Hiking: A Great Recreational Activity

Hiking means taking a long walk in the countryside, usually for pleasure or for exercise. In other words, hiking can be defined simply as walking for recreational purposes. In hiking, the journey is more important than the destination. Hiking could be your average Sunday walk through the park or it could be a week-long expedition through the mountains of Murree.

In North America, the term ‘hiking’ is used for long energetic walks, usually on trails in the countryside, while the word walking is used for shorter particularly urban walks. On the other hand, in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the term walking is used to describe all forms of walking, whether it is a walk in the park or backpacking in the Alps. The word hiking is also sometimes used in the UK along with rambling, hill-walking and fell-walking. In New Zealand, a long vigorous walk or hike is called tramping.

The idea of undertaking a walk through the countryside for pleasure developed in the 18^th century, and arose because of changing attitudes to landscape and nature, associated with the Romantic Movement (artistic, literary and intellectual movement). Thomas West, an English clergyman, popularized the idea of walking for pleasure in his guide to the Lake District of 1778. Another famous early exponent of walking for pleasure was the English poet William Wordsworth. In 1790 he embarked on an extended tour of France, Switzerland and Germany, a journey subsequently recorded in his 1850 long autobiographical poem “The Prelude“.

When people think about hiking, they mostly think of nature; the great outdoors, a backpack and a tent. For most people, hiking is an escape back to nature and a great way to get a good workout while forgetting all about the day to day hassles of city life.

Hiking is also considered to be very good for health. It can help adults in improving cardio-respiratory fitness (heart, lungs and blood vessels), enhancing muscular fitness, minimizing the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, and by reducing the risk of high blood pressure and type 2 Diabetes.

However, there are a few potential threats against which precautions must be taken during hiking. Diarrhea, for example, has been found to be one of the most common illnesses afflicting long-distance hikers worldwide. Noxious plants that cause rashes can also be particularly worrisome. Such plants include poison oak, poison ivy, poison sumac and stinging nettles. Other dangers include becoming lost, inclement weather, hazardous terrain or exacerbation of pre-existing medical conditions. Additional potential hazards are dehydration, hypothermia, frostbite, sunburn, sunstroke, and attacks by animals, including snakes or injuries such as ankle sprains or broken bones.

TRAVEL DESK.