Are you a hiker or a walker?

[trecile]

I think about this occasionally when friends invite me for a hike, but the hiking spot is an hour or more drive away, meaning that we would spend more time in the car than on the trail. I usually decline these invitations. While I like to walk and hike, I'm really more interested when I have a destination to walk to, even just around my own town. There are plenty of hiking spots within a half hour of my house, and I'm happy to meet my friends to hike nearby, but I'm not a "hardcore" hiker who is always looking for a new trail.

Anyone else?

 

[J Willhaus]

I think about this occasionally when friends invite me for a hike, but the hiking spot is an hour or more drive away, meaning that we would spend more time in the car than on the trail. I usually decline these invitations. While I like to walk and hike, I'm really more interested when I have a destination to walk to, even just around my own town. There are plenty of hiking spots within a half hour of my house, and I'm happy to meet my friends to hike nearby, but I'm not a "hardcore" hiker who is always looking for a new trail.

Anyone else?

Both, I walk to work every day as long as the weather permits. On weekends we go to the mountains about 45 minutes away and hike. In the winter we snowshoe if the weather isn't terrible. Of course we often take the same trails or routes and we usually finish our hike with a cup of hot cider or cocoa. In warmer weather we bring our gas grill and make a picnic after the hiking.

When I can't walk to work I take the bus to the gym and walk indoors on the track stopping to do a different exercise every lap or so.

 

[Bradypus]

What is the distinction between the two?

 

[J Willhaus]

What is the distinction between the two?

To me hiking usually involves some form of wilderness, national, or state park or established trailhead and trail. Walking for me is getting somewhere without driving or taking transit. I can also "go for a walk" for exercise. I go on a hike to be in nature although by default I am getting exercise, too.

 

[Bradypus]

To me hiking usually involves some form of wilderness, national, or state park or established trailhead and trail.

Thank you. I think that there may be different shades of meaning between US and British English usage. We do use the term "hiking" occasionally but I'm not convinced that it is so clearly distinguished from "walking" in British usage as your definition would imply. Back home in Scotland I might sometimes spend a week away from roads, carrying a backpack with food and equipment, wild camping overnight, fording rivers and visiting the summit of hills over 1000m. But we would still call that "hillwalking".

 

[edandjoan]

What is the distinction between the two?

The shoes?

 

[dougfitz]

I think about this occasionally when friends invite me for a hike, but the hiking spot is an hour or more drive away, meaning that we would spend more time in the car than on the trail. I usually decline these invitations. While I like to walk and hike, I'm really more interested when I have a destination to walk to, even just around my own town. There are plenty of hiking spots within a half hour of my house, and I'm happy to meet my friends to hike nearby, but I'm not a "hardcore" hiker who is always looking for a new trail.

Anyone else?

You don't offer much to go on here, and what you do use to make a distinction doesn't appear to be used in formal definitions of the two terms.

I do like the first set of definitions for walker from Merriam-Webster. I think I have been the first and third examples at some stage or another, although whether I have escorted some socially prominent women rather than a friend who needed a handbag for an evening is moot. As for hiker, the significant distinction appears to be that one walks in the countryside. There seems to be no suggestion that one is always searching for novelty.

On the basis of the formal definitions, I think I am both.

Might I ask what purpose there is to attempting to create such distinctions here? I don't see how this engages in the purpose of the forum, or the more general matter of pilgrimage. It might not have the attraction of engaging in the pilgrim vs tourist discussion, but it appears no different functionally to create what might be artificial distinctions between classes of members. It seems to me that these are the sorts of distinctions that end up being reasons for discrimination, rather than understanding.

 

[J Willhaus]

I think that many people who are accustomed to hiking in the US often initially associate the Camino with hiking the Appalachian or Pacific Crest trails. They imagine it as a wilderness form of hiking where a tent, stove, etc may be needed. At least at first that was what I thought. I pack differently for a hike, a walk, and a Camino.

 

[C clearly]

I'm not convinced that it is so clearly distinguished from "walking" in British usage as your definition would imply.

The distinction may not exist in British usage, perhaps partly because of the difference in physical environment. However, in North America, the distinction is real. "Hiking" implies a more strenuous effort and terrain, usually involving uphills, and away from populated areas! That often involves transporting oneself to a starting point, so "a hike" becomes only a portion of the day's excursion.

I am like @trecile in that I rarely hike, but I walk a lot. That is an interesting difference that some people might not understand if they haven't been on a pilgrimage or long-distance walk that is not in the wilderness. Certain sections of the various Caminos could be considered "hikes" but as an overall package for a pilgrimage, the term seems inappropriate. When newcomers from North America refer to hiking the Camino, it does grate a little, but I think we should be tolerant.

If non-North-Americans don't understand the distinction, that is fine - they can ignore it.

 

[dougfitz]

I pack differently for a hike, a walk, and a Camino.

This illustrates the concern I expressed earlier that trying to create artificial distinctions between two different types of people is unhelpful. I think any informed analysis would suggest that hiking and walking the Camino are subsets of a more general class activity, ie walking. Effectively, all hikers are walkers, and all those walking the Camino are, surprise, surprise, walkers too. There may be walkers who don't do either of these things, such as walk around their neighbourhood or go to a town park to walk, but that doesn't make them any less a walker.

I would also suggest that, under any definition of hiking as a long distance walk, especially in the countryside, those of us who undertake our pilgrimages on foot are hikers. Adding attributes such that one has to be through walking one of the long distance US (or other) trails seems just a little perverse to me, and a quite unnecessary distraction from informed discussion about this.

 

[Bradypus]

If non-North-Americans don't understand the distinction, that is fine - they can ignore it.

The posts above have clarified the distinction for me. Thank you for that. But I will probably continue to think of myself first and foremost as a walker no matter which type of path I happen to be treading.

 

[ranthr]

I am lucky to live in a place where I can go outside my door and start walking as far as I want, in the wilderness or on a local path, skiing or walking, I´m a walker.

 

[C clearly]

two different types of people

One can be both a hiker and a walker at different times, but one might prefer one over the other. If I go on a hike, which I don't often do, then I am a hiker. If my focus is on getting from point A to point B on foot on a nice path that isn't in the wilderness, then I am going for a walk and I am a walker. Perhaps the wording of the title was puzzling to some people, but I certainly understood it.

On a hike, one needs to be thinking about the physical terrain, hazards, and where to step next. On a walk, one's mind can usually wander.

I will probably continue to think of myself first and foremost as a walker no matter which type of path I happen to be treading.

That's fine. I do too, because I seek out the walking experience but not the hiking part so much.

It doesn't need to be viewed as a sensitive topic.

 

[trecile]

The distinction may not exist in British usage, perhaps partly because of the difference in physical environment. However, in North America, the distinction is real. "Hiking" implies a more strenuous effort and terrain, usually involving uphills, and away from populated areas! That often involves transporting oneself to a starting point, so "a hike" becomes only a portion of the day's excursion.

I am like @trecile in that I rarely hike, but I walk a lot. That is an interesting difference that some people might not understand if they haven't been on a pilgrimage or long-distance walk that is not in the wilderness. Certain sections of the various Caminos could be considered "hikes" but as an overall package for a pilgrimage, the term seems inappropriate. When newcomers from North America refer to hiking the Camino, it does grate a little, but I think we should be tolerant

One can be both a hiker and a walker at different times, but one might prefer one over the other. If I go on a hike, which I don't often do, then I am a hiker. If my focus is on getting from point A to point B on foot on a nice path that isn't in the wilderness, then I am going for a walk and I am a walker. Perhaps the wording of the title was puzzling to some people, but I certainly understood it.

Thank you for describing the difference better than I could.

 

[alexwalker]

One can be both a hiker and a walker at different times, but one might prefer one over the other. If I go on a hike, which I don't often do, then I am a hiker. If my focus is on getting from point A to point B on foot on a nice path that isn't in the wilderness, then I am going for a walk and I am a walker. Perhaps the wording of the title was puzzling to some people, but I certainly understood it.

Agree. I have done both. Many times.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I consider myself more of a walker as I can head out my front door and be in the country within minutes. It is a flat "rails to trails" eight mile path, so is definitely a waking path for me. In our National parks in the US, mostly in the Rockies, I see myself as a hiker, even when only going for a few hours.
On the Caminos I am a walker, even when there are sometimes rather steep ascents and descents to navigate.
Overall though, I think it is a subjective question, as there are definitions of both types.

 

[Anamiri]

In NZ, we use the term 'tramping', as a term for hiking. That would normally be a multi day hike in bush or other 'wild' trails, where you have to take food, cooking and sleeping gear with you. Reasonably hard-core.
A lot of our multi day trails, have 'huts' that can be booked through the Department of Conservation sites, which are usually rudimentary buildings allowing for multiple people to sleep on bunks or the floor.
We would term walking the PCT or AT tramping, not hiking.

I think of a walk, as just that, no 'serious' gear, maybe a small backpack with water for me and a dog. As in walk out my door, down to the village, and continue on for an hour or so, before returning home. Maybe coffee is involved, sometimes a swim. It might even be social, as in meeting other people, having a chat. It does involve comfortable shoes, clothes and a jacket (just in case). Sometimes a walk is an alternative to other transport. Definitely not hardcore, but sometimes might take me all day.
.

 

[J Willhaus]

In NZ, we use the term 'tramping', as a term for hiking. That would normally be a multi day hike in bush or other 'wild' trails, where you have to take food, cooking and sleeping gear with you. Reasonably hard-core.
A lot of our multi day trails, have 'huts' that can be booked through the Department of Conservation sites, which are usually rudimentary buildings allowing for multiple people to sleep on bunks or the floor.
We would term walking the PCT or AP tramping, not hiking.

I think of a walk, as just that, no 'serious' gear, maybe a small backpack with water for me and a dog. As in walk out my door, down to the village, and continue on for an hour or so, before returning home. Maybe coffee is involved, sometimes a swim. It might even be social, as in meeting other people, having a chat. It does involve comfortable shoes, clothes and a jacket (just in case). Sometimes a walk is an alternative to other transport. Definitely not hardcore, but sometimes might take me all day.
.

I have also heard the term "bushwalking" when we were in Australia. Is that a term used in New Zealand as well? I have heard from friends that the hiking or tramping in New Zealand is very beautiful.

 

[Anamiri]

I have also heard the term "bushwalking" when we were in Australia. Is that a term used in New Zealand as well? I have heard from friends that the hiking or tramping in New Zealand is very beautiful.

I think locals would use the word 'tramping', but brochures aimed at visitors would use the word bushwalking. We do have a number of nice one day walks, that make it easier for someone without all the gear, so if you visited and only have tourist gear, you can still enjoy getting out on beautiful trails. Of course if you visit, I'd be happy to take you out to some of my favourites.

We also have a number of people who turn up unprepared, get lost, and need 'Search and Rescue', so I would suggest taking a basic amount of gear, just in case.
Some of the really well known tracks have busloads of tourists who come seriously unprepared and with language issues, so I think that does illustrate that people have different understandings of the words 'walk' and 'hike'.
Walking the Tongariro Crossing, is a good example of that. The last time I walked that, I saw people getting on the bus (you get dropped at the beginning and picked up at the end) wearing flimsy sandals. It involves walking up a mountain, down a scree slope, and then down through bush to the end. Thinking they would change into something more appropriate when they starting walking, I saw them set out in essentially light dress sandals and sneakers. I saw ladies weeping on the side of the scree slope in their inappropriate sandals.

 

[Marc S.]

I guess I am a walker. For the simple reason there are no hiking trails where I live.

Fwiw. The words walker and hiker do no translate well in my language.

In Dutch, lopen refers to the physical act of putting one foot in front of the other.
Wandelen means : lopen for leisure purpose.
We have no equivalent word for hiking. (in German there isn't either I think - I am not sure about other languages).

 

[DoughnutANZ]

No, in general Kiwi's don't use the term bush walking but many would understand it because we often use the term "bush" to describe the forest and wild country.

 

[malingerer]

No, in general Kiwi's don't use the term bush walking but many would understand it because we often use the term "bush" to describe the forest and wild country.

Alas to all of you! One more serious fall this year has me finished walking so I am neither hiker or walker. I now have to use a four wheeled walker due to my incurable balance disorder. It was a sad wrench when I had to give away my beloved Pacer poles! They have gone to a good friend so they will be used. I had to laff thinking of giving away my Meindl boots in Spain, earlier this year. Guess what? I found my old ones and my tootsies are delighted especially in the rotten weather we are experiencing. I think my love dove is secretly relieved and now we can remain young at heart and using trains and buses to tootle on! Walk soft, stay safe, and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I went for a tramp yesterday, it was the Omanawanui track in the Waitakere Regional Park. As @trecile described, it is just over an hour's drive from my house and involves a start and end point (loop track).

It wasn't a long tramp but it was steep! Involving a chain set in the rock outcrop at one point that is used to steady yourself as you clamber up the outcrop and down the other side. It also has 2,420 steps built into the trail to help make it more accessible.

Today and last night my quadriceps are complaining!

Interestingly, it was the most diverse group of people that I have ever tramped with and I had been considering posting about it on the diversity thread. It seems that getting out and about in nature has universal appeal and that perhaps it is the institutions that have traditionally catered to the people attracted to these activities that are not attractive to new arrivals.

Anyway, I also enjoy both hiking and walking.

 

[Tincatinker]

I’m a walker. Down to the chemists (Douglas Adams reference there for the initiates) or from Winchester to Canterbury; Irun to Santiago; San Vincente to Potes to Leon. I walk, and I watch the world as it unfurls around me. Hiking sounds, to me, like some sort of sporting activity or what the survivors and avoiders of the First enormous.?!; up did in the 20’s & 30’s. Anyway, my gran told me “walk. That’s what we do.” So that’s what I do

 

[lalaone]

As runners, my parents and their group of friends shared common activities where we tagged along: marathons; hikes on the Appalachian Trail (we did portions as a family and as a group, but an 80-year-old friend of my parents did the full thru-hike from Maine to Florida); “fun runs;” city walks that were called “Volksmarch,” where you received pretty seasonal patches, almost like a sello. Today, our younger friends tend to do triathalons or “Tough Mudders” in the city – much more extreme physically.

I was a clumsy kid, always tripping over my laces. Running was not my thing. Hiking was awkward too.

It took the Camino Frances to realize the similarities and differences between walking, running, and hiking. Walking…ambling…rambling…was a HUGE revelation. Walking was something I could do! Running or hiking, no, but I had more confidence in both by the end of pilgrimage. Seeds of those different activities grew the one I love best, walking! It would be hard to distinguish them now.

 

[dougfitz]

I have also heard the term "bushwalking" when we were in Australia. Is that a term used in New Zealand as well? I have heard from friends that the hiking or tramping in New Zealand is very beautiful.

The term appears to have been coined in the early 20th C in Australia. In broad terms, the Aotearoa New Zealand equivalent word is tramping, and many of my Kiwi friends hold fast to that word even when they have been in Australia for some time.

 

[SabsP]

I guess I am a walker. For the simple reason there are no hiking trails where I live.

Fwiw. The words walker and hiker do no translate well in my language.

In Dutch, lopen refers to the physical act of putting one foot in front of the other.
Wandelen means : lopen for leisure purpose.
We have no equivalent word for hiking. (in German there isn't either I think - I am not sure about other languages).

And even only the Dutch in the Netherlands. I remember a Dutch friend asking me, when I would start another Camino : " Ga je de Camino weer lopen? " . To us Flemish people lopen equals jogging or running .

 

[JabbaPapa]

Anyone else?

There's also rambling.

I'd say all of us are walkers anyway, just that hiking, rambling, bushwalking, and so on are particular forms of it.

 

[markie6]

FWIW I always thought that if I was taking my shelter with me ( my tent) then I was going on a hike.

Not sure if that makes me a True Hiker or not ?


Runners and joggers probably have similar problems

 

[Kirkie]

Interesting angles. Context is key, is it not? In camino parlance, I think of walk. In walking in other contexts, I see from posts above that it depends on the local or national setting. I confess openly to a resistance to calling any walking on a Camino (note the capital) a hike.
Hiking to me recalls the song I love to go a wandering along a mountain track...
I am a very late convert to walking, but in my local context, hillwalking was the descriptor. In real life, people just walked. For many that was the mode of transport!
All the schools in the town took part in a performance in the town hall when I was just a tot, and I have never forgotten singing this...there are many versions, but I prefer the childrens' voices. Apostrophe is in the correct place, by the way.

 

[Bradypus]

On a slight tangent on the vocabulary we use. Does anyone else wince or shake their head when someone describes walking from SJPDP to Roncesvalles as "climbing the Pyrenees"?

 

[Tincatinker]

On a slight tangent on the vocabulary we use. Does anyone else wince or shake their head when someone describes walking from SJPDP to Roncesvalles as "climbing the Pyrenees"?

Oh yes! The Somport crossing perhaps though even that would be better described as climbing “through”

 

[CTLawGal]

Trecile, thanks for this post! I, too, have thought about this and have found the discussion very interesting, especially how language can shape our perceptions. Very thought provoking.

I, too, consider myself a walker, not a hiker - I just like to walk, mostly locally from my house without having to drive somewhere to get started, but also at least once/week I do drive to a local nature preserve to walk on trails in nature and get more elevation - my pace is slower there than walking on roads because of uneven surfaces and having to pick my way up and down rocky or wet areas. I usually walk about 12 miles, usually at least 5-6 hours, so it feels worth the drive (walking locally, a 12-miler would be more like a 4 hour commitment). I would do it more often if I lived closer to open areas (admit I'm a little jealous of the posters who have this!), because I don't enjoy having to drive 30 minutes to get there and get back in the car when I'm done. I haven't really been tempted to drive farther for other places - I mostly explore "new" places on trips to other states or countries (New Zealand is next, Feb 2024 walking trip on South Island!).

I've never really thought of what I do as "hiking", that in my mind conjures up something more challenging in terms of gear and more technical or otherwise challenging trails - definitely not on local streets, ha!

I live in hilly Connecticut, in a town where there's not a lot of heavy car traffic, town center about 3 miles away, and a NY town 4 miles in the other direction, but I seldom walk to a "destination" or run errands, I just walk one of several loops and return home, 4-12 miles, depending, rarely stopping - there's something very satisfying about feeling the miles accumulate, watching the seasons change, and just plain moving. It's not like being in nature, but it is beautiful here in all seasons and enough variety that I enjoy it, and one of the reasons I think I was attracted to walking the Camino - can't wait to go back!

 

[WalkingInGers]

That part of CT is really beautiful and wild.

 

[LTfit]

Thank you. I think that there may be different shades of meaning between US and British English usage. We do use the term "hiking" occasionally but I'm not convinced that it is so clearly distinguished from "walking" in British usage as your definition would imply. Back home in Scotland I might sometimes spend a week away from roads, carrying a backpack with food and equipment, wild camping overnight, fording rivers and visiting the summit of hills over 1000m. But we would still call that "hillwalking".

Last year I walked in Nepal (definitely hiking!) with a group of British, Welsh and Scotsmen who used the term hill walking. I became familiar with that term before that when reading the Salt Path and subsequent books.

Living in The Netherlands and under sea level I would never use the term hiking, walking fits this terrain the best. As I have often mentioned, where I live near the coast, the biggest elevation gain I can make is about 40 meters when walking up and down a dune onto the beach. I'm always surprised at how well I walk/hike in the mountains (up 5,500 meters in Nepal) given that I never train there.

 

[WalkingInGers]

I would equate walking with moving one’s body on a relatively flat and short surface while hiking, IMHO, would have to do with duration and various different terrain.

 

[Rmarkob]

When I describe the Camino to American friends who aren't familiar with "pilgrimage", I initially refer to it as a "hike" because I'm carrying a backpack and using trekking poles and that's what they're most familiar with (there's a word I haven't heard so far in this discussion - "trek"). But the Camino is less of a "hike" than the day-hikes I do once a week or more on sections the Appalachian Trail which borders my house in Pennsylvania, near the half-way point. As others have described, it's more rugged than the Camino and is mostly a wooded, mountainous venture. It's also the easiest way for me to get some distance walking in my area without confronting vehicle traffic.

I spent 11 days on the Chemin St. Jacques/Via Podiensis in May, from Le Puy en Velay to just past Conques. It was during the French public holiday (Ascension Thursday, 18 May 2023) and many people made it into a 4 or 5 day or week-long holiday (lodging was extremely full!). Since the Chemin mostly follows the GR65 (or vice versa?), many of the people I spoke with were simply walking/hiking/trekking for recreational purposes and didn't consider themselves on a pilgrimage.

 

[Bradypus]

Last year I walked in Nepal (definitely hiking!) with a group of British, Welsh and Scotsmen who used the term hill walking.

As a student in Scotland I was a member of the university mountaineering club. Fairly evenly split between hillwalkers like myself and climbers. We would usually use a wild campsite or a remote bothy some way from sealed roads as a base for the weekend. Carrying in all our equipment and supplies. Can't recall ever hearing anyone use the term "hiking" though from earlier posts that is clearly what we were doing in practice. One more example of "two nations divided by a common language"!

 

[ShoshTrvls]

I'm an American and definitely feel and understand a difference between hiking and walking, but not so much about whether there is a destination as much as (a) location and (b) required level of effort. "Hiking" to me means being in a natural environment (but not necessarily outside of a City -- here in Philadelphia, our Fairmount Park has 2,000 acres of outstanding woodlands, trails, and hills) and tackling some steeper elevations and descents. "Walking" can be done anywhere (I walk 4 - 6 miles at a time in Center City Philadelphia, but also on a flat wide trail in Fairmount Park), is more leisurely, and generally not as strenuous.

I used to be a hiker -- the Inca Trail, the Atlas Mountains, the Anapurna range, all hikes. Now, I'm definitely a walker. While I do have some walks that I return to time and time again, mostly because of convenience, I also look at AllTrails all the time to seek out new places to walk.

 

[Jan Runkel]

I think about this occasionally when friends invite me for a hike, but the hiking spot is an hour or more drive away, meaning that we would spend more time in the car than on the trail. I usually decline these invitations. While I like to walk and hike, I'm really more interested when I have a destination to walk to, even just around my own town. There are plenty of hiking spots within a half hour of my house, and I'm happy to meet my friends to hike nearby, but I'm not a "hardcore" hiker who is always looking for a new trail.

Anyone else?

Agree! I walk in my neighborhood and hike in the mountains nearby. And I don't want to spend more time driving than hiking, either!! I'm very happy with the hikes near me and not always looking for new or harder trails.

 

[HoosierOldLady]

I am both a hiker and a walker and this distinction played a huge role in how my first Camino (May-June 2023) evolved.

I have done a lot of solo and not-solo backpacking in various US locations. I love it. But I also walk a lot just around town. I love solitude. I knew that the Caminos are ancient pilgrimage paths, but also that some are more remote and mountainous than others. So (using lots of resources on this forum and with help from many here) I decided to walk from Logroño to León on the CF and then take the San Salvador to Oviedo and then the Primitivo to Santiago. Solitude and mountains, that was my plan! Early in my journey, I even met two other solo female pilgrims with the same plan. I was vindicated!

I soon discovered that in order to make my plan work and reach Santiago with time to continue to Muxia, I needed to keep the pace, but I found that I wasn't taking as much time as I really wanted to take pictures of flowers (I'm a retired botanist) or just sit in a bar and watch the pilgrims go by.

Then, in Sahagún, at Albergue de la Santa Cruz, I was attending a mass in English (my Spanish is good enough to catch the gist of a homily but not the details) and the priest said "The Camino is a pilgrimage, not a hike." His words hit me like a ton of bricks. I was trying to make my Camino into a hike. I was trying to convince myself that the lesser-trod paths with lots of elevation and solitude were preferable to the most popular, well-traveled, well-accommodated CF.

And even though I had previously told many people that the CF was not the way for me, I changed my plans, and continued on the CF.

By not taking the other route, I had plenty of time to slow my pace, take short days, and enjoy the long Spanish afternoons writing in my journal and watching the world go by. And I found so. much solitude. Except for the few days after Sarria. And even then, much of most days, I was able to see no one ahead and no one behind me. I walked into Santiago about ten a.m. and there were only three other pilgrims in sight!

So for me, there is a real distinction between hiking and walking. I allowed the Camino to show me how to let it all unfold and let go of my preconceived plans, and that has made all the difference.

 

[kmrice]

Calvin Fletcher, for many of us older North Americans the godfather of hiking/backpacking/camping, titled his book The Complete Walker. He did remarkably challenging wilderness walks, including walking (some rafting) the entire length of the Colorado River from its source to the Gulf of Mexico. To him, the walking was the point. Everything else, camping, equipment, whatever, was just what it took to allow him to walk. Fifty five years after first reading his book, I feel the same way. The Camino goes over mountains, has long stretches that are as flat as Kansas, and has stages running through cities; it’s all walking.

Trying to explain to our friends what we’ve been doing every summer for ten years now can be complicated. To say we hike in Europe has them assuming we camp out, which we don’t. To say we backpack in France, Spain and Italy suggests to many we are normal tourists who use packs instead of suitcases, which we really aren’t.

The term I like best for long distance walking which does not involve camping is trekking, but when I use that, most of our friends have no idea what I’m talking about.

With all due respect, I don’t think this is about labeling or judging; I think it’s an interesting discussion about language and how tricky it can be to explain what we do to those who have never done it.

 

[HikingGeo]

You don't offer much to go on here, and what you do use to make a distinction doesn't appear to be used in formal definitions of the two terms.

I do like the first set of definitions for walker from Merriam-Webster. I think I have been the first and third examples at some stage or another, although whether I have escorted some socially prominent women rather than a friend who needed a handbag for an evening is moot. As for hiker, the significant distinction appears to be that one walks in the countryside. There seems to be no suggestion that one is always searching for novelty.

On the basis of the formal definitions, I think I am both.

Might I ask what purpose there is to attempting to create such distinctions here? I don't see how this engages in the purpose of the forum, or the more general matter of pilgrimage. It might not have the attraction of engaging in the pilgrim vs tourist discussion, but it appears no different functionally to create what might be artificial distinctions between classes of members. It seems to me that these are the sorts of distinctions that end up being reasons for discrimination, rather than understanding.

To me, it seems like your response is a case of way overthinking the topic. Trecile, in my opinion, was simply offering a light and even fun topic for discussion. I doubt that the topic could or would result in discrmination any more than would a discussion about whether one uses the term hiking poles, hiking sticks, trekking poles, walking sticks, etc. If the purpose of the forum is limited only to technical and logistical topics, then so be it. In that case, I guess I am out of touch.

 

[Kirkie]

And even only the Dutch in the Netherlands. I remember a Dutch friend asking me, when I would start another Camino : " Ga je de Camino weer lopen? " . To us Flemish people lopen equals jogging or running .

Lope in English... surely connected!

 

[Peregrinopaul]

I defer to Tom Avery: "We're all just going for a long walk".

 

[Bradypus]

Lope in English... surely connected!

And "antelope" originally meant any animal which had not yet become bipedal?

 

[Desert Bruce]

I am a walker, I've walked several Caminos. When I go into the nearby National Park to spend time on the trails or the hills I'm a hiker. I've had this discussion with myself many times on Camino.

• "Walking is the only exercise you don't have to be good at to enjoy." - Mark Twain

 

[Kirkie]

And "antelope" originally meant any animal which had not yet become bipedal?

And Penelope has four syllables. Why was antelope only gifted three?

 

[El Cascayal]

On a hike, one needs to be thinking about the physical terrain, hazards, and where to step next. On a walk, one's mind can usually wander.

At my age, then, every walk is a hike!

 

[Rex]

I am lucky to live in a place where I can go outside my door and start walking as far as I want, in the wilderness or on a local path, skiing or walking, I´m a walker.

View attachment 160947

View attachment 160948

Me too... never thought about it, but we are indeed very lucky if we live in such places. Happy walking...er, Been Camino.

 

[M2ME]

We live in an age of inflation in all things. What was once a cold is very often referred to as flu despite the absence of symptoms beyond feeling poorly. In much the same way walking has become hiking despite the absence of real obstacles. For me hiking involves challenging terrain where a map and compass are indispensable. There may be a track but it’s not gravel paths laid out by the local authorities. It’s being gone long enough and far enough to need a backpack to carry your food and shelter. There are no nice cafe con lèche stops unless you’re making it yourself. All that being said walking a Camino is not a stroll or an evening constitutional. So as Kirkie said context is key. My easy is another’s challenging, but I know hiking when I see it.

 

[dougfitz]

On a slight tangent on the vocabulary we use. Does anyone else wince or shake their head when someone describes walking from SJPDP to Roncesvalles as "climbing the Pyrenees"?

Yes, but perhaps not for the same reason as someone who engaged in mountaineering might. I regular talk about climbing local mountains, and I have climbed mountains elsewhere, that do not require technical climbing skills to summit. But I would talk about climbing, for example, Mount Kilimanjaro, as a specific summit, and not the mountain range (and yes, I do know that Mount Kilimanjaro is an isolated volcanic peak, and not really part of a mountain range).

I would refer to having crossed the Pyrenees, or perhaps to walking in the Pyrenees, but I don't think I would use a phrase like climbing in the Pyrenees. To me, that would carry with it the implication of undertaking activities that did involve technical climbing with the associated skills and additional equipment requirements.

 

[wynrich]

Twice a week, my husband and I drive 12 minutes to the foothills of the mountains near our city (Albuquerque, NM, USA). We hike for a couple of hours (and call it "hiking"). Other days we just walk around our neighborhood to get some exercise (and call it "walking"). But whether walking or hiking, my husband carries a 25 pound backpack and we have learned that is called "rucking".

 

[MassNative]

What is the distinction between the two?

IMHO, none.

 

[backpack45]

The distinction may not exist in British usage, perhaps partly because of the difference in physical environment. However, in North America, the distinction is real. "Hiking" implies a more strenuous effort and terrain, usually involving uphills, and away from populated areas! That often involves transporting oneself to a starting point, so "a hike" becomes only a portion of the day's excursion.

I am like @trecile in that I rarely hike, but I walk a lot. That is an interesting difference that some people might not understand if they haven't been on a pilgrimage or long-distance walk that is not in the wilderness. Certain sections of the various Caminos could be considered "hikes" but as an overall package for a pilgrimage, the term seems inappropriate. When newcomers from North America refer to hiking the Camino, it does grate a little, but I think we should be tolerant.

If non-North-Americans don't understand the distinction, that is fine - they can ignore it.

I think we should do more than be tolerant because it's a very positive thing that people are (as my book "Walk, Hike, Saunter: Seasoned Women Share Tales and Trails" indicates) out there being active no matter their age/level of fitness, etc.. As you said, there are parts of the Camino Frances that would qualify as "hikes" (over the mountains, etc.) and there are places one could call "walks" like through Leon, etc. And on many, if not most, of the other Camino routes (especially carrying a backpack) there are definitely stretches with challenging terrain and fewer accommodations.

Even the distinction of walking from your front door or driving to a trailhead is not really a reliable standard. I have favorite places to walk or hike near me -- sometimes I start from home and sometimes I drive to the trailhead. Starting from home, therefore, is a longer hike/walk.

The distinctions have always eluded me too. Sometimes which I am doing is obvious to me. When doing the Pacific Crest Trail, I had no question about what to call it, but when I climb a steep hill near me...??? Does it matter if I am doing it alone, or with friends and waiting for someone to catch up (or vice versa)?

Some sources define a walk according to certain standards -- paved or unpaved, speed, etc. Thanks for the enjoyable conversation!

 

[Blue Tang]

Are you a hiker or a walker?
Those of you who’ve appreciated this thread may be rewarded further by reading David Rompf’s Walking with Thoreau: A Review Essay, linked here: https://www.harvardreview.org/content/walking-with-thoreau/

I have not read Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau by Ben Shattuck (Tin House, 2022), but Rompf’s essay about the book is articulate and rich with copious associations related to walking and its intentions and purposes. Its reading may be the café con leche many of us enjoy in mornings on The Camino.

Upon first reading @Trecile’s original post, my thought was, for me, it is the intention that distinguishes whether I am a walker or a hiker. In the context of Rompf’s essay, I think I am a walker even when I am hiking or backpacking. My intention found in each endeavor is similar, i.e., with all senses, to embrace my surroundings, and, in doing so, lighten, at least temporarily, physical and psychological freight and infuse my being with new beginnings.

To further pique your interest, I offer part of Rompf’s opening and closing—

“The longest single walkable distance on Earth is a little more than fourteen thousand miles, between Cape Town, South Africa, and the Russian port city of Magadan on the Sea of Okhotsk. [***] The epigraph for Six Walks is a definition: ‘Footstep (‘fóot, step): A step taken by a person in walking, especially as heard by another.’ In these pages we hear an echo across time, terrain, and imagination: Thoreau rustling in the distance as Shattuck moves forward with his life. You might read this book because you’re a fan of Thoreau, or because you’re an ardent walker and nature-lover....”

—and his shortened excerpt from Thoreau’s Walden Pond:

"Now I yearn for one of those old, meandering, dry, uninhabited roads, which lead away from towns, which lead us away from temptation, which conduct to the outside of earth, over its uppermost crust, where you may forget in what country you are travelling; where no farmer can complain that you are treading down his grass [ … ] along which you may travel like a pilgrim, going nowhither; where travellers are not too often to be met; where my spirit is free; where the walls and fences are not cared for; where your head is more in heaven than your feet are on earth [ … ] where travellers have no occasion to stop, but pass along and leave you to your thoughts; where it makes no odds which way you face, whether you are going or coming, whether it is morning or evening, mid-noon or midnight [ … ] where you can walk and think with the least obstruction, there being nothing to measure progress by; where you can pace when your breast is full, and cherish your moodiness [ … ] by which you may go to the uttermost parts of the earth.
[ … ] There I can walk and stalk and pace and plod. [ … ] That’s a road I can travel [ … ] There I can walk, and recover the lost child that I am without any ringing of a bell [ … ] There I have freedom in my thought, and in my soul am free."

 

[PProffitt]

I think about this occasionally when friends invite me for a hike, but the hiking spot is an hour or more drive away, meaning that we would spend more time in the car than on the trail. I usually decline these invitations. While I like to walk and hike, I'm really more interested when I have a destination to walk to, even just around my own town. There are plenty of hiking spots within a half hour of my house, and I'm happy to meet my friends to hike nearby, but I'm not a "hardcore" hiker who is always looking for a new trail.

Anyone else?

I am a walking Perigrino...!!!!!
Buen Camino

 

[Anamiri]

; where your head is more in heaven than your feet are on earth[ … ]

What wonderful words

 

[M2ME]

Are you a hiker or a walker?
Those of you who’ve appreciated this thread may be rewarded further by reading David Rompf’s Walking with Thoreau: A Review Essay, linked here: https://www.harvardreview.org/content/walking-with-thoreau/

I have not read Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau by Ben Shattuck (Tin House, 2022), but Rompf’s essay about the book is articulate and rich with copious associations related to walking and its intentions and purposes. Its reading may be the café con leche many of us enjoy in mornings on The Camino.

Upon first reading @Trecile’s original post, my thought was, for me, it is the intention that distinguishes whether I am a walker or a hiker. In the context of Rompf’s essay, I think I am a walker even when I am hiking or backpacking. My intention found in each endeavor is similar, i.e., with all senses, to embrace my surroundings, and, in doing so, lighten, at least temporarily, physical and psychological freight and infuse my being with new beginnings.

To further pique your interest, I offer part of Rompf’s opening and closing—

“The longest single walkable distance on Earth is a little more than fourteen thousand miles, between Cape Town, South Africa, and the Russian port city of Magadan on the Sea of Okhotsk. [***] The epigraph for Six Walks is a definition: ‘Footstep (‘fóot, step): A step taken by a person in walking, especially as heard by another.’ In these pages we hear an echo across time, terrain, and imagination: Thoreau rustling in the distance as Shattuck moves forward with his life. You might read this book because you’re a fan of Thoreau, or because you’re an ardent walker and nature-lover....”

—and his shortened excerpt from Thoreau’s Walden Pond:

"Now I yearn for one of those old, meandering, dry, uninhabited roads, which lead away from towns, which lead us away from temptation, which conduct to the outside of earth, over its uppermost crust, where you may forget in what country you are travelling; where no farmer can complain that you are treading down his grass [ … ] along which you may travel like a pilgrim, going nowhither; where travellers are not too often to be met; where my spirit is free; where the walls and fences are not cared for; where your head is more in heaven than your feet are on earth[ … ] where travellers have no occasion to stop, but pass along and leave you to your thoughts; where it makes no odds which way you face, whether you are going or coming, whether it is morning or evening, mid-noon or midnight [ … ] where you can walk and think with the least obstruction, there being nothing to measure progress by; where you can pace when your breast is full, and cherish your moodiness [ … ] by which you may go to the uttermost parts of the earth.
[ … ] There I can walk and stalk and pace and plod. [ … ] That’s a road I can travel [ … ] There I can walk, and recover the lost child that I am without any ringing of a bell [ … ] There I have freedom in my thought, and in my soul am free."

In Walden he wrote that he wanted “to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.” All the while having his mother do his laundry!

 

[Paul McAmino]

On a hike, one needs to be thinking about the physical terrain, hazards, and where to step next. On a walk, one's mind can usually wander.

This, it seems to me, hits the difference. Though one’s mind may wander on a hike, otherworldly contemplation can be very unsafe in the mountains where I live. Camino walking lends itself to contemplation on one channel, and on another there is a general awareness of surroundings in order to stay on course. Usually there is not much of a technical component to the walking, save a few downhills on the Francés, for example, or a slippery or flooded surface.
I walk and I hike, and, though the difference is blurry, I know which is which.
All the best,
Paul

 

[Blue Tang]

In Walden he wrote that he wanted “to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.” All the while having his mother do his laundry!

Enjoyed the humor, but, humor aside, Thoreau's laundry has been a topic of serious discussion. See, the short essay, linked here:
https://austinkleon.com/2019/08/30/thoreaus-laundry/

 

[JustJack]

Might I ask what purpose there is to attempting to create such distinctions here?

The purpose is to elicit thoughts and opinions from others, like all questions posted here.

The OP can correct me if I’m wrong.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

The difference between a walk and a hike has kept me thinking, too much so to easily write about it. I was thinking of commenting on @trecile's not traveling too far to walk but considered off topic. With Thoreau making an appearance here now I'm going for it because Walden Pond was (and is) going to be brought up.

Our daily walks at home are an hour long because Peg's hips hurt (when someplace special, like the mountains, they're longer). I'd like to go further but I don't feel a drive that is as long as the walk is worth it. For example, a loop around Walden Pond would take an hour but the trip there and back is about the same. Occasionally we get there and walk a bit. Going home Peg drives and I walk.

Now an aside on Thoreau. We live in sight of the Concord River and I've often imagined the Thoreau brothers rowing by on their week trip on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers. Since reading the book The Boatman about Thoreau I also have visions of him on ice skates with his coat spread open sailing down the frozen river. Now you can't unsee it either.

 

[M2ME]

Enjoyed the humor, but, humor aside, Thoreau's laundry has been a topic of serious discussion. See, the short essay, linked here:

https://austinkleon.com/2019/08/30/thoreaus-laundry/

I am glad you saw the humour. I have plenty of time for the transcendentalists in particular their ideas on intuition. No one likes to think their idiols have feet of clay. It doesn’t make them bad just a little more human.

 

[Richard Smith]

What is the distinction between the two?

My Garmin watch has exercise categories including Walking and Hiking, and I have never been in doubt as to which one to use.
But when I try to define the difference in response to this post it is not so easy.
Best I can offer is that for me Hiking compared to Walking usually involves (or often involves)
1. Carrying a pack (day pack or multi-day pack) with water, food or snack, and some extra clothing
2. Is in a natural or wilderness area
3. Has a destination or route and requires some awareness of where you are.

But there is lots of cross-over. I have "hiked" my local section of bush in flip-flops with a day pack with water and some fruit to eat and "walked" to the local shops in trail runners, backpack and returned with 10 Kgs of shopping.

 

[Rita Flower]

I have also heard the term "bushwalking" when we were in Australia. Is that a term used in New Zealand as well? I have heard from friends that the hiking or tramping in New Zealand is very beautiful.

Thanks @trecile . I think it is good to clarify different language use as it relates to the Camino.
In Australia we 'walk' anywhere that is in a town like setting e.g I live in Sydney and walk along the Goolay'Yari (Cooks River) just near my home - I can walk 10 km in each direction. Or I do the Coast Walk - Bondi, Bronte, Coogee and more. How blessed!
A 'bush walk' can be anything from a short walk in wilderness to a multi day adventure in the outback. e.g I would have to drive 1 hour up to the Blue Mountains to do a bush walk.
I searched 'hiking in Australia' and found various 'tracks' and 'walks'. I think we are more likely to 'walk' or 'do' or 'go on' the Larapinta Trail rather than 'hike' it.
While some sections of the Camino could easily fall into the hiking, bush walking, tramping category, these sections are relatively short and the Camino is mainly 'a long walk' as my Camino buddy describes it.

 

[Kirkie]

I think about this occasionally when friends invite me for a hike, but the hiking spot is an hour or more drive away, meaning that we would spend more time in the car than on the trail. I usually decline these invitations. While I like to walk and hike, I'm really more interested when I have a destination to walk to, even just around my own town. There are plenty of hiking spots within a half hour of my house, and I'm happy to meet my friends to hike nearby, but I'm not a "hardcore" hiker who is always looking for a new trail.

Anyone else?

My final look into this thread. Walk, hike, trek, tramp, hop, scoot... en fin, I go on pilgrimage. Amen punto! Thanks to Op and it is amazing the thread has survived this long! Buen Camino everyone.

 

[Kathar1na]

I think it is good to clarify different language use as it relates to the Camino.

If I may say so: @trecile did not frame her question as a question about words for moving along a Camino in Spain although I guess this was on her mind, too, when she asked the question, and posters did of course draw parallels in their replies.

I think we are more likely to 'walk' or 'do' or 'go on' the Larapinta Trail rather than 'hike' it.

I had always been vaguely aware of the difference between AE and BE as to the use of hiking vs walking and that BE also has rambling (like in the name of the well-known Ramblers Association) although I rarely hear it in everyday use. The thread is about the use and meaning of these verbs in the various versions of English, and rightly so. But like other non-native speakers I've been thinking about equivalent words in languages I am familiar with such as German, French and Dutch. I have felt for a long time that the words wandern, randonner and wandelen don't have a 1 to 1 equivalence in English. The cultural context and associations cannot be translated by a single word. I usually use hike and walk when I speak or write in English, and avoid do and go in Camino talk because I've noticed that it is frowned upon while hacer el Camino, faire le chemin de Compostelle and den Jakobsweg gehen are generally accepted without criticism in their respective languages I think

the hiking, bush walking, tramping category

I have a better idea now what these words mean in their countries. Although I always see people cutting their way through the jungle with a machete when I see bushwalking and you may guess what I visualise when I see tramping: the English verb to tramp found its way into German: trampen, pronounced as either trampen or trämpen, means hitchhiking.

 

[Kathar1na]

Why is it that the word peregrinate is not used more commonly in English? The German pilgern is commonly used for both going on a pilgrimage and for walk a longer distance at a leisurely pace, i.e. simply walk (to anywhere and for any purpose but not particularly fast or with unusually demanding physical effort).

 

[woody66]

Defo a walker; i do ramble a lot but that's more to do with my mental state !!!

 

[Bradypus]

Why is it that the word peregrinate is not used more commonly in English?

Perhaps because the word has overtones of flapping wings, talons, and high speed collisions with pigeons? Also the given name "Peregrine" has a distinctly PG Wodehouse flavour about it in the UK.

PS: A small piece of wildlife trivia. The world's second largest fish is known as the basking shark in English but tiburón peregrino in Spanish. Are the UK ones significantly more lazy than their southern relatives?

 

[Joynz]

I have also heard the term "bushwalking" when we were in Australia. Is that a term used in New Zealand as well? I have heard from friends that the hiking or tramping in New Zealand is very beautiful.

I’m a Kiwi who lives in Australia. When in NZ I call it ‘tramping’ (being out in the bush with a tent and camping stove and walking from place to place) and in Australia I call the same thing ’bushwalking’. The French Camino, at least, is neither tramping or bushwalking - it’s definitely walking.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I have a better idea now what these words mean in their countries. Although I always see people cutting their way through the jungle with a machete when I see bushwalking

Besides bushwalking there is also bushwhacking. This might just be a North American term though. It is a word that you should more strongly associate with a machete than bushwalking as it is supposed to envision whacking the bushes to get through them. The word is used to indicate getting off the trail to find your way to the destination by following streams, using map and compass, etc.

 

[David Tallan]

I think about this occasionally when friends invite me for a hike, but the hiking spot is an hour or more drive away, meaning that we would spend more time in the car than on the trail. I usually decline these invitations. While I like to walk and hike, I'm really more interested when I have a destination to walk to, even just around my own town. There are plenty of hiking spots within a half hour of my house, and I'm happy to meet my friends to hike nearby, but I'm not a "hardcore" hiker who is always looking for a new trail.

Anyone else?

We were visiting some friends (a couple) yesterday playing board games and the topic of walking and hiking came up. She said he could never do a Camino because he isn't a walker. He's always looking for a place to sit. He isn't capable of walking long distances. Now this is a postal worker who spent years as a carrier carrying heavy bags of mail walking for hours and hours on end. He said he's happy to go on hikes. He just likes solid walking/hiking, rather than those walks (like in shopping malls) where you are stopping as much as walking. Different people have different styles of walking/hiking that they prefer. Some like wilderness, others are happy walking in populated places. Some like a technical challenge, some like a stroll. Many people find getting up and walking easier with a purpose: it could be seeing somewhere new or a technical challenge (like the "'hardcore' hikers looking for a new trail" you reference); it could be getting to somewhere you need to be; it could be succeeding at a game like Pokemon Go or Geocaching. I've found I like to walk while listening to Spanish to increase my skills in that area. It keeps my body busy freeing up my mind to concentrate more easily on what I am listening to. I also like to walk with groups, both for the social aspect, staying in shape, and seeing parts of town I might not be familiar with.

 

[David Tallan]

Also the given name "Peregrine" has a distinctly PG Wodehouse flavour about it in the UK.

You say that like it's a bad thing. (Says the guy who may have as many P.G. Wodehouse books as he has Camino books.)

 

[Bradypus]

You say that like it's a bad thing. (Says the guy who may have as many P.G. Wodehouse books as he has Camino books.)

Try growing up with the given name "Roland" in central Scotland in the 1960s and 70s. One of the small consolations was that it could have been worse. I was named after my grandfather and not my great-uncle Herbert. The more exotic options that Plum offered like Marmaduke and Augustus and Hildebrand hardly bear thinking about...

 

[David Tallan]

This illustrates the concern I expressed earlier that trying to create artificial distinctions between two different types of people is unhelpful. I think any informed analysis would suggest that hiking and walking the Camino are subsets of a more general class activity, ie walking. Effectively, all hikers are walkers, and all those walking the Camino are, surprise, surprise, walkers too. There may be walkers who don't do either of these things, such as walk around their neighbourhood or go to a town park to walk, but that doesn't make them any less a walker.

I would also suggest that, under any definition of hiking as a long distance walk, especially in the countryside, those of us who undertake our pilgrimages on foot are hikers. Adding attributes such that one has to be through walking one of the long distance US (or other) trails seems just a little perverse to me, and a quite unnecessary distraction from informed discussion about this.

I think the distinction between the activities of going for a walk and hiking (as made at least in North America) is a valid one and pertinent to the subject matter of the Forums. Some people may like one, some may like the other, some certainly like both. The fact that some like both doesn't make the distinction irrelevant, nor does the fact that both activities can be seen as subsets of the broader activity "walking".

On the one hand there is the matter of expectations. We've seen people on the forums who come to the Camino after doing the big North American hikes expecting something similar and who are very disappointed that they aren't in the wilderness on a technically challenging routes but walking on country roads between farmers' fields. Keeping the distinction in mind and knowing what kind of walk they can expect can reduce that kind of disappointment. As well, we often see people asking what kind of tent they should bring, etc. Knowing what kind of activity you are undertaking can help with the preparations.

As well, knowing what kind of activity you prefer can help to choose amongst the different Caminos that are available. Some are much more like going for a (long) walk. Others are more like going hiking. If you have a preference for one over the other that can help choose your route.

 

[David Tallan]

And Penelope has four syllables. Why was antelope only gifted three?

It only has three? ;-)

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Try growing up with the given name "Roland" in central Scotland

Yes, but trilling the R like a true Scottish accent is fun.

 

[KiwiJohn]

I went for a tramp yesterday, it was the Omanawanui track in the Waitakere Regional Park. As @trecile described, it is just over an hour's drive from my house and involves a start and end point (loop track).

It wasn't a long tramp but it was steep! Involving a chain set in the rock outcrop at one point that is used to steady yourself as you clamber up the outcrop and down the other side. It also has 2,420 steps built into the trail to help make it more accessible.

Today and last night my quadriceps are complaining!

Interestingly, it was the most diverse group of people that I have ever tramped with and I had been considering posting about it on the diversity thread. It seems that getting out and about in nature has universal appeal and that perhaps it is the institutions that have traditionally catered to the people attracted to these activities that are not attractive to new arrivals.

Anyway, I also enjoy both hiking and walking.

Walking out the door from my home in Levin NZ to the Tararuas is 4km, then the 'hiking' begins.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

I have just spent a solid half hour devouring this thread. Thank you @trecile!

As a Kiwi who has spent far too long away from home, I use at least four of the terms mentioned above. (Ignoring the alternative languages.)
In New Zealand I used to:
1/ walk ( in town or on local 'walkways' - very civilised, just a water bottle and perhaps a rain jacket and a snack or two.
2/ go hiking. Day trip, definitely involved driving to and fro. Most definitely in the countryside / bush, some attention to surroundings (and weather) highly advised, fairly good footwear, Lunch and plenty of water, rain jacket etc. all required. Paths always well marked but sometimes pretty damn rough.
3/ go tramping. Multi day trip, involving lots of gear, food etc. Compass highly advised. Scrambling ( just short of Climbing) sometimes required. Path well marked but sometimes physically non-existent other than the markers. ( Lesser walked trails). Boots advised.
4/ go Bush wacking. As per tramping but harder. Machete most definitely involved. Did this in Canada twice too. Generally to locate /redefine/ mark out a previously existing trail or create a new connection to same. Boots and Compass essential!

Actually, when I was in Scotland (ancestral home) I went hill walking too - but that's really rather irrelevant, now I'm just rambling on ....

 

[Tincatinker]

I can think, remember, several hundred songs about walking, from “As I walked out one mid-summers morning”; “As I walked over Salisbury Plain..”; “I walked a while with my own true sweetheart..”; “Walk-in’ to New Orleans..”; “She walks in beauty, like the night…”. Beggared if I can think of one about hiking

 

[Bradypus]

Beggared if I can think of one about hiking

Too out of breath and worried about map reading and snakes to put pen to paper?

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I can think, remember, several hundred songs about walking …”. Beggared if I can think of one about hiking

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

Love this thread. Thanks to @trecile for starting it.
I am definitely a walker who finds myself occasionally on hiking terrain. I like to leave from my home to arrive somewhere... The rail trail that takes me to town, where I get a treat, sit by the lake... do a few things in town... maybe see some people.
The Portuguese deli across town when I'm in the city (which gives me a 16k round-trip mostly "ugly walk" through banal areas of an urban region, punctuated with green spaces that have paths through small wooded areas and along creeks, etc.).
The airport loop that gets me a diner lunch at the small airport and reminds me very much of arriving into Burgos... I purposely go the ugliest highway route that I can... and then the return trip is mostly along rivers and through green spaces on the edge of town.
Sometimes I walk 13 K on side roads to get to the best hamburger I know, and sit on the shores of *that* lake at the public dock, watching the birds, boaters and such...
A friend offers often enough for me to join her on the Bruce... but it's an ever further car trip to the trail head she wants to get to... and there's nothing at the end of the walk except to return to the parking lot we started from.
And sometimes I am specifically a pilgrimage walker, with a major destination and smaller ports of encouragement along the way.
I agree with @David Tallan that it is helpful to know these things about oneself if possible before becoming a disgruntled *hiker* who is annoyed by tarmac and industrial areas and troublesome human history all along the camino routes.
Oddly enough, I did go on my first camino as an avowed *cyclist* who would do almost anything to avoid the tedium of either walking or hiking. Suffice it to say I was changed...
Can't remember the last time I rode my bike...

 

[bellamira]

I think about this occasionally when friends invite me for a hike, but the hiking spot is an hour or more drive away, meaning that we would spend more time in the car than on the trail. I usually decline these invitations. While I like to walk and hike, I'm really more interested when I have a destination to walk to, even just around my own town. There are plenty of hiking spots within a half hour of my house, and I'm happy to meet my friends to hike nearby, but I'm not a "hardcore" hiker who is always looking for a new trail.

Anyone else?

100% with the sentiments of this one. The difference is subtle and difficult to articulate. When I mentioned to a colleague that I was doing the Camino next year her reply was: "Oh I didn't know you were into hiking!" (Was it my marshmallow physique that made her say that? ) Well no, I'm not "into hiking". I'm ridiculously out of shape and have started training for the Camino so now I DO go hiking as part of my training. But I'm not a hiker. Is everyone following? I didn't think it was that difficult to understand. But she was bewildered. "If you're not into hiking, why are you hiking the Camino?". Next question was - where is the Camino trailhead? Language is so interesting to me and the nuances and subtleties aren't for everyone, clearly!

Interesting topic.

 

[wynrich]

I can think, remember, several hundred songs about walking, from “As I walked out one mid-summers morning”; “As I walked over Salisbury Plain..”; “I walked a while with my own true sweetheart..”; “Walk-in’ to New Orleans..”; “She walks in beauty, like the night…”. Beggared if I can think of one about hiking

Here's one I've always liked, about hiking.

I love to go a-wandering,
Along the mountain track,
And as I go, I love to sing,
My knapsack on my back...

 

[dougfitz]

Here's one I've always liked, about hiking.

With not one mention of hiking!!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Are you a hiker or a walker?

I'm confused. I've been told to "Take a hike" but also to "Take a long walk on short pier".

 

[trecile]

100% with the sentiments of this one. The difference is subtle and difficult to articulate. When I mentioned to a colleague that I was doing the Camino next year her reply was: "Oh I didn't know you were into hiking!"

After I had completed two Caminos people started to ask me if I'm going to hike the PCT next. Ummm, no - the long distance hiking trails in the US are nothing like the village to village walking on the Camino. I love the Camino because it's not a wilderness hike. I'm not a camper, and I'm not interested in carrying all my food and water for a week or so, along with a tent and other camping equipment.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

After I had completed two Caminos people started to ask me if I'm going to hike the PCT next. Ummm, no - the long distance hiking trails in the US are nothing like the village to village walking on the Camino. I love the Camino because it's not a wilderness hike. I'm not a camper, and I'm not interested in carrying all my food and water for a week or so, along with a tent and other camping equipment.

I understand completely, it is one of the beauties of the Camino.

That said I would love to do the PCT, regretfully due to finances it's unlikely to happen. At an average of around $10,000 USD, plus of course getting there and back, it's getting a tad expensive.

Not that walking a comparable distance on the camino wouldn't be far off... .

 

[wynrich]

With not one mention of hiking!!

True. According to Wikipedia, the song was originally written in German and, I think translated into English by a Dutch woman. So, they might not use the word "hiking" as we do in the US. But the song perfectly describes hiking for us US-English speakers.

The Happy Wanderer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Icacos]

I'm not a camper, and I'm not interested in carrying all my food and water for a week or so, along with a tent and other camping equipment.

…. to say nothing about going without showers.

 

[TravellingMan22]

I understand completely, it is one of the beauties of the Camino.

That said I would love to do the PCT, regretfully due to finances it's unlikely to happen. At an average of around $10,000 USD, plus of course getting there and back, it's getting a tad expensive.

Not that walking a comparable distance on the camino wouldn't be far off... .

Out of interest (I doubt I will be doing it!), who quoted 10k, how many days etc, or did you work it out yourself?

 

[Damien Reynolds]

I too am both. For me the distinction is carrying a tent and food, or not. I love the physical challenge and culture associated with backpacking... carrying days worth of food in a bear can with a heavy backpack and having to set up a tent every night. I also love the pure, more social experience of walking the camino. The pack is lighter, the food is easier, the planning is less stressful, and there are warm showers every day.

So I just booked flights to Spain for a mid jan to end of February camino as a training hike for next challenge. The PCT. (Multiple times having hiked the JMT/HST).

 

[Damien Reynolds]

Out of interest (I doubt I will be doing it!), who quoted 10k, how many days etc, or did you work it out yourself?

As I'm preparing for it currently, estimates range from $6K to $12k, but that includes gear. I already have the gear.

 

[TravellingMan22]

O

As I'm preparing for it currently, estimates range from $6K to $12k, but that includes gear. I already have the gear.

Good man! Great stuff! Are you assuming 5 months? Including accommodation?

 

[Damien Reynolds]

Good man! Great stuff! Are you assuming 5 months? Including accommodation?

So like accommodation on the PCT is the house you carry on your back. Mostly. I am assuming 5 months.

 

[TravellingMan22]

So like accommodation on the PCT is the house you carry on your back. Mostly. I am assuming 5 months.

Ah ok! Yea of course. Different level altogether!! Will do some googling!!!

 

[J Willhaus]

There are some simple huts along the AT, I believe, but many just pitch a bivy or tent to avoid rodents and other pests that also have taken up residence in some of the shelters.