It’s a recent Sunday morning, and Sarah Desaulniers is greeting a small circle of people at a trailhead by a lake in Peterborough. After checking that everyone has water and announcing she’s carrying a shareable quantity of trail mix – it’s good because it’s mostly chocolate, she says – she leads them into the woods.
There are eight hikers – nine if you count Penny, a short-legged Jack Russell terrier about the size of a loaf of bread. Some are new to hiking with this group. Others are regulars. They banter and trade inside jokes. They like to talk about schist, a type of rock.
“That’s our favorite saying: ‘Schist happens,’” someone says.
“Yeah, schist happens,” Desaulniers adds. “And so that’s kind of the motto for the group.”
This isn’t just any hiking group. Desaulniers is director of prevention services for Reality Check, a Jaffrey-based organization that works to address substance use and support people in recovery. She started these monthly hikes to make sure people in recovery had ways to get outside that felt safe and welcoming.
Though not in recovery herself, Desaulniers says hiking has helped her cope with severe anxiety. She thought other people might benefit in a similar way.
But the culture that surrounds outdoor recreation can sometimes make people in recovery uncomfortable, she says. Alcohol and marijuana are often present. Even the way outdoor activities are marketed can send the message that they go hand in hand with drinking – like the countless “Views and Brews” listings that pair hiking trails with nearby brewpubs.
“This is just an opportunity for people to get outside without those things,” she said.
The group calls itself Reality Check Gone Rogue. Today, they’re embarking on a four-mile out-and-back on the West Ridge Trail by Edward MacDowell Lake. The trail is typical for this part of the state: rocky, rooty, rolling terrain, enveloped in green.
This is the first time Keith Johnson of Rindge has joined a “Gone Rogue” hike. But he’s been hiking regularly with a group of people he knows through AA for the past several weeks.
“It gives us productive things to do, like exercise and nature and being together – and not drinking,” he said.
Johnson has been in recovery for several years. Along with going to counseling and AA meetings, he says it’s helped to have friends who are also committed to recovery, who can go for a hike, grab dinner or hang out at the lake. They’re a source of support, he says – and a reminder you can have fun without drinking.
“A lot of it's about having the right friends,” he says, “and not having the bar friends that are kind of your friends, but they really aren’t.”
Desaulniers says she aims to make these hikes accessible to everyone. They hike as slow as they need to, and if one person turns around, they all do. Reality Check keeps extra backpacks, water bottles and trekking poles at the office to make sure the cost of gear isn’t a barrier.
These hikes aren’t limited to people in recovery, Desaulniers says; she welcomes friends, family or anyone who considers themselves an ally of people in recovery.
About two miles in, the dense forest opens up as the trail starts following the banks of a river. The group stops for a while before turning around.
Trudi Ackerman of Fitzwilliam takes in her surroundings – the trees, the river, another hiker blowing bubbles while lounging on a boulder midstream. She says it’s moments like this that have made nature an important part of her recovery process.
“It's just – I don't know,” she said. “I just feel just such a sense of peace and serenity when I'm surrounded by nature, and friends.”
Nearby, Leah Davis of Rindge is pouring water into her cupped hand for Penny, her dog, to drink. They’re regulars on these hikes. Penny’s even sporting a white and green “GONE ROGUE” bandana around her neck.
Davis has struggled with alcohol over the years. She’s in recovery now, but still worries about relapsing sometimes. She says these hikes help hold her to her recovery.
“It’s just my little way of connecting,” she said. “Like, I haven’t been to a meeting in a couple of weeks. So when I knew this was coming up, I could come here.”
It’s a chance to see people she knows and feel supported. And because everyone loves Penny, that helps Davis feel more accepted, too. She says it’s a good option when she isn’t up for going to a meeting, which can feel overwhelming at times.
“Sometimes I just hang around in a meeting and I feel like, you know, 'I don't want to talk to anybody, I don't think anyone understands,'” she said. “Which they should. They do. But this is easier for me to do than go to a meeting.”
On the way back, the hike seems to go by quicker. The group stops for frequent breaks – to snack on trail mix, take pictures of strange mushrooms and make sure no one’s left behind.
Three and a half hours after starting, they emerge from the woods. At the trailhead, before going their separate ways, they talk about where they’ll hike next.
