I’ve wanted to get inked for a long time. I don’t know why, exactly. Something about tattoos has just always appealed.

It wasn’t until I found myself single in 2010, after a long relationship, that I started thinking about it seriously though. Being in a relationship with someone who was against tattoos made it an easy thing to delay. So with my newfound freedom, I set about trying to decide what to get.

Though I only had my own internal conflict to deal with, the decision still wasn’t an easy one. I wanted my first tattoo to be something significant to me; something I could be sure I wouldn’t regret one day. Living in Brunswick, where it seemed nearly everyone had tattoos, I spent a lot of time cringing at cliché or just horribly ugly tattoo designs.

I decided upon and then subsequently changed my mind about no less than ten different designs over the next few years before I suddenly realised that the answer was staring me right in the face. What was the one aspect of my life that had impacted me more than any other on every level?

Hiking, and my love of nature.

So the search for a hiking-relevant design began, and it wasn’t long before I found one that suited me perfectly. I’d have preferred to design my own, but the reality is that there are a lot of better designers out there. This one satisfied my love of the mountains, and my love of simple, clean design. It was perfect.

Still, I sat on this idea for another two years – I guess I wanted to be REALLY sure. At some point during this time, Lori decided to get a matching one. She fell in love with the design too so coupled with her love of mountains and her love of me, it seemed like a natural thing to do.

 

Lori's and my matching mountain tattoos

 

With the kidlets away in Sydney these past school holidays I was all out of excuses, so we decided to just go for it. I was incredibly nervous walking into the tattooist, but I think that was mainly about the perceived pain I was about to subject myself to. Less than an hour later we both walked out, completely unable to stop staring at our new ink. The pain had been absolutely nothing compared to what I thought it’d be, and I was already planning my next one.

If I ever stop hiking, which I hope I never do, I’m glad I’ll always have this reminder of the impact that the mountains have had on my psyche.

 

Have you got a nature-inspired tattoo? Got anything to say about mine? Let me know by commenting below.