free, accessible and available any time so don't get bogged down thinking you need to buy a bunch of stuff before you can get out there.

That said, once hiking became something I genuinely loved, I started figuring out which things actually made my adventures easier, safer, or more enjoyable.

These are the things I genuinely use, not a random collection of products I've never touched.

AllTrails Pro

My AllTrails Pro subscription is probably one of the things I use most consistently.

I like being able to research trails before I go, look at reviews and recent trail conditions, and download maps so I'm not completely dependent on cell service once I'm out there.

AllTrails' paid version also includes offline maps, wrong-turn alerts (very helpful), trail conditions, and other navigation features.

For someone who has gone from "I'm just going for a walk" to voluntarily wandering around forests for several hours, having a reliable way to navigate has been worth it.

A headlamp

A headlamp is one of those things that seems unnecessary until you need one.

Maybe your hike takes longer than expected. Maybe you're watching the sunset. Maybe you underestimated how quickly it gets dark under the trees. Maybe you take a wrong turn that adds an extra hour or two to your timeline and you’re now closer to sundown than expected.

I keep one with my hiking gear because it is small, lightweight, and dramatically more useful than trying to use my phone flashlight while simultaneously carrying everything else I brought with me.

A tick-removal kit

If you hike in Ontario, ticks are simply part of the deal. And I don’t know about you but I’ve noticed a pretty big uptick (pun intended) in the presence of ticks.

I keep a tick-removal kit in my hiking gear because I'd rather have one and not need it than need one and discover that I somehow forgot that I live in a place where ticks exist.

It's one of those boring little pieces of gear that doesn't make for an exciting Instagram photo, but responsible outdoor adventures aren't entirely about the exciting stuff.

Bug cream

Similarly, bug cream isn't glamorous but I'm not interested in navigating Lyme disease and I live in Ontario and love being outside so protection in a non-negotiable.

Especially in the warmer months, I keep bug protection with me because enjoying the outdoors becomes considerably easier when the mosquitoes aren't treating you like an all-you-can-eat buffet. This one is also effective against ticks, horseflies, blackflies and more. It’s got DEET but the smell isn’t nearly as strong and unlike bug sprays, it rubs on similar to sunscreen so it doesn’t leave the liquidy film.

Hiking socks

I did not initially understand why people cared so much about hiking socks. I get it now.

A good pair of hiking socks can make a surprisingly big difference in how your feet feel several kilometres into a hike, and once you've had a miserable blister situation, you become considerably more interested in preventing the next one.

I have specific hiking socks that I genuinely like and reach for regularly, which makes them an easy recommendation because they're something I actually use. I have different socks for cooler weather hiking but more on those later.

Bike shorts

My hiking wardrobe is not particularly complicated.

In warmer weather, I wear biker shorts constantly. They're comfortable, they move well, and they work for hiking, kayaking, gardening, and generally whatever other outdoor activity I've convinced myself I need to try next. 

And this brand is an incredible dupe for lululemon at a fraction of the price. As a former lululemon employee, I can attest to how great these are and how similar in terms of fabrics, stitching and quality.

A portable charger

My phone is my camera, communication device, trail map, emergency backup, and sometimes my navigation tool, so keeping it charged matters.

A portable charger has become one of those things I throw into my bag without thinking about it, particularly when I'm going somewhere for a longer hike or spending most of the day outside.

Because discovering that your phone is at 4% battery when you're still several kilometres from your car is not only an excellent way to make an otherwise peaceful nature experience considerably more exciting but it’s also potentially dangerous.

A compass

Yes, I carry an actual compass.

No, I am not suddenly a wilderness survival expert.

I think there's something useful about having basic analog tools even when you have access to technology. My phone and AllTrails are incredibly useful, but batteries die, cell service disappears, and technology occasionally decides that now is the perfect time to be weird.

A compass is tiny, doesn't require charging, and is generally a really great skill to have. 

Also on the safety tip, I always have a Fox 40 Whistle on my pack (within reach out my mouth); the universal distress signal with a whistle is 3 loud blasts in a row, wait for a reply and then repeat. The sound of a whistel travels far with minimal effort and is unnatural so its easy to identify. I also always have this dog spray either in my hand or on my pack within easy reach. As an often solo female hiker, these safety items bring a degree of comfort, knowing that I do have a line of defence against animals and other predators if needed.

My Nalgene for the trail

For hiking, I prefer my Nalgene.

The reason is extremely unglamorous: it's lightweight.

When I'm carrying water, snacks, my phone, first-aid supplies, bug protection, sunscreen, a headlamp, and whatever else I've decided belongs in my backpack, I don't particularly want to add unnecessary weight.

Nalgene makes lightweight bottles specifically designed with hiking and outdoor use in mind, and that's exactly why mine comes with me on the trail. If I’m out for a long hike, I might bring two to ensure my hydration doesn’t suffer.

My YETI for the car

My YETI serves a completely different purpose.

I don't love carrying a heavy insulated bottle around on a hike, but I do love getting back to my car after a hot hike and finding ice-cold water waiting for me. 

The YETI Rambler bottles use double-wall vacuum insulation to keep drinks cold, and that is precisely why mine lives in the car rather than my hiking pack.

This is an important distinction in my personal outdoor gear philosophy: sometimes the "best" product depends entirely on what you're actually doing with it.

A cooler

A cooler has also become part of my outdoor life because one of the best things about a day outside is not necessarily rushing home immediately afterward.

Sometimes I'll pack food and drinks, throw the cooler in the car, go hike, and then have something cold waiting for me afterward.

Again, this is a small thing, but I think it captures something important about the life I've built in sobriety: I enjoy making a day of things.

There doesn't always have to be somewhere else I need to be.

And yes, the kayak

Eventually, hiking and being outside turned into kayaking, which brings me back to the fact that I apparently became a person who owns a kayak.

I bought mine on Amazon, and I have loved having another way to spend time outside that isn't walking.

That has been one of the unexpected gifts of becoming genuinely outdoorsy: one interest keeps opening the door to another.

You don't necessarily need to decide what your new sober life is going to look like.

You can just follow the things that make you curious.

You don't have to become "an outdoors person" overnight

If you're newly sober, or you're thinking about changing your relationship with alcohol, I don't want you to read this and think, Great, apparently I have to become a hiker now.

Absolutely not.

Maybe your version of getting outside is sitting in your backyard with coffee. Maybe it's walking around your neighbourhood. Maybe it's gardening, camping, kayaking, cycling, birdwatching, swimming, photography, or finding a park you've never visited before.

The point isn't hiking.

The point is discovery.

Sobriety can give you the opportunity to discover what you actually enjoy when alcohol isn't taking up so much of your time, attention, money, energy, and imagination.

And sometimes that discovery is surprisingly ordinary.

You might discover you love walking.

You might discover that you like being awake early enough to see the sunrise.

You might discover that you really enjoy sitting beside a lake.

You might discover that you're more adventurous than you thought.

You might discover that you are, in fact, a person who owns a kayak.

There are worse surprises.

What hiking has taught me about sober living

After almost ten years without alcohol, I don't think of sobriety simply as something I maintain anymore.

It's something I get to live.

And that's a very different thing.

The longer I'm sober, the less interested I am in defining my life by what I don't do. I don't want alcohol to remain the central character in my story simply because I stopped drinking it.

I want the story to be about everything that came after.

The friendships. The work. The adventures. The mornings. The ridiculous hobbies. The hard things I've survived. The places I've gone. The things I've learned. The moments when I looked around and realized, Oh. This is actually my life.

Hiking has become part of that. For something that I’ve only arrived at in the past several years, I now can’t imagine what my life would look like without it.

There is something deeply satisfying about walking through a forest and realizing that ten years ago, you couldn't have imagined this version of your life.

Getting rid of alcohol didn’t solve everything or make my life perfect. But it did expand my options and life in big ways.

I wholeheartedly believe that's one of the greatest gifts sobriety can offer: the chance to find out what becomes possible when you're no longer organizing your life around alcohol.

For me, some of that possibility has looked like trails, forests, lakes, muddy shoes, sore legs, bug cream, cold water, sunsets, a kayak, and a backpack full of things I absolutely did not need ten years ago.

I'm pretty happy about it.

FAQ

Can hiking help when you're sober?

Hiking can be a meaningful part of a sober lifestyle because it gives you something active, enjoyable, and immersive to do with your time while also creating opportunities for adventure, connection, movement, and time outside. It's not meant to be a replacement for sober support, but for many people, discovering enjoyable activities that aren't centred around alcohol can be an important part of building a satisfying life in sobriety.

What are some sober activities besides hiking?

There are countless ways to build a life that isn't organized around drinking, including kayaking, camping, gardening, cycling, swimming, cooking, travelling, volunteering, creative hobbies, fitness, community activities, and simply spending more time outside. The goal isn't to find one magical replacement for alcohol; it's to build a life that contains enough things you genuinely enjoy that drinking no longer feels like the main event.

Do I need expensive hiking gear to start hiking?

No. You absolutely do not need an expensive collection of outdoor gear to start hiking. Begin with comfortable clothing, appropriate footwear, water, a charged phone, and whatever basic safety supplies make sense for the trail and conditions you're dealing with. As you spend more time outside, you'll naturally figure out which gear is worth investing in for the way you actually hike.

What should I bring on a summer hike?

For a typical summer hike, I like having water, my phone with a downloaded trail map, a portable charger, bug protection, tick-removal supplies, a headlamp, comfortable clothing, hiking socks, and a compass. What you need will depend on the length and difficulty of your hike, the weather, the terrain, and how remote the trail is, so I always recommend checking conditions before heading out rather than treating any hiking list as universal.

Is AllTrails Pro worth it for hiking?

For me, yes. There is a free option which is a great starting point and I use AllTrails Pro because I like being able to download maps for offline use, check trail conditions, and have navigation features available when I'm out on the trail. Whether it's worth paying for depends on how often you hike and which features you actually use, but if you're hiking regularly, the offline navigation alone can be useful. It’s about CAD35/year so it’s not a huge investment and one you can cancel if you find you don’t need/use.

Can I hike alone while sober?

You can and hiking alone requires a little more planning and awareness than hiking with other people. I recommend choosing trails appropriate for your experience, checking the weather and trail conditions, letting someone know where you're going, carrying a charged phone and appropriate safety supplies, and knowing your route before you head out. Solo hiking can be an incredibly empowering experience, but confidence should never be confused with invincibility.

What if I don't consider myself outdoorsy?

Neither did I. That's probably one of the most important things I could tell you.

You don't need an identity, a wardrobe, a collection of expensive gear, or some childhood history of camping to start spending more time outside. You can simply begin by finding something outdoors that you enjoy and doing more of it.

You might surprise yourself.

And if hiking or other outdoorsy things don’t appeal to you, no worries. There are a million other hobbies and activities worth exploring.

The Bottom Line

Ten years sober, one of the things I'm most grateful for is that my life didn't just become free from alcohol; it became full of things I never would have discovered if alcohol had continued taking up the space it once did.

Hiking and the outdoors are a huge part of that for me.

They have given me adventure, challenge, peace, curiosity, connection, movement, and a reason to keep exploring. They've helped me build a life that feels bigger rather than smaller, and they've reminded me over and over again that there is an enormous world outside the routines and expectations I once thought I had to live inside.

I didn't get sober so I could spend the rest of my life thinking about not drinking.

I got sober, and eventually, I discovered that there was a whole life waiting for me to actually go live.

Turns out, a lot of that life is outside.

And I'm pretty damn glad I went looking for it.

Disclosure: Some of the products mentioned in this post may be linked through affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through one of my links, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I genuinely use, know, and love.