Hiking: Who, What, Where, and WHY?!?

No doubt you've been out in the woods a time or two and seen a man go racing past. Perhaps he was wearing a stylish-yet-useful hat. Maybe he was carrying a knapsack or satchel with some survival gear in it. Maybe you wondered to yourself just who that man is, what he was doing, where was he headed and most importantly WHY?!?

Well wonder no more my friends.

WHO?!?

A hiker is a man (or occasionaly a woman) who wanders out into the wilderness with nothing on his mind aside from walking. The first "hikers" (called "wandering idiots" back in the 1600's) were somewhat limited in where they could hike because there weren't quite as many trails as there are now. For the most part, hikers stuck to wandering in circles around their log cabins or teepees until a horse and buggy came along and left a trail for the hiker to follow.

WHAT?!?


A hike is the act of walking from point a. to point b. Sometimes point a to point f. Occasionally you might be walking from your home to the Pizza Hut. Native Americans would hop rather than walk whilst hiking. It wasn't uncommon in the old days to see thirty of fourty navajo Indians hopping in a single file line, hooping and hollering and waving their arms in the air. A hike is whatever you make it. For instance you could also skip. Or you could have a friend come along and you could wheel barrow each other around the forest. Many is the time that Wildman and I have done this...

WHERE?!?

A hike usually takes place in forest regions around our globe. However! the eskimos of Antartica often "hike" from their igloos to the Pacific Ocean to catch dolphins for food and clothing usage. In major cities you often see men and women in suits or fancy dresses wandering about, briefcase in hand, or cellphone to ear. This is also considered a hike. In major metropolitan areas people often say "yep! I just got done with my daily hike to work!".
Hiking is also the act of pulling something up. Such as "I hiked up my pants after a potty break in the wild".

WHY?!?

Speaking from experience, the driving motivation for hiking is usually serious emotional trauma...


Information compiled by: Indy