Hiking will always occupy a special place in my heart. And I don’t count hikes on flat terrain—those are for weaklings. Sure, one might plausibly call hiking on a mountain walking with extra steps (literally), but I would argue there is something special and distinct about hiking that sets it apart from a walk in the park. That being said, let’s explore what makes hiking so different from any other type of exercise one could do.
Hiking as Purgatory between Civilization and the Wild
I like to think of hiking as existing somewhere between civilization and pure wilderness. To hike is to place yourself between mountains, to walk a barely-paved path to get to a destination through a deliberately inefficient means. (Incidentally, this is roughly the definition that Bernard Suits gives for the idea of a “game”. More on that in another blog post.) For example, to get from Aberdeen to Wan Chai in Hong Kong Island, there are many routes that are not only faster, but more efficient (in terms of distance, energy expenditure, etc.). Not only that, some hikes are in fact circular, meaning you end up back where you started. What, then, could possibly be the point of hiking?
The answer, of course, is that hiking is not a means to an end, but an end in itself. Hiking forces you to be present, to be aware of your surroundings, lest you trip and fall flat on your face. This is the first part of what makes the experience so enchanting—for the briefest of moments, your mind forces you to forget everything else about your life, and one feels as though one is separate from the fabric of society itself; separate, in a state of nature, away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Are there any sports that make you feel as I do about hiking? Feel free to let me know at jakes-blog.selection732@silomails.com.