Nature is amazing. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but to see a beautiful, captivating landscape in person is even beyond pictures. To watch a sunrise on the Appalachian Trail or a sunset at the Grand Canyon is indescribable.
Hiking offers so much to those who are blessed to be able to hike. Almost everyone can hike to some capacity. The good news is that it doesn’t have to require the ability to hike 30-40 miles per day. Even folks who are physically challenged can participate in any number of hikes that are available in today’s world. Beautiful hikes, sometimes literally in your own backyard.
Not only can there be physicality (although there doesn’t have to be), but it is often rewarded with a peaceful serenity of being with nature, and often even stunning views.
You may have already figured out by now that one of our favorite things to do is hike. Hiking for us is a passion. We’ve hiked on almost every journey wherever we traveled, often planned as part of our trip). Locally we have found an almost infinite number of places close by. They offer the beauty of nature and a good number of them even have a historic component.
Hiking trails can be loops, out and back, point to point, or a combination. They can be flat or have significant elevation changes. For us, we’ve defined hiking into several categories:
Long trails
Hiking trails for 12 plus miles per day typically requires more effort, therefore it’s not short in timeor for the physically challenged. The West Rim Trail in Pennsylvania and the Pacific Crest Trail in California were both point to point, requiring special arrangements for our vehicle. For the WRT, we had someone move the car from the parking lot at the beginning to the parking lot at the end, 32 miles away. With the PCT, someone dropped us off and picked us up.
On longer trails, along the way can be “trail angels” where someone day hikes in (see description below) and leaves a cooler with drinks and snacks for “thru-hikers” to eat and drink.
Day hiking
More normal for us, it’s either a fun hike with something like a waterfall (Kilgore Falls), great expansive views (Appalachian Trail – Snicker’s Gap). Or maybe a challenging hike with vertical change (sometimes a half mile – like the Kuli’ou’ou Ridge Trail). “Trail angels” are volunteers who provide assistance thru-hikers (hiking for days on end). They often use smaller trails to connect to larger/longer trails, bringing a cooler with them. The cooler is stocked with food and drink (sometimes even beer!) for the thru hikers. They have a log to keep track of who’s been there. It is free if one has no money. However, it is proper to at least sign the log and if you have money, leave some to replenish supplies.
Suburban hiking
In the last decade or so, more and more developments and municipalities have incorporated trail systems as part of subdivisions/towns (either by requirement or purposely providing additional amenities). They often tie into other similar trails, creating a network of trails that can easily stretch well beyond dozens of miles.
William M. Redd Junior Park is an excellent example of where you can hike for a few hours and enjoy nature practically in the backyards of a development.
A lot of people use these trails specifically for exercise. Some of these trails are paved, while others are gravel. We’ve seen some suburban trail systems that span 3 states with over a hundred miles of trails.
Urban hiking
This type pretty much anyone can do (even those with disabilities). It can incorporate nature (DC Cherry Blossom Festival), history (Boston’s Freedom Trail, Sonoma historic walking tour), city sights (Providence Waterfire, San Antonio Riverwalk), Downtown Harper’s Ferry, Portland River Walk Trail. Some even use abandoned railroad tracks (Northern Virginia’s Wester & Old Dominion Trail, Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River Trail).
We’ve discovered that pretty much anyone can “hike”. It’s a matter of mapping out your hike ahead of time. Based on the intended goal for the hike, you can choose any combination of the above.
Regardless the length or location, there’s always a reward to be found. It is often a beautiful view of nature (skyline, waterfall, or a creek in the woods. It can also be a landmark (Mt Rushmore – on our list of places to go!), or even history (Harper’s Ferry, Sonoma).