What is a hike?

What is the definition of a hike? This is a question I have been pondering for a while, being passionate about the outstanding nature of Ibiza and a walking/hiking guide myself. What is the difference or is there even one?

So I set off to do a bit of research. And here’s what I discovered:

Hiking is an old English word that has been around for centuries. If you’re curious about the origins of this word, it was originally used to describe travelling on foot through the countryside. This means that hiking has been around for ages, but it wasn’t always considered a sport or hobby—it started as just a way for people to get from point A to point B and was once considered a form of transportation in England.

Unlike a simple walk, hiking is usually considered to be long in distance, in the countryside or the great outdoors, involving uneven terrains and often long uphill and downhill sections. Hiking typically involves navigating through a hiking trail, whether in a local or national park, mountainous region, or hilly countryside.

Hiking is the activity of taking long, vigorous walks in nature for fun. Put on your hiking boots, pack a picnic, your water bottle and a map and start hiking up those hills and over those boulders!

Extended walking that includes steep gradients, longer distances at a good pace and perhaps something that increases your heart rate is a hike! You go on a hike for the hike’s sake, not to get to some place.

Both hiking and walking in nature are considered a recreational activity. Both are natural exercises that promote physical fitness, are economical and convenient, and require no special equipment, that is until you get the hiking bug and you start checking out all those specialist hiking stores!

Walking on the other hand, I discovered, is considered the basic activity of placing one step after the other. If you do this for any distance at a gentle pace and on easy terrain, you are on a walk. You might take a short walk to the shops or a gentle walk around the park, no hills!

Oh, and then there’s trekking! Don ́t get me started!