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{{short description|Walking as a hobby, sport, or leisure activity}}
:''] is a different activity performed when ].''
{{Other uses|Hiking (sailing)|Backpacking (wilderness)}}
], Colorado]]
]]]


'''A hike''' is a long, vigorous ], usually on ] or ] in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Amato |first=Joseph A. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qg056 |title=On Foot: A History of Walking |date=2004 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-0502-5 |jstor=j.ctt9qg056 |access-date=2020-11-25 |archive-date=2019-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518232107/https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qg056 |url-status=live |pages=101–24}}</ref> Long hikes as part of a religious ] have existed for a much longer time.
]
"Hiking" is the preferred term in ] and the ]; the term "]" is used in these regions for shorter, particularly urban walks. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the word "walking" describes all forms of walking, whether it is a walk in the park or ] in the ]. The word hiking is also often used in the UK, along with '''rambling''', ''']''', and '''fell walking''' (a term mostly used for hillwalking in northern England). The term '''bushwalking''' is endemic to Australia, having been adopted by the ] in 1927.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sydney Bush Walkers Club's history |url=http://www.sbw.org.au/About-Us |access-date=2017-02-21 |archive-date=2017-02-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222070309/http://www.sbw.org.au/About-Us |url-status=live }}</ref> In New Zealand a long, vigorous walk or hike is called ].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1999 |title=The Dictionary of New Zealand English |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Auckland |first1=HW |isbn=0-19-558347-7 |last1=Orsman}}</ref> It is a popular activity with numerous ] worldwide, and studies suggest that all forms of walking have health benefits.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKinney |first=John |date=2009-03-22 |title=For Good Health: Take a Hike! |url=http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/for-good-health-take-a-hike-3862 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429134930/http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/for-good-health-take-a-hike-3862/ |archive-date=2011-04-29 |website=Miller-McCune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A Step in the Right Direction: The health benefits of hiking and trails |url=http://atfiles.org/files/pdf/AHShealthben.pdf |access-date=1 June 2012 |publisher=American Hiking Society |archive-date=11 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911214046/http://atfiles.org/files/pdf/AHShealthben.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Related terms==
'''Hiking''' is a form of ], undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery. It usually takes place on ]s in areas of relatively unspoiled ].
] ("Bear's Round"), an {{convert|80|km|abbr=on}} long hiking trail through the ] in ], Finland]]
In the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom, hiking means walking outdoors on a trail, or off trail, for recreational purposes.<ref name="hikebook">{{Cite book |last=Keller |first=Kristin T. |url=https://archive.org/details/hikingkkell00thoe |title=Hiking |publisher=Capstone Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7368-0916-0 |url-access=registration}}</ref> A day hike refers to a hike that can be completed in a single day. However, in the United Kingdom, the word walking is also used, as well as rambling, while walking in mountainous areas is called ]. In ], Including the ] and ], fell walking describes hill or mountain walks, as ] is the common word for both features there.


Hiking sometimes involves bushwhacking and is sometimes referred to as such. This specifically refers to difficult walking through dense forest, undergrowth, or bushes where forward progress requires pushing vegetation aside. In extreme cases of bushwhacking, where the vegetation is so dense that human passage is impeded, a ] is used to clear a pathway. The Australian term bushwalking refers to both on and off-trail hiking.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bushwalking Australia home |url=http://www.bushwalkingaustralia.org/ |access-date=2016-03-18 |publisher=Bushwalking Australia |archive-date=2016-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322213952/http://www.bushwalkingaustralia.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Common terms for hiking used by New Zealanders are ] (particularly for overnight and longer trips),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Orsman |first=HW |title=The Dictionary of New Zealand English |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |isbn=9780195583472 |location=Auckland}}</ref> walking or bushwalking. ''']''' is the preferred word used to describe multi-day hiking in the mountainous regions of India, Pakistan, Nepal, North America, South America, Iran, and the highlands of ]. Hiking a ] from end-to-end is also referred to as trekking and as ] in some places.<ref name="longdist">{{Cite book |last=Mueser |first=Roland |url=https://archive.org/details/longdistancehiki00mues |title=Long-Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=1997 |isbn=0-07-044458-7 |url-access=registration}}</ref> In North America, multi-day hikes, usually with ], are referred to as ].<ref name=hikebook/>
Off-trail hiking is often called 'bushwalking', 'bushwhacking' or 'bush-bashing'. Overnight hiking is more specifically called ']'. The word 'hiking' is understood in all English-speaking countries, but regional terms also exist. In the ], the activity is often simply called 'walking'. ]ns use the term '''bushwalking''' for both on- and off-trail hiking. ]ers commonly employ the word '''tramping''', particularly for overnight trips. Hiking in the mountainous regions of ] and ] is sometimes called 'trekking'.


==History==
==Comparison with other forms of touring==
]
Hiking is one of the fundamental ] on which many others are based. Hiking is the only way to reach many beautiful places overland. Enthusiasts regard hiking as the best way to see nature. It is seen as better than a tour in a ] of any kind (or on an animal; see ]) because the hiker's senses are not intruded upon by distractions such as ]s, ] noise, airborne ] in large quantities, and fellow passengers. It has an advantage over standing in one place because the hiker may cover a wide area.


The poet ] is frequently mentioned as an early example of someone hiking. Petrarch recounts that on April 26, 1336, with his brother and two servants, he climbed to the top of ] ({{convert|1912|m|ft|sp=us}}), a feat which he undertook for recreation rather than necessity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicolson |first=Marjorie Hope |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1031245016 |title=Mountain Gloom and Mountain Hlory; The Development of the Aesthetics of the Infinite |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co., Inc. |page=49 |oclc=1031245016}}</ref> The exploit is described in a celebrated letter addressed to his friend and confessor, the monk ], composed some time after the fact. However, some have suggested that Petrarch's climb was fictional.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cassirer |first=Ernst |date=January 1943 |title=Some Remarks on the Question of the Originality of the Renaissance |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=49–74 |doi=10.2307/2707236 |jstor=2707236}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Halsall |first=Paul |date=August 1998 |title=Petrarch: The Ascent of Mount Ventoux |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/petrarch-ventoux.asp |access-date=5 March 2014 |website=fordham.edu |publisher=Fordham University |archive-date=8 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108135452/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/petrarch-ventoux.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>
On the other hand, hiking over long distances or over difficult terrain does require some degree of physical ability and knowledge, as well as a ] to carry ], water and essential equipment. Hikers may be caught in inclement ] or suffer mishaps. Some jurisdictions (for example ]) now require inadequately prepared hikers to pay for their own rescues.
]]]


], in '']'' (in German in 1860) declared Petrarch "a truly modern man", because of the significance of nature for his "receptive spirit"; even if he did not yet have the skill to describe nature.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civilization'', Part IV §3, beginning |url=http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/hy309/docs/burckhardt/4-3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203015126/http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/hy309/docs/burckhardt/4-3.html |archive-date=February 3, 2007}}</ref> Petrarch's implication that he was the first to climb mountains for pleasure, and Burckhardt's insistence on Petrarch's sensitivity to nature have been often repeated since. There are also numerous references to Petrarch as an "alpinist",<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cassirer |first1=Ernst |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226149790.001.0001 |title=The Renaissance Philosophy of Man |last2=Kristeller |first2=Paul Oskar |last3=Randall |first3=John Herman |date=1956 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-09604-9 |page=28|doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226149790.001.0001 }}</ref> although ] is not a hard climb, and is not usually considered part of the Alps.<ref>Bishop, p.102,104</ref> This implicit claim of Petrarch and Burckhardt, that Petrarch was the first to climb a mountain for pleasure since antiquity, was disproven by ] in 1943.<ref name=Thorndike/>{{rp|69–74}} Mount Ventoux was climbed by ], on his way to the papal court in ] before the year 1334, "in order to make some meteorological observations".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moody |first=Ernest A. |title=Jean Buridan |url=http://www.u.arizona.edu/~aversa/scholastic/Dictionary%20of%20Scientific%20Biography/08.%20Buridan%20b.%20ca.%201295%20(Moody).pdf |website=Dictionary of Scientific Biography |access-date=2020-11-24 |archive-date=2021-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213173420/http://www.u.arizona.edu/~aversa/scholastic/Dictionary%20of%20Scientific%20Biography/08.%20Buridan%20b.%20ca.%201295%20(Moody).pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kimmelman |first=Michael |date=1999-06-06 |title=NOT Because it's There |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/06/magazine/not-because-it-s-there.html |access-date=2023-01-02 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2023-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102021248/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/06/magazine/not-because-it-s-there.html |url-status=live }}</ref> There were ascents accomplished during the ];<ref>{{cite book|last=Burckhardt|first=Jacob|url=https://archive.org/details/civilisationren02middgoog|title=The Civilisation of the Period of the Renaissance in Italy|orig-year=1860|translator-first=SGC|translator-last=Middlemore|publisher=]|year=1904|pages=301–302}}</ref><ref name=Thorndike>{{cite journal|author-link=Lynn Thorndike|first=Lynn|last=Thorndike|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2707236|title=Renaissance or Prenaissance|journal=Journal of the History of Ideas|volume=4|number=1|date=Jan 1943|jstor=2707236 }} ] link to a collection of several letters in the same issue.</ref>{{rp|69–74}} Lynn Thorndike mentions that "a book on feeling for nature in Germany in the tenth and eleventh centuries, noted various ascents and descriptions of mountains from that period", and that "in the closing years of his life archbishop ] (c. 1010 – 1075) climbed his beloved mountain oftener than usual".<ref name=Thorndike/>{{rp|71–72}}
== Personal safety issues ==


Other early examples of individuals hiking or climbing mountains for pleasure include the Roman Emperor, Hadrian, who ascended Mount Etna during a return trip from Greece in 125 CE. In 1275, Peter III of Aragon claimed to have reached the summit of Pic du Canigou, a 9134-foot mountain located near the southern tip of France. The first ascent of any technical difficulty to be officially verified took place on June 26, 1492, when Antoine de Ville, a chamberlain and military engineer for Charles VIII, King of France, was ordered to ascend Mont Aiguille. Because ropes, ladders and iron hooks were used during the ascent, this event is widely recognized as being the birth of mountaineering. Conrad Gessner, a 16th Century physician, botanist and naturalist from Switzerland, is widely recognized as being the first person to hike and climb for sheer pleasure.<ref name="Doran 2023">{{Cite book |last=Doran |first=Jeffrey J. |title=Ramble On: How Hiking Became One of the Most Popular Outdoor Activities in the World |year=2023 |publisher=Amazon Digital Services LLC – Kdp |isbn=979-8373963923}}</ref>
Hiking can be a very enjoyable and safe activity. However, there are inherent risks in hiking. These risks can be mitigated by safety procedures. These risks include:


However, the idea of taking a walk in the countryside only really developed during the 18th century in Europe, and arose because of changing attitudes to the landscape and nature associated with the ].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Norton Anthology of English Literature |year=2000 |isbn=9780393963380 |editor-last=Abrams |editor-first=MH |edition=7th |volume=2 |pages=9–10}}</ref> In 1790 ] set off on an extended ] of France, Switzerland, and Germany, which he describes in his autobiographical poem '']'' (1850). Walking tours were popular in the 19th century,
* ''Physical ]'', such as ] ]. Hikers can injure themselves due to a misstep or fall. Poor judgement on steep or slippery slopes can lead to injury. Carrying a backpack may make a hiker more cumbersome. The risk of injury can be decreased with the use of proper shoes (e.g., ]s). Injuries can also be minimized by thinking carefully before putting oneself in harms way.
In earlier times walking generally indicated poverty and was also associated with vagrancy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Solnit |first=Rebecca |title=Wanderlust: A History of Walking |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2000 |isbn=0670882097 |location=New York}}</ref>{{rp|pp=83,297}} In previous centuries long walks were undertaken as part of religious pilgrimages and this tradition continues throughout the world.
** Foot ]s are a common form of minor physical injury to hikers. These blisters are caused by too much friction and irritation against the skin. Wet socks and poorly-fitting shoes precipitate the occurrence of blisters. Two layers of socks (using ]s) help prevent blisters, and ] can be applied to blister-prone areas as a treatment or preventive measure.
** '']'' may result from packing too much or not having a proper backpack. A Hiking Backpack should be bought from a recreational store, and as a rule of thumb, a person should carry no more than one third of their body weight.
* '']'' can rapidly incapacitate a hiker, especially in warm weather. In conditions of low humidity, sweat evaporates so quickly that a hiker may not notice the water loss. Dehydration can be avoided by carrying and drinking an adequate amount of water. Depending on conditions, two liters of water may be enough for a day hike, but in high heat conditions (such as hiking the ], one liter ''per hour'' may be required. . Extensive sweating may also deplete a hiker's body of ]. Naturally occurring water is often unfit to drink (see ]).
* Replenishing water, but not ], can result in '']''. Thus, salty snacks along with water are also recommended.
* '']'', possibly developing into '']'', can occur during high-temperature hikes, particularly if one is dehydrated or dressed too warmly. The risk of heatstroke can be minimized by avoiding hiking in the direct sun if the temperature is too high, and staying wet when possible. This is a life-threatening condition: a victim must be cooled off and gotten to a hospital immediately.
* Conversely, '']'' is a risk particularly to hikers at higher altitudes or latitudes. Wet clothing (due to rain, sweat, etc.) is a major risk factor, and can cause hypothermia even in warm weather. Hypothermia can result in death if the victim's body temperature drops very low. Even if it does not kill the victim directly, it causes confusion, irrationality and impaired judgment, raising the risk of other injuries. Hypothermia risk can be minimized with proper clothing. ] clothing is often discouraged, for its ability to absorb and hold water. Packing extra layers of clothing decreases the risk of hypothermia.
* '']'' can occur when bare skin is exposed to very low temperatures. For very low-temperature hiking, clothing can be arranged to minimize the amount of exposed skin.
* If deprived of food for several days, hikers may become '']''. A human can survive for weeks without food, but malnutrition causes impaired judgment. ''Low blood sugar'' may have a similar effect. Carrying extra food will minimize risk to the hiker.
]
* Hikers may become ''lost'', either if a hiking party cannot find its way, or if a hiker becomes separated from the party and cannot find it again. Lost hikers who cannot find their way to their destination on time may run out of food and water, or experience a change in weather, exacerbating the risk of hiking hazards. Staying on marked ]s certainly helps, but trails do not exist in some areas. Carrying a ] and ] and knowing how to use them will decrease the risk of getting lost. Likewise, a ] may prove invaluable, as it can pinpoint a hiker's location, revealing exactly where on the globe they are. A ] device, such as a ] or a ], may help in the case of an emergency. However, cell phone coverage in wilderness areas is often quite poor. ] and ] radios may be helpful, especially if hikers become separated from others in their group. Informing people outside of the hiking group of the itinerary and expected finishing time increases the safety of the group.
** While hiking on trails with branches, a group may split up by some hikers taking a wrong turn. The hikers who take the wrong turn may not have a map or know the area, and thus become lost. A common customer is for hikers at the front of a hiking group to stop at a fork in the trail and ensure that the rest of the hikers know which trail to follow.


=== Pilgrimages ===
* In many areas, hikers may encounter ''large ]s'' such as ]s or ]s. Wild-animal attacks may occur when hikers come upon an unsuspecting animal and surprise it. Also, animals such as bears can become accustomed to gathering food from human property. These encounters can also result in attacks against humans. The risk of surprising an animal can be mitigated by making noise, whether by clapping and yelling regularly, tapping a stick against rocks, or wearing a "]".
{{Further|Category:Japanese pilgrimages}}
In earlier times people mainly hiked for practical reasons, or on religious ]s. Numerous modern hiking trail follow such ancient routes. The British ] the ] closely follows that of the ] to ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-28 |title=North Downs Way National Trail &#124; Paths by name &#124; Ramblers, Britain's Walking Charity |url=http://www.ramblers.org.uk/info/paths/name/n/northdowns |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728131235/http://www.ramblers.org.uk/info/paths/name/n/northdowns |archive-date=2012-07-28 |access-date=2023-01-02}}</ref>
]]]
The ancient pilgrimage, the ], or Way of St. James, has become more recently the source for a number of long-distance hiking routes. This is a network of ]s leading to the shrine of the ] ] in the ] in ] in northwestern Spain. Many follow its routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth.


The ] is the most popular of the routes and runs from ] on the French side of the ] to ] on the Spanish side and then another {{convert|780|km}} on to Santiago de Compostela through the major cities of ], ], ] and ]. A typical walk on the ''Camino francés'' takes at least four weeks, allowing for one or two rest days on the way. Some travel the Camino on bicycle or on horseback. Paths from the cities of ], ], and ] meet at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.<ref name="Starkie">{{Cite book |last=Starkie |first=Walter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9xJGrnvuNW4C |title=The Roads to Santiago: Pilgrims of St. James |publisher=University of California Press |year=1965 |author-link=Walter Starkie |orig-year=1957}}</ref> The French long-distance path ] (of the ] network), is an important variant route of the old ] ] way.
All of the risks listed above may be mitigated by hiking in a group. Other hikers in a group can administer ] or seek help. In emergencies, groups of hikers can pool their muscle power, brain power, and body heat.


The ] is a cultural route believed to have been the path of ], ], and ] patriarch ]'s ancient journey across the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abraham Path {{!}} a cultural route connecting the storied places associated with Abraham's ancient journey. |url=http://abrahampath.org/ |access-date=2017-05-16 |website=abrahampath.org |language=en-US |archive-date=2017-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517044116/http://abrahampath.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The path was established in 2007 as a pilgrimage route between ], possibly his birthplace, and his final destination of the desert of ].
== Ecological impact of hiking ==
{{clear left}}


=== German-speaking world ===
Hikers often seek beautiful environments in which to hike. Ironically, these environments are often fragile: hikers may accidentally destroy the environment that they enjoy. The action of an individual may not strongly affect the environment. However, the mass effect of a large number of hikers can degrade the environment. For example, gathering wood in an ] area to start a fire may be harmless once (except for ] risk). Years of gathering wood can strip an alpine area of valuable nutrients.
The Swiss scientist and poet ]'s poem ''Die Alpen'' (1732) is an historically important early sign of an awakening appreciation of the mountains, though it is chiefly designed to contrast the simple and idyllic life of the inhabitants of the ] with the corrupt and decadent existence of the dwellers in the plains.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=855}}


Numerous travellers explored Europe on foot in the last third of the 18th century and recorded their experiences. A significant example is ], who set out on foot from ] to Sicily in 1801, and returned to Leipzig via Paris after nine months.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krüger |first=Arnd |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/889248430 |title=Wandertourismus: Kundengruppen, Destinationsmarketing, Gesundheitsaspekte |date=2010 |isbn=978-3-486-70469-3 |editor-last=Menzel |editor-first=Anne |location=München |oclc=889248430 |editor-last2=Endress |editor-first2=Martin |editor-last3=Hedorfer |editor-first3=Petra |editor-last4=Antz |editor-first4=Christian}}</ref>
Generally, protected areas such as parks have regulations in place to protect the environment. If hikers follow such regulations, their impact can be minimized. Such regulations include forbidding wood fires, restricting ] to established camp sites, disposing or packing out ], imposing a quota on the number of hikers per day.


===United Kingdom===
Many hikers espouse the philosophy of ]: hiking in a way such that future hikers cannot detect the presence of previous hikers. Practitioners of this philosophy obey its strictures, even in the absence of area regulations.
]'s 'viewing stations', to allow visiting tourists and artists to better appreciate the picturesque ], ], England.]]
{{main|Walking in the United Kingdom|Walking in London}}
], a Scottish priest, popularized the idea of walking for pleasure in his guide to the Lake District of 1778. In the introduction he wrote that he aimed <blockquote>to encourage the taste of visiting the lakes by furnishing the traveller with a Guide; and for that purpose, the writer has here collected and laid before him, all the select stations and points of view, noticed by those authors who have last made the tour of the lakes, verified by his own repeated observations.<ref name="West2">{{Cite book |last=West |first=Thomas |title=A Guide to the Lakes |year=1780 |isbn=9780371947258 |page=2|publisher=HardPress }}</ref> </blockquote> To this end he included various 'stations' or viewpoints around the lakes, from which tourists would be encouraged to enjoy the views in terms of their aesthetic qualities.<ref name="development">{{Cite web |title=Development of tourism in the Lake District National Park |url=http://www.lakedistrict.uk7.net/tourist_development.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011064752/http://www.lakedistrict.uk7.net/tourist_development.html |archive-date=October 11, 2008 |access-date=2008-11-27 |publisher=Lake District UK}}</ref> Published in 1778 the book was a major success.<ref name="NPA">{{Cite web |title=Understanding the National Park &mdash; Viewing Stations |url=http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/learning/lakedistrictfacts/archaeologyhistory/archaeologydiscoveryzone/archaeologyindepth/archaeologyviewing-stations-2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104212541/http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/learning/lakedistrictfacts/archaeologyhistory/archaeologydiscoveryzone/archaeologyindepth/archaeologyviewing-stations-2 |archive-date=2014-01-04 |access-date=2008-11-27 |publisher=Lake District National Park Authority}}</ref>
]'s walking route in the ], France, taken from '']'' (1879), a pioneering classic of ].]]
Another famous early exponent of walking for pleasure was the English poet ]. His famous poem '']'' was inspired by a visit to the ] made during a ] of ] in 1798 with his sister ]. Wordsworth's friend ] was another keen walker and in the autumn of 1799, he and Wordsworth undertook a three-week tour of the Lake District. ], who belonged to the next generation of ] began, in June 1818, a walking tour of Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District with his friend ].


More and more people undertook walking tours through the 19th century, of which the most famous is probably ]'s journey through the ] in France with a donkey, recorded in his '']'' (1879). Stevenson also published in 1876 his famous essay "Walking Tours". The subgenre of ] produced many classics in the subsequent 20th century. An early American example of a book that describes an extended walking tour is naturalist ]'s ''A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf'' (1916), a posthumously published account of a long botanizing walk, undertaken in 1867.
]


Due to ] in England, people began to migrate to the cities where living standards were often cramped and unsanitary. They would escape the confines of the city by rambling about in the countryside. However, the land in England, particularly around the urban areas of ] and ], was privately owned and ] was illegal. Rambling clubs soon sprang up in the ] and began politically campaigning for the legal ']'. One of the first such clubs was 'Sunday Tramps' founded by Leslie White in 1879. The first national grouping, the Federation of Rambling Clubs, was formed in London in 1905 and was heavily patronized by the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stephenson |first=Tom |url=https://archive.org/details/forbiddenlandstr0000step |title=Forbidden Land: The Struggle for Access to Mountain and Moorland |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1989 |isbn=9780719028915 |page= |access-date=2013-02-07 |url-access=registration}}</ref>
Human waste is often a major source of environmental impact from hiking. These wastes can contaminate the watershed and make other hikers ill. ] contamination can be avoided by digging ]s about 25 cm deep and covering up after use. If these catholes are dug 60 m away from water sources and trails, the risk of contamination is minimized .


Access to Mountains ]s, that would have legislated the public's 'right to roam' across some private land, were periodically presented to ] from 1884 to 1932 without success. Finally, in 1932, the Rambler's Right Movement organized a ] on ] in ]. Despite attempts on the part of the police to prevent the trespass from going ahead, it was successfully achieved due to massive publicity. However, the Mountain Access Bill that was passed in 1939 was opposed by many walkers' organizations, including ], who felt that it did not sufficiently protect their rights, and it was eventually repealed.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Stephenson |first1=T. |url=https://archive.org/details/forbiddenlandstr0000step |title=Forbidden Land: The Struggle for Access to Mountain and Moorland |last2=Holt |first2=A. |last3=Harding |first3=M. |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-7190-2966-0 |page= |chapter=The 1939 Access to Mountains Act |url-access=registration}}</ref>
Sometimes, hikers enjoy viewing rare or endangered species. However, some species (such as ]s or ]) are very sensitive to the presence of humans, especially around mating season. Hikers can learn the habits and habitats of the endangered species, in order to avoid adverse impact.


The effort to improve access led after World War II to the ], and in 1951 to the creation of the first ] in the UK, the ].<ref>{{Cite web |year=2011 |title=Quarrying and mineral extraction in the Peak District National Park |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/79227/factsheet4-quarrying.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127055057/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/79227/factsheet4-quarrying.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2012 |access-date=17 April 2012 |publisher=Peak District National Park Authority}}</ref> The establishment of this and similar national parks helped to improve access for all outdoors enthusiasts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kinder Trespass. A history of rambling |url=http://nowthenmagazine.com/issue-52/kinder-trespass/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708235247/http://nowthenmagazine.com/issue-52/kinder-trespass/ |archive-date=2012-07-08 |access-date=2013-12-17}}</ref> The ] considerably extended the ] in England and Wales.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Open access land: management, rights and responsibilities |url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/open-access-land-management-rights-and-responsibilities |access-date=2021-03-09 |website=GOV.UK |language=en |archive-date=2021-03-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310131952/https://www.gov.uk/guidance/open-access-land-management-rights-and-responsibilities |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/37/contents |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=legislation.gov.uk |archive-date=2023-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424163854/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/37/contents |url-status=live }}</ref>
There is one situation where an individual hiker can make a large impact on an ecosystem: inadvertently starting a ]. For example, in ], a ] backpacker burned 7% of ] ] in ] by knocking over an illegal gas ]. Obeying area regulations and setting up cooking devices on bare ground will reduce the risk of wildfire.


===United States===
== Etiquette of hiking ==
] walked {{convert|34|mi|km}} to ], shown here.]]
{{Further|Category:Hiking in the United States}}
An early example of an interest in hiking in the United States is ] and his son Ethan's clearing of a trail to the summit of ] in 1819.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Condensed Facts About Mount Washington |publisher=Atkinson News Co |year=1912}}</ref> This 8.5-mile path is the oldest continually used hiking trail in the United States. The influence of British and European ] reached North America through the ], and both ] (1803–82) and ] (1817–62) were important influences on the outdoors movement in North America. Thoreau's writing on nature and on walking include the posthumously published "Walking" (1862)".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Thoreau |first=Henry David |title=Walking |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1862/06/walking/304674/ |magazine=The Atlantic |issue=June 1862 |access-date=24 July 2017 |archive-date=13 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013223718/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1862/06/walking/304674/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His earlier essay "]" (1842) describes a four-day ] Thoreau took with a companion from Concord, Massachusetts to the summit of ], ] and back. Established in 1876, the ] has the distinction of being the oldest hiking club in America. It was founded to protect the trails and mountains in the northeastern United States. Prior to its founding, four other hiking clubs had already been established in America. This included the very short-lived (first) Rocky Mountain Club in 1875, the White Mountain Club of Portland in 1873, the Alpine Club of Williamstown in 1863, and the Exploring Circle, which was established by four men from Lynn, Massachusetts in 1850. Although not a hiking club in the same sense as the clubs that would emerge later, the National Park Service recognizes the Exploring Circle as being "the first hiking club in New England."<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 July 2020 |title=Lynn Woods Historic District |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/lynn-woods-historic-district.htm |website=NPS |access-date=28 May 2023 }}</ref> All four of these clubs would disband within a few years of their founding.<ref name="Doran 2023"/>


Despite clubs such as the Appalachian Mountain Club, hiking during the early twentieth century was still primarily in New England, ], and the Pacific Northwest. Eventually, there were similar clubs formed in the Midwest and following the Appalachian range. As interest grew hiking culture was spread throughout the nation.<ref name=":0" />
Hiking is an example of a recreation. As such, hikers expect it to be a pleasant experience. Sometimes hikers can interfere with each others' enjoyment, or the enjoyment of other users of the land. Such interference can be minimized by hikers who follow good etiquette. Examples of such interference and etiquette include:


The Scottish-born, American naturalist ] (1838 –1914), was another important early advocate of the preservation of wilderness in the United States. He petitioned the ] for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The ], which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired others, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large areas of undeveloped countryside.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Life and Contributions of John Muir |url=http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/ |access-date=October 23, 2009 |publisher=Sierra Club |archive-date=March 31, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331043927/http://sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Barbara Kiely |title=John Muir |publisher=Gareth Stevens |year=2008 |isbn=978-0836883183 |page=10}}</ref> In 1916, the National Park Service was created to protect national parks and monuments.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Quick History of the National Park Service (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/quick-nps-history.htm |access-date=2021-03-09 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en |archive-date=2021-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309170544/https://www.nps.gov/articles/quick-nps-history.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=National Park Service |url=https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/national-park-service |access-date=2021-03-09 |website=HISTORY |date=21 August 2018 |language=en |archive-date=2021-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305201515/https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/national-park-service |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-25 |title=Congress Creates the National Park Service |url=https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/national-park-service |access-date=2021-03-09 |website=National Archives |language=en |archive-date=2021-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326020016/https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/national-park-service |url-status=live }}</ref>
* When two groups of hikers meet on a steep trail, there may be contention for use of the trail. To avoid conflict, a custom has developed: the group moving uphill has the ].


In 1921, ], a forester, conceived the idea of what would become America's first National Scenic Trail, the ] (AT). The AT was completed in August 1937, running from Maine to Georgia. The ] ("PCT") was first explored in the 1930s by the ] hiking groups and was eventually registered as a complete border to border trail from Mexico to Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Top 10 Hiking Trails in the US |url=http://www.e2e.com/featured/the-top-10-hiking-trails-in-the-us/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223095352/http://www.e2e.com/featured/the-top-10-hiking-trails-in-the-us |archive-date=2014-02-23 |access-date=2014-02-12 |publisher=e2e.com}}</ref>
]


==Destinations==
* Being forced to hike much faster or slower than one's natural pace can be annoying, and difficult to maintain consistently. More seriously, walking faster than one's natural pace causes dramatically increased ] and exhaustion. If a group splits between fast and slow hikers, the slow hikers may be left behind or become lost. A common custom is to encourage the slowest hiker to hike in the lead and have everyone match that speed. Another custom is to have an experienced hiker sweep up the rear, to ensure that everyone in the group is safe and nobody straggles.
], ]]]
] in ] lies along the Jordan Trail in ]]] ]


{{Further|Long distance path|Category:National parks|Category:Hiking trails in Europe}}
* Hikers often enjoy the silence and solitude of their surroundings. This enjoyment can be disrupted by loud sounds, such as shouting or loud conversation. Some hikers purposefully avoid loud sounds, out of deference to other hikers. Staying quiet will also increase the likelihood of encountering wildlife. (This is a hazard if dangerous animals are present; see "Personal safety issues" above.)
]s are often important hiking destinations, such as ]; ]; ], ], etc.


Frequently, nowadays long-distance hikes (walking tours) are undertaken along long-distance paths, including the ] in England and Wales, the ] (Sweden) and the ] in the United States. The ] (France), Grote Routepaden, or Lange-afstand-wandelpaden (The Netherlands), Grande Rota (Portugal), Gran Recorrido (Spain) is a network of ] in Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. There are extensive networks in other European countries of long-distance trails, as well as in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, and to a lesser extent other Asiatic countries, like Turkey, Israel, and Jordan. In the Alps of Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy walking tours can be made from 'hut-to-hut', using an extensive system of ]s.
* Hikers sometimes trespass onto private property. Such trespass can alienate the property owners and close down hiking rights-of-way. To maximize hiking opportunities for everyone, most hikers will understand where private property lies and avoid it. Staying on trails will also minimize the probability of trespass.


In the late 20th-century, there has been a proliferation of official and unofficial long-distance routes, which mean that hikers now are more likely to refer to using a long-distance way (Britain), trail (US), ''The Grande Randonnée'' (France), etc., than setting out on a walking tour. Early examples of long-distance paths include the ] in the US and the ] in Britain.
==Related topics==

{{commonscat|Hiking}}
Organized hiking clubs emerged in Europe at approximately the same time as official hiking trails. These clubs established and upheld their own paths during the 19th and 20th centuries, prioritizing the development of extended hiking routes. In 1938, one of the first long-distance hiking trails in Europe, the ], was established, stretching approximately 62 miles (100&nbsp;km).
*]

*]
=== Asia ===
*]
{{Further|Category:Hiking trails in Asia by country}}
*]
] district of Sikkim.]]

In the Middle East, the ] is a 650&nbsp;km (400 miles) long hiking trail in Jordan established in 2015 by the Jordan Trail Association. And ] has been described as "a trekker's paradise" with over 9,656&nbsp;km (6,000 miles) of trails.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-08-15 |title=Hiking in Israel – a trekkers paradise |url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/Pages/Hiking-in-Israel%E2%80%93a-trekkers-paradise-4-Jul-2011.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525030122/http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/Pages/Hiking-in-Israel%E2%80%93a-trekkers-paradise-4-Jul-2011.aspx |archive-date=2014-05-25}}</ref>

In southwestern ] the ] is a marked ] around part of the coast of ancient ].<ref name="crs"/> It is over {{cvt|500|km}} in length and stretches from ] (]), near ], to ] in ] about {{cvt|20|km}} from ]. It was conceived by Briton Kate Clow, who lives in Turkey. It takes its name from the ancient civilization, which once ruled the area.<ref name="crs">{{cite web|url=https://cultureroutesinturkey.com/the-lycian-way/|title=Lycian Way|publisher=Culture Routes Society|access-date=2024-06-16}}</ref>

The ] is a route across the ]. The original concept of the trail was to establish a single long distance trekking trail from the east end to the west end of ] that includes a total of roughly 1,700 kilometres (1,100&nbsp;mi) of path. The proposed trail will link together a range of the less explored tourism destinations of Nepal's mountain region.<ref name="junu11">{{Cite web |title=Great Himalaya Trails :: Trekking, hiking and walking in Nepal |url=https://www.greathimalayatrails.com/ |website=Great Himalaya Trails |access-date=2020-11-14 |archive-date=2020-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116182132/https://www.greathimalayatrails.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Latin America ===
{{Further|Category:Hiking trails in South America}}
In ], ] and ] are important hiking destinations. The ] in Peru is very popular and a ]. The longest hiking trail in Chile is the informal 3,000&nbsp;km (1,850&nbsp;mi) ] that was created by a non-governmental initiative.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dudeck |first=Jan |title=Greater Patagonian Trail |url=http://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php/Greater_Patagonian_Trail |access-date=1 September 2014 |website=Wikiexplora |archive-date=28 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140828165237/http://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php/Greater_Patagonian_Trail |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Africa ===
{{Further|Category:Hiking trails in Africa}}
In Africa a major ] destination<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trimble |first=Morgan |date=2016-11-15 |title=How to climb Kilimanjaro without the crowds |url=http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/nov/15/how-to-climb-kilimanjaro-without-crowds-tanzania |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=2023-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102021245/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/nov/15/how-to-climb-kilimanjaro-without-crowds-tanzania |url-status=live }}</ref> is ], a ] ] in ], which is the highest ] and the highest single free-standing mountain in the world: {{Convert|5895|m|ft}} above sea level and about {{convert|4900|m|ft}} above its plateau base.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharaf |first=Yasir |date=24 March 2016 |title=Mount Kilimanjaro Volcanic Cones: Shira, Kibo And Mawenzi Peaks |url=https://xpatsinternational.com/mount-kilimanjaro-volcanic-cones-shira-kibo-and-mawenzi-peaks/ |access-date=7 December 2021 |website=XPATS International |ref=None |archive-date=5 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105075701/https://xpatsinternational.com/mount-kilimanjaro-volcanic-cones-shira-kibo-and-mawenzi-peaks/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the Kilimanjaro National Park Authority, 467,190 travelers visited Mount Kilimanjaro between 2013 and 2022, with over 45,000 climbers recorded in 2023. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Kilimanjaro National Park Authority |title=Kilimanjaro National Park: Celebrating the Golden Anniversary in Biodiversity Conservation and Tourism |url=https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/uploads/publications/en-1678818900-KNPMGZNE.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=25 December 2024 |website=Tanzania National Parks Authority}}</ref>

==Equipment==
{{main|Hiking equipment}}
] are commonly used on hikes]]

The equipment required depends on a variety of factors, such as terrain, climate and time of year. Hikers have traditionally worn sturdy ]<ref name=hikebook/> for stability, however, in recent decades this has become less common.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Grady |first=Kyle |date=4 December 2015 |title=The Footwear Debate: Are Trail Runners Superior to Boots? |url=https://thetrek.co/trail-runners-or-boots/ |access-date=28 July 2020 |website=The Trek |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728114034/https://thetrek.co/trail-runners-or-boots/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Boots, however, are still common in mountainous terrain. ] club recommends a list of "]" equipment for hiking, including a compass, sunglasses, sunscreen, a ], a first aid kit, a ], and a knife.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills |publisher=The Mountaineers |year=1997 |isbn=0-89886-427-5 |edition=6th |pages=35–40}}</ref> Other recommend items are a hat, gloves, and an ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ten Essential Groups Article |url=http://texas.sierraclub.org/dallas/page.asp?10essentialgroups |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602140202/http://texas.sierraclub.org/dallas/page.asp?10essentialgroups |archive-date=2011-06-02 |access-date=2011-01-19 |publisher=Texas Sierra Club}}</ref> A ] can also be helpful and ] are also recommended, especially when carrying a heavy backpack.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 April 2013 |title=Trekking Poles |url=https://americanhiking.org/resources/trekking-poles/ |access-date=2020-11-13 |publisher=American Hiking Association |archive-date=2020-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113163127/https://americanhiking.org/resources/trekking-poles/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Environmental impact ==
], New York State, US, include stairways which can prevent erosion]]

]s are often fragile and may be accidentally damaged<ref name="impact">{{Cite journal |last=Cole |first=David |title=Impacts of Hiking and Camping on Soils and Vegetation: A Review |url=http://leopold.wilderness.net/research/fprojects/docs12/Ecotourism.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706020403/http://leopold.wilderness.net/research/fprojects/docs12/Ecotourism.pdf |archive-date=2010-07-06}}</ref> and some species are very sensitive to the presence of humans, especially around mating season. Many hikers adopt the philosophy of ], following strict practices on dealing with ], and other impacts on the environment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Our Mission |url=https://lnt.org/about/ |publisher=Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics |access-date=2020-09-19 |archive-date=2020-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916232658/https://lnt.org/about/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Fire is a particular source of danger.

== Etiquette ==
{{main|Trail ethics}}

Because hikers may come into conflict with other users of the land or may harm the natural environment, hiking etiquette has developed.
* When two groups of hikers meet on a steep trail, a custom has developed in some areas whereby the group moving uphill has the ].<ref name="etiquette">{{Cite web |last=Devaughn |first=Melissa |date=April 1997 |title=Trail Etiquette |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cd4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40 |access-date=22 January 2011 |website=Backpacker Magazine |publisher=Active Interest Media, Inc. |page=40 |issn=0277-867X}}</ref>
* Various organizations recommend that hikers generally avoid making loud sounds, such as shouting or loud conversation, playing music, or the use of mobile phones.<ref name=etiquette/> However, in bear country, hikers use intentional noise-making as a safety precaution to avoid startling bears.
* The ] movement offers a set of guidelines for low-impact hiking: "Leave nothing but footprints. Take nothing but photos. Kill nothing but time. Keep nothing but memories".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leave No Trace Seven Principles (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/leave-no-trace-seven-principles.htm |access-date=2021-03-18 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en |archive-date=2021-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318090644/https://www.nps.gov/articles/leave-no-trace-seven-principles.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Hikers are advised not to feed wild animals, because they will become a danger to other hikers if they become habituated to human food, and may have to be killed, or relocated.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Do Not Feed Wildlife |url=https://thamesriver.on.ca/watershed-health/native-species/dont-feed-wildlife/ |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=Upper Thames River Conservation Authority |language=en-CA |archive-date=2023-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102021246/https://thamesriver.on.ca/watershed-health/native-species/dont-feed-wildlife/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Hikers are advised to verify whether tour operators adhere to fair treatment practices for their support crews, including providing proper wages and working conditions for porters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KPAP: protecting the rights of porters on Kilimanjaro |url=https://altezzatravel.com/articles/about-kpap |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Altezza Travel |language=en}}</ref>

==Hazards==
{{Further|Hazards of outdoor recreation|Survival skills|Sure-footedness}}
], ], Austria; an example of a hiking route that involves ], and a ]]]
] because of terrain, inclement weather, potential to get lost, or pre-existing medical conditions. The dangerous<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 December 2020 |title=Is Hiking Dangerous? |url=https://trekkearth.com/is-hiking-dangerous/ |website=Trekkearth |access-date=18 December 2021 |archive-date=18 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218070220/https://trekkearth.com/is-hiking-dangerous/ |url-status=live }}</ref> circumstances hikers can face include specific accidents or physical ailments. It is especially hazardous in high mountains, crossing rivers and glaciers, and when there is snow and ice. At times hiking may involve ], as well as the use of ropes, ice axes and crampons and the skill to properly use them.

Potential hazards involving physical ailments may include dehydration, frostbite, hypothermia, sunburn, sunstroke, or ],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Boulware |first=D.R. |display-authors=etal |year=2003 |title=Medical Risks of Wilderness Hiking |journal=American Journal of Medicine |volume=114 |issue=4 |pages=288–93 |doi=10.1016/S0002-9343(02)01494-8 |pmid=12681456}}</ref> and such injuries as ankle sprains, or broken bones.<ref name="Goldenberg">{{Cite book |last1=Goldenberg |first1=Marni |title=Hiking and Backpacking |last2=Martin |first2=Bruce |publisher=Wilderness Education Association |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7360-6801-7 |page=104}}</ref> ] is a danger for all hikers and especially inexperienced hikers. Weather does not need to be very cold to be dangerous since ordinary rain or mist has a strong cooling effect. In high mountains a further danger is ]. This typically occurs only above {{convert|2500|m|ft|sigfig=1}}, though some are affected at lower altitudes.<ref name="Mer2018Pro">{{Cite web |date=May 2018 |title=Altitude Diseases – Injuries; Poisoning |url=https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/injuries-poisoning/altitude-diseases/altitude-diseases |access-date=3 August 2018 |website=Merck Manuals Professional Edition |archive-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627041200/https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/injuries-poisoning/altitude-diseases/altitude-diseases |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Sim2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Simancas-Racines |first1=D |last2=Arevalo-Rodriguez |first2=I |last3=Osorio |first3=D |last4=Franco |first4=JV |last5=Xu |first5=Y |last6=Hidalgo |first6=R |date=30 June 2018 |title=Interventions for treating acute high altitude illness. |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |volume=6 |issue=12 |pages=CD009567 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD009567.pub2 |pmc=6513207 |pmid=29959871}}</ref> Risk factors include a prior episode of altitude sickness, a high degree of activity, and a rapid increase in elevation.<ref name=Mer2018Pro/>

Other threats include attacks by animals (e.g., bears, snakes, and ] such as ] that carry ]) or contact with noxious plants (e.g., ], ], ]. Lightning is also a threat, especially on high ground.

Walkers in high mountains may encounter hazardous snow and ice conditions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Avalanche danger |url=https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/backcountry-basics/snow/avalanche/ |access-date=2020-11-13 |publisher=Pacific Crest Trails Association |archive-date=2020-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112004423/https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/backcountry-basics/snow/avalanche/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Year round ]s are potentially hazardous.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to cross a glacier |url=https://www.wta.org/go-outside/trail-smarts/how-to/how-to-cross-a-glacier |access-date=2020-11-13 |publisher=Washington Trails Association |archive-date=2021-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512102839/https://www.wta.org/go-outside/trail-smarts/how-to/how-to-cross-a-glacier |url-status=live }}</ref> The crossing of rivers may be dangerous and requires special techniques.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stream crossing safety while hiking and backpacking |url=https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/backcountry-basics/water/stream-crossing-safety/ |publisher=Pacific Crest Trail Association |access-date=2020-11-12 |archive-date=2020-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108110247/https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/backcountry-basics/water/stream-crossing-safety/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Border crossings===
Borders can be poorly marked and in 2009, Iran imprisoned three Americans for hiking across the Iran-Iraq border.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Gordon |first1=Michael R. |last2=Lehren |first2=Andrew W. |date=2010-10-23 |title=Iran Seized U.S. Hikers in Iraq, U.S. Report Asserts |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/world/middleeast/23hikers.html?_r=1 |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-date=2018-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424140831/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/world/middleeast/23hikers.html?_r=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is illegal to cross into the US on the ] from Canada. Going south to north it is more straightforward and a crossing can be made, if advanced arrangements are made with ]. Within the ], which includes most of the ], and associated nations like Switzerland and Norway, there are no impediments to crossing by path, and borders are not always obvious.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hiking the Via Alpina – Questions / Answers |url=http://www.via-alpina.org/en/page/771/questions-answers#And_what_else_should_I_know_about_walking_in_the_Alps_ |access-date=May 31, 2020 |website=www.via-alpina.org |archive-date=August 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805111026/http://via-alpina.org/en/page/771/questions-answers#And_what_else_should_I_know_about_walking_in_the_Alps_ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Winter hiking==
{{Further|Winter backpacking}}
], ], U.S.]]
] (including ]) gives access to hiking trails in winter]]
Hiking in winter offers additional opportunities, challenges and hazards. ] may be needed in icy conditions, and an ] is recommended on steep, snow covered paths. ]s and ], or ] are useful aid for those hiking in deep snow.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-21 |title=Winter Hiking: What to Know Before You Go |url=https://appalachiantrail.org/explore/what-to-know-before-you-go/ |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=Appalachian Trail Conservancy |archive-date=2023-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131203606/https://appalachiantrail.org/explore/what-to-know-before-you-go/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cross country skiing is a form of winter hiking and in Norway the ] maintains over 400 huts stretching across thousands of kilometres of trails which hikers can use in the summer and skiers in the winter.<ref name="volken">{{Cite book |last1=Volken |first1=Martin |url=https://archive.org/details/backcountryskiin00volk/page/12 |title=Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering |last2=Schnell |first2=Scott |last3=Wheeler |first3=Margaret |date=2007 |publisher=Mountaineers Books |isbn=978-1-59485-038-7 |page= |access-date=2014-07-12}}</ref> For longer routes in snowy conditions, hikers may resort to ], using special skis and boots.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transport in, to and out of the backcountry – Snow Safety information |url=http://mountainacademy.salomon.com/en/demo/175/transport-in-to-and-out-of-the-backcountry |access-date=21 November 2020 |website=mountainacademy.salomon.com |language=en |archive-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129135011/http://mountainacademy.salomon.com/en/demo/175/transport-in-to-and-out-of-the-backcountry |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
*]
*]
*]
*]

===Types===
*]. And, in winter, ]
*] – hiking where a dog carries a pack
*] – fast hiking with light gear
*] – hiking on a glacier that has affinities to ]
*] – hiking where llamas accompany people
*] – fitness walking with ]
*] – a sport that combines hiking and swimming
*] – carrying the least amount of gear necessary
*]ing – hiking that explores waterfalls

===Related activities===
*] – hiking snow with the aid of skis
*] – the sport of running over rough mountainous ground, often off-trail
*] – an outdoor treasure-hunting game
*] – a sport that involves navigation with a map and compass
*] – ticking-off a list of mountain peaks climbed
*] – a journey of moral or spiritual significance
*] – a combination of trekking and climbing and sometimes swimming along a river
*] – a sport of long-distance cross-country navigation
*] – walking across deep snow on snow shoes
*] – hiking an established long-distance hiking trail continuously in one direction
*] – using signages to mark a hiking route (known as way-marking in Europe)
*] – running on trails

{{clear right}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Cite book |last=Amata |first=Joseph |title=On Foot, A History of Walking |publisher=New York University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780814705025 |location=New York}}
*{{Cite book |last=Berger |first=Karen |title=Great Hiking Trails of the World |publisher=Rizzoli |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-847-86093-7 |location=New York |author-link=Karen Berger (writer)}}
*{{Cite book |last=Chamberlin |first=Silas |title=On the Trail : A History of American Hiking |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2016}}
*{{Cite book |last=Doran |first=Jeffrey J. |title=Ramble On: How Hiking Became One of the Most Popular Outdoor Activities in the World |year=2023 |publisher=Amazon Digital Services LLC – Kdp |isbn=979-8373963923}}
*{{Cite book |last=Gros |first=Frédéric |title=A Philosophy of Walking |publisher=Verso |year=2014 |isbn=9781781682708 |location=London, New York |translator-last=Howe |translator-first=John}}
*{{Cite book |last=Solnit |first=Rebecca |title=Wanderlust: a history of walking |publisher=Viking |year=2000 |location=New York}}
{{EB1911|wstitle=Haller, Albrecht von}}


==External links== ==External links==
* *
{{sister bar|wikt=y|auto=1}}
*
{{Walking}}
*
{{Orienteering}}
]
{{Adventure travel}}
{{Physical exercise}}
{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 22:15, 7 January 2025

Walking as a hobby, sport, or leisure activity For other uses, see Hiking (sailing) and Backpacking (wilderness).
Hiking in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado
A hiker enjoying the view of the Alps

A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hiking" is the preferred term in Canada and the United States; the term "walking" is used in these regions for shorter, particularly urban walks. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the word "walking" describes all forms of walking, whether it is a walk in the park or backpacking in the Alps. The word hiking is also often used in the UK, along with rambling, hillwalking, and fell walking (a term mostly used for hillwalking in northern England). The term bushwalking is endemic to Australia, having been adopted by the Sydney Bush Walkers Club in 1927. In New Zealand a long, vigorous walk or hike is called tramping. It is a popular activity with numerous hiking organizations worldwide, and studies suggest that all forms of walking have health benefits.

Related terms

The Karhunkierros ("Bear's Round"), an 80 km (50 mi) long hiking trail through the Oulanka National Park in Kuusamo, Finland

In the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom, hiking means walking outdoors on a trail, or off trail, for recreational purposes. A day hike refers to a hike that can be completed in a single day. However, in the United Kingdom, the word walking is also used, as well as rambling, while walking in mountainous areas is called hillwalking. In Northern England, Including the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, fell walking describes hill or mountain walks, as fell is the common word for both features there.

Hiking sometimes involves bushwhacking and is sometimes referred to as such. This specifically refers to difficult walking through dense forest, undergrowth, or bushes where forward progress requires pushing vegetation aside. In extreme cases of bushwhacking, where the vegetation is so dense that human passage is impeded, a machete is used to clear a pathway. The Australian term bushwalking refers to both on and off-trail hiking. Common terms for hiking used by New Zealanders are tramping (particularly for overnight and longer trips), walking or bushwalking. Trekking is the preferred word used to describe multi-day hiking in the mountainous regions of India, Pakistan, Nepal, North America, South America, Iran, and the highlands of East Africa. Hiking a long-distance trail from end-to-end is also referred to as trekking and as thru-hiking in some places. In North America, multi-day hikes, usually with camping, are referred to as backpacking.

History

Hiking fashion, 11 July 1932

The poet Petrarch is frequently mentioned as an early example of someone hiking. Petrarch recounts that on April 26, 1336, with his brother and two servants, he climbed to the top of Mont Ventoux (1,912 meters (6,273 ft)), a feat which he undertook for recreation rather than necessity. The exploit is described in a celebrated letter addressed to his friend and confessor, the monk Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro, composed some time after the fact. However, some have suggested that Petrarch's climb was fictional.

Jakob Burckhardt, in The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (in German in 1860) declared Petrarch "a truly modern man", because of the significance of nature for his "receptive spirit"; even if he did not yet have the skill to describe nature. Petrarch's implication that he was the first to climb mountains for pleasure, and Burckhardt's insistence on Petrarch's sensitivity to nature have been often repeated since. There are also numerous references to Petrarch as an "alpinist", although Mont Ventoux is not a hard climb, and is not usually considered part of the Alps. This implicit claim of Petrarch and Burckhardt, that Petrarch was the first to climb a mountain for pleasure since antiquity, was disproven by Lynn Thorndike in 1943. Mount Ventoux was climbed by Jean Buridan, on his way to the papal court in Avignon before the year 1334, "in order to make some meteorological observations". There were ascents accomplished during the Middle Ages; Lynn Thorndike mentions that "a book on feeling for nature in Germany in the tenth and eleventh centuries, noted various ascents and descriptions of mountains from that period", and that "in the closing years of his life archbishop Anno II, Archbishop of Cologne (c. 1010 – 1075) climbed his beloved mountain oftener than usual".

Other early examples of individuals hiking or climbing mountains for pleasure include the Roman Emperor, Hadrian, who ascended Mount Etna during a return trip from Greece in 125 CE. In 1275, Peter III of Aragon claimed to have reached the summit of Pic du Canigou, a 9134-foot mountain located near the southern tip of France. The first ascent of any technical difficulty to be officially verified took place on June 26, 1492, when Antoine de Ville, a chamberlain and military engineer for Charles VIII, King of France, was ordered to ascend Mont Aiguille. Because ropes, ladders and iron hooks were used during the ascent, this event is widely recognized as being the birth of mountaineering. Conrad Gessner, a 16th Century physician, botanist and naturalist from Switzerland, is widely recognized as being the first person to hike and climb for sheer pleasure.

However, the idea of taking a walk in the countryside only really developed during the 18th century in Europe, and arose because of changing attitudes to the landscape and nature associated with the Romantic movement. In 1790 William Wordsworth set off on an extended tour of France, Switzerland, and Germany, which he describes in his autobiographical poem The Prelude (1850). Walking tours were popular in the 19th century, In earlier times walking generally indicated poverty and was also associated with vagrancy. In previous centuries long walks were undertaken as part of religious pilgrimages and this tradition continues throughout the world.

Pilgrimages

Further information: Category:Japanese pilgrimages

In earlier times people mainly hiked for practical reasons, or on religious pilgrimages. Numerous modern hiking trail follow such ancient routes. The British National Trail the North Downs Way closely follows that of the Pilgrims' Way to Canterbury.

The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

The ancient pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, has become more recently the source for a number of long-distance hiking routes. This is a network of pilgrims' ways leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Many follow its routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth.

The French Way is the most popular of the routes and runs from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles on the Spanish side and then another 780 kilometres (480 mi) on to Santiago de Compostela through the major cities of Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos and León. A typical walk on the Camino francés takes at least four weeks, allowing for one or two rest days on the way. Some travel the Camino on bicycle or on horseback. Paths from the cities of Tours, Vézelay, and Le Puy-en-Velay meet at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The French long-distance path GR 65 (of the Grande Randonnée network), is an important variant route of the old Christian pilgrimage way.

The Abraham Path is a cultural route believed to have been the path of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish patriarch Abraham's ancient journey across the Ancient Near East. The path was established in 2007 as a pilgrimage route between Urfa, Turkey, possibly his birthplace, and his final destination of the desert of Negev.

German-speaking world

The Swiss scientist and poet Albrecht von Haller's poem Die Alpen (1732) is an historically important early sign of an awakening appreciation of the mountains, though it is chiefly designed to contrast the simple and idyllic life of the inhabitants of the Alps with the corrupt and decadent existence of the dwellers in the plains.

Numerous travellers explored Europe on foot in the last third of the 18th century and recorded their experiences. A significant example is Johann Gottfried Seume, who set out on foot from Leipzig to Sicily in 1801, and returned to Leipzig via Paris after nine months.

United Kingdom

Claife Station, built at one of Thomas West's 'viewing stations', to allow visiting tourists and artists to better appreciate the picturesque Lake District, Cumbria, England.
Main articles: Walking in the United Kingdom and Walking in London

Thomas West, a Scottish priest, popularized the idea of walking for pleasure in his guide to the Lake District of 1778. In the introduction he wrote that he aimed

to encourage the taste of visiting the lakes by furnishing the traveller with a Guide; and for that purpose, the writer has here collected and laid before him, all the select stations and points of view, noticed by those authors who have last made the tour of the lakes, verified by his own repeated observations.

To this end he included various 'stations' or viewpoints around the lakes, from which tourists would be encouraged to enjoy the views in terms of their aesthetic qualities. Published in 1778 the book was a major success.

Map of Robert Louis Stevenson's walking route in the Cévennes, France, taken from Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879), a pioneering classic of outdoor literature.

Another famous early exponent of walking for pleasure was the English poet William Wordsworth. His famous poem Tintern Abbey was inspired by a visit to the Wye Valley made during a walking tour of Wales in 1798 with his sister Dorothy Wordsworth. Wordsworth's friend Coleridge was another keen walker and in the autumn of 1799, he and Wordsworth undertook a three-week tour of the Lake District. John Keats, who belonged to the next generation of Romantic poets began, in June 1818, a walking tour of Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District with his friend Charles Armitage Brown.

More and more people undertook walking tours through the 19th century, of which the most famous is probably Robert Louis Stevenson's journey through the Cévennes in France with a donkey, recorded in his Travels with a Donkey (1879). Stevenson also published in 1876 his famous essay "Walking Tours". The subgenre of travel writing produced many classics in the subsequent 20th century. An early American example of a book that describes an extended walking tour is naturalist John Muir's A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf (1916), a posthumously published account of a long botanizing walk, undertaken in 1867.

Due to industrialisation in England, people began to migrate to the cities where living standards were often cramped and unsanitary. They would escape the confines of the city by rambling about in the countryside. However, the land in England, particularly around the urban areas of Manchester and Sheffield, was privately owned and trespass was illegal. Rambling clubs soon sprang up in the north and began politically campaigning for the legal 'right to roam'. One of the first such clubs was 'Sunday Tramps' founded by Leslie White in 1879. The first national grouping, the Federation of Rambling Clubs, was formed in London in 1905 and was heavily patronized by the peerage.

Access to Mountains bills, that would have legislated the public's 'right to roam' across some private land, were periodically presented to Parliament from 1884 to 1932 without success. Finally, in 1932, the Rambler's Right Movement organized a mass trespass on Kinder Scout in Derbyshire. Despite attempts on the part of the police to prevent the trespass from going ahead, it was successfully achieved due to massive publicity. However, the Mountain Access Bill that was passed in 1939 was opposed by many walkers' organizations, including The Ramblers, who felt that it did not sufficiently protect their rights, and it was eventually repealed.

The effort to improve access led after World War II to the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, and in 1951 to the creation of the first national park in the UK, the Peak District National Park. The establishment of this and similar national parks helped to improve access for all outdoors enthusiasts. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 considerably extended the right to roam in England and Wales.

United States

Thoreau walked 34 miles (55 km) to Mount Wachusett, shown here.
Further information: Category:Hiking in the United States

An early example of an interest in hiking in the United States is Abel Crawford and his son Ethan's clearing of a trail to the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire in 1819. This 8.5-mile path is the oldest continually used hiking trail in the United States. The influence of British and European Romanticism reached North America through the transcendentalist movement, and both Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) and Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) were important influences on the outdoors movement in North America. Thoreau's writing on nature and on walking include the posthumously published "Walking" (1862)". His earlier essay "A Walk to Wachusett" (1842) describes a four-day walking tour Thoreau took with a companion from Concord, Massachusetts to the summit of Mount Wachusett, Princeton, Massachusetts and back. Established in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club has the distinction of being the oldest hiking club in America. It was founded to protect the trails and mountains in the northeastern United States. Prior to its founding, four other hiking clubs had already been established in America. This included the very short-lived (first) Rocky Mountain Club in 1875, the White Mountain Club of Portland in 1873, the Alpine Club of Williamstown in 1863, and the Exploring Circle, which was established by four men from Lynn, Massachusetts in 1850. Although not a hiking club in the same sense as the clubs that would emerge later, the National Park Service recognizes the Exploring Circle as being "the first hiking club in New England." All four of these clubs would disband within a few years of their founding.

Despite clubs such as the Appalachian Mountain Club, hiking during the early twentieth century was still primarily in New England, San Francisco, and the Pacific Northwest. Eventually, there were similar clubs formed in the Midwest and following the Appalachian range. As interest grew hiking culture was spread throughout the nation.

The Scottish-born, American naturalist John Muir (1838 –1914), was another important early advocate of the preservation of wilderness in the United States. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired others, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large areas of undeveloped countryside. He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks". In 1916, the National Park Service was created to protect national parks and monuments.

In 1921, Benton MacKaye, a forester, conceived the idea of what would become America's first National Scenic Trail, the Appalachian trail (AT). The AT was completed in August 1937, running from Maine to Georgia. The Pacific Crest Trail ("PCT") was first explored in the 1930s by the YMCA hiking groups and was eventually registered as a complete border to border trail from Mexico to Canada.

Destinations

Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
The King Talal Dam in Jerash lies along the Jordan Trail in Jordan
Youth hiking in Israel
Further information: Long distance path, Category:National parks, and Category:Hiking trails in Europe

National parks are often important hiking destinations, such as National Parks of England and Wales; of Canada; of New Zealand, of South Africa, etc.

Frequently, nowadays long-distance hikes (walking tours) are undertaken along long-distance paths, including the National Trails in England and Wales, the Kungsleden (Sweden) and the National Trail System in the United States. The Grande Randonnée (France), Grote Routepaden, or Lange-afstand-wandelpaden (The Netherlands), Grande Rota (Portugal), Gran Recorrido (Spain) is a network of long-distance footpaths in Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. There are extensive networks in other European countries of long-distance trails, as well as in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, and to a lesser extent other Asiatic countries, like Turkey, Israel, and Jordan. In the Alps of Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy walking tours can be made from 'hut-to-hut', using an extensive system of mountain huts.

In the late 20th-century, there has been a proliferation of official and unofficial long-distance routes, which mean that hikers now are more likely to refer to using a long-distance way (Britain), trail (US), The Grande Randonnée (France), etc., than setting out on a walking tour. Early examples of long-distance paths include the Appalachian Trail in the US and the Pennine Way in Britain.

Organized hiking clubs emerged in Europe at approximately the same time as official hiking trails. These clubs established and upheld their own paths during the 19th and 20th centuries, prioritizing the development of extended hiking routes. In 1938, one of the first long-distance hiking trails in Europe, the Hungarian National Blue Trail, was established, stretching approximately 62 miles (100 km).

Asia

Further information: Category:Hiking trails in Asia by country
A hiker at the Goecha La Trek, in West Sikkim district of Sikkim.

In the Middle East, the Jordan Trail is a 650 km (400 miles) long hiking trail in Jordan established in 2015 by the Jordan Trail Association. And Israel has been described as "a trekker's paradise" with over 9,656 km (6,000 miles) of trails.

In southwestern Turkey the Lycian Way is a marked long-distance trail around part of the coast of ancient Lycia. It is over 500 km (310 mi) in length and stretches from Hisarönü (Ovacık), near Fethiye, to Geyikbayırı in Konyaaltı about 20 km (12 mi) from Antalya. It was conceived by Briton Kate Clow, who lives in Turkey. It takes its name from the ancient civilization, which once ruled the area.

The Great Himalaya Trail is a route across the Himalayas. The original concept of the trail was to establish a single long distance trekking trail from the east end to the west end of Nepal that includes a total of roughly 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi) of path. The proposed trail will link together a range of the less explored tourism destinations of Nepal's mountain region.

Latin America

Further information: Category:Hiking trails in South America

In Latin America, Peru and Chile are important hiking destinations. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru is very popular and a permit is required. The longest hiking trail in Chile is the informal 3,000 km (1,850 mi) Greater Patagonia Trail that was created by a non-governmental initiative.

Africa

Further information: Category:Hiking trails in Africa

In Africa a major trekking destination is Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania, which is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest single free-standing mountain in the world: 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level and about 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) above its plateau base.

According to the Kilimanjaro National Park Authority, 467,190 travelers visited Mount Kilimanjaro between 2013 and 2022, with over 45,000 climbers recorded in 2023.

Equipment

Main article: Hiking equipment
Backpacks are commonly used on hikes

The equipment required depends on a variety of factors, such as terrain, climate and time of year. Hikers have traditionally worn sturdy hiking boots for stability, however, in recent decades this has become less common. Boots, however, are still common in mountainous terrain. The Mountaineers club recommends a list of "Ten Essentials" equipment for hiking, including a compass, sunglasses, sunscreen, a head lamp, a first aid kit, a fire starter, and a knife. Other recommend items are a hat, gloves, and an emergency blanket. A GPS navigation device can also be helpful and trekking poles are also recommended, especially when carrying a heavy backpack.

Environmental impact

Parts of many hiking trails around Lake Mohonk, New York State, US, include stairways which can prevent erosion

Natural environments are often fragile and may be accidentally damaged and some species are very sensitive to the presence of humans, especially around mating season. Many hikers adopt the philosophy of Leave No Trace, following strict practices on dealing with food waste, and other impacts on the environment. Fire is a particular source of danger.

Etiquette

Main article: Trail ethics

Because hikers may come into conflict with other users of the land or may harm the natural environment, hiking etiquette has developed.

  • When two groups of hikers meet on a steep trail, a custom has developed in some areas whereby the group moving uphill has the right-of-way.
  • Various organizations recommend that hikers generally avoid making loud sounds, such as shouting or loud conversation, playing music, or the use of mobile phones. However, in bear country, hikers use intentional noise-making as a safety precaution to avoid startling bears.
  • The Leave No Trace movement offers a set of guidelines for low-impact hiking: "Leave nothing but footprints. Take nothing but photos. Kill nothing but time. Keep nothing but memories".
  • Hikers are advised not to feed wild animals, because they will become a danger to other hikers if they become habituated to human food, and may have to be killed, or relocated.
  • Hikers are advised to verify whether tour operators adhere to fair treatment practices for their support crews, including providing proper wages and working conditions for porters.

Hazards

Further information: Hazards of outdoor recreation, Survival skills, and Sure-footedness
Hiking on an arête, Ötztal Alps, Austria; an example of a hiking route that involves sure-footedness, and a head for heights

Hiking can be hazardous because of terrain, inclement weather, potential to get lost, or pre-existing medical conditions. The dangerous circumstances hikers can face include specific accidents or physical ailments. It is especially hazardous in high mountains, crossing rivers and glaciers, and when there is snow and ice. At times hiking may involve scrambling, as well as the use of ropes, ice axes and crampons and the skill to properly use them.

Potential hazards involving physical ailments may include dehydration, frostbite, hypothermia, sunburn, sunstroke, or diarrhea, and such injuries as ankle sprains, or broken bones. Hypothermia is a danger for all hikers and especially inexperienced hikers. Weather does not need to be very cold to be dangerous since ordinary rain or mist has a strong cooling effect. In high mountains a further danger is altitude sickness. This typically occurs only above 2,500 metres (8,000 ft), though some are affected at lower altitudes. Risk factors include a prior episode of altitude sickness, a high degree of activity, and a rapid increase in elevation.

Other threats include attacks by animals (e.g., bears, snakes, and insects such as ticks that carry Lyme) or contact with noxious plants (e.g., poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac. Lightning is also a threat, especially on high ground.

Walkers in high mountains may encounter hazardous snow and ice conditions. Year round glaciers are potentially hazardous. The crossing of rivers may be dangerous and requires special techniques.

Border crossings

Borders can be poorly marked and in 2009, Iran imprisoned three Americans for hiking across the Iran-Iraq border. It is illegal to cross into the US on the Pacific Crest Trail from Canada. Going south to north it is more straightforward and a crossing can be made, if advanced arrangements are made with Canada Border Services. Within the Schengen Area, which includes most of the E.U., and associated nations like Switzerland and Norway, there are no impediments to crossing by path, and borders are not always obvious.

Winter hiking

Further information: Winter backpacking
Snowshoers in Bryce Canyon, Utah, U.S.
Cross-country skiing (including Ski touring) gives access to hiking trails in winter

Hiking in winter offers additional opportunities, challenges and hazards. Crampons may be needed in icy conditions, and an ice ax is recommended on steep, snow covered paths. Snowshoes and hiking poles, or cross country skis are useful aid for those hiking in deep snow.

Cross country skiing is a form of winter hiking and in Norway the Norwegian Trekking Association maintains over 400 huts stretching across thousands of kilometres of trails which hikers can use in the summer and skiers in the winter. For longer routes in snowy conditions, hikers may resort to ski touring, using special skis and boots.

See also

Types

Related activities

  • Cross-country skiing – hiking snow with the aid of skis
  • Fell running – the sport of running over rough mountainous ground, often off-trail
  • Geocaching – an outdoor treasure-hunting game
  • Orienteering – a sport that involves navigation with a map and compass
  • Peak bagging – ticking-off a list of mountain peaks climbed
  • Pilgrimage – a journey of moral or spiritual significance
  • River trekking – a combination of trekking and climbing and sometimes swimming along a river
  • Rogaining – a sport of long-distance cross-country navigation
  • Snow shoeing – walking across deep snow on snow shoes
  • Thru-hiking – hiking an established long-distance hiking trail continuously in one direction
  • Trail blazing – using signages to mark a hiking route (known as way-marking in Europe)
  • Trail running – running on trails

References

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Bibliography

  • Amata, Joseph (2004). On Foot, A History of Walking. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 9780814705025. See summary of contents
  • Berger, Karen (2017). Great Hiking Trails of the World. New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 978-0-847-86093-7.
  • Chamberlin, Silas (2016). On the Trail : A History of American Hiking. Yale University Press.
  • Doran, Jeffrey J. (2023). Ramble On: How Hiking Became One of the Most Popular Outdoor Activities in the World. Amazon Digital Services LLC – Kdp. ISBN 979-8373963923.
  • Gros, Frédéric (2014). A Philosophy of Walking. Translated by Howe, John. London, New York: Verso. ISBN 9781781682708.
  • Solnit, Rebecca (2000). Wanderlust: a history of walking. New York: Viking.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Haller, Albrecht von". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

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