Many years ago, I hiked the fabled Appalachian Train. Well, actually I only day hiked on a few sections of the 2190 mile (3500 kilometer) mountainous trail, but technically one could argue that I did in fact hike the Trail. Even though I have never been an intrepid thru- hiker, I do try and do day hikes whenever I travel in wilderness places such as Alaska, Iceland, Canada, and New Zealand. A few years ago, I even did some hiking in Colorado.

The beautiful film below by Croatian filmmaker and thru-hiker Nikola Horvat is a stunning documentary about hiking the Colorado Trail entitled “Why (Do I Hike).” The award-winning 23-minute film incorporates gorgeous footage of the Colorado Rockies and a narrative about the thru-hiking experience.

Horvat shot the film during a 2019 Colorado Trail thru-hike. It features interviews with people he met along the way. “Why (Do I Hike) “is divided into five segments: The first four deal with the key factors that motivate long-distance backpackers (Nature, Time, Community, and Mental Health, respectively), while the Final Chapter synthesizes Horvat’s conclusions.