Hiking vs walking
 

When is hiking walking and walking hiking?

Huh?

I consider walking to be on pavement, asphalt, or a well maintained path that is also handicapped accessible. Hiking involves rocks, stones, and nature along your way.

So what did Bill Bryson write about, a "Hike in the woods"?

We go for a walk into town frequently (city streets/sidewalks), but it's never a hike even if we take the 3mi loop.

But, we often go for a walk in the park, or a nature walk, or a walk in the woods.

But I agree with rizzo. The primary distinction for me is difficulty or duration - a well maintained path, or a short trek even over terrain I would call a walk. Anything that involves rocks, stones, climbing over logs, needing to pay attention to shoe tread, and bringing along water/snacks/day pack is a hike.

I have never had a rent walk.

To paraphrase a famous Supreme Court decision: I know it when I do it.

It depends on some (perhaps vague) combination of location, underfoot terrain, distance covered, energy exerted.

Hikers tell me they climb hills while walkers are already over the hill.

Dunno.

So you can either stroll or walk thru Central Park in nyc or hike it if you go uphill or off path? It's a conundrum

And does one stroll thru a pasture or walk thru a pasture or hike thru cow patties?

Since you are going to ask about hiking vs. walking, it's also worthwhile to ask about trekking. I've seen so many posts over on the Asia board, where people want to trek. It usually turns out that what they had in mind was a couple hours of hiking. By my definition, a trek involves overnight stays in homestays or "tea houses."

Or tents. Or under a tarp. I definitely think of treks as being harder and longer than hikes. I remember trying to figure out the logic this company was using.

https://www.mountainguides.is/multi-...rekking-tours/

To take it a step further (no pun intended), when does a walk become a hike and a hike become a scramble?

If you go to the Hindu Kush will it be a short walk, as suggested by Newby?

Inakauaidavidababy, you have asked one of life's unanswerable questions.

For us, a hike is not on flat ground and involves rocks, tree stumps, and switchbacks. A hike also has measurable elevation change. A scramble means I have to use all four limbs to climb over obstacles on the trail. I love to hike and scramble, and DH and DS do that as well as mountain climbing. I have technically climbed mountains but I stick to the ones where I don’t need to rope up or use an ice axe.

I would add that with scrambles there may be no trail. Often there is scree, which I cannot stand. Literally, it makes me sceem.

Xcountry—yes, scree aka one step up, slide three steps back. I swear the first time I climbed the South Sister I was never going to make it to the summit due to scree.

If I put on my hiking shoes, it's a hike. If I put on my walking shoes, it's a walk. Simple.

Mms well at least you made it up. For the first time in my hiking/trekking/scrambling/walking career last year I told our sons to go ahead without me on a climb in Newfoundland as I knew I would get irritated with the endless scree.

I remembered reading this article:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters...-heart-attacks

.. and told them I am going to be kicking and tossing scree all the way to the top and then two hours after getting to the top I am going to keel over. Headline:

Scree Kills Man

xcountry--I was not going to be that close to the summit and not make it, lol! At least the scree makes it much easier to come down;)

I agree with November-moon.

Hiking boots mean hiking because you wouldn't bother if the terrain weren't rocky and covered with roots or if you didn't need crampons.

Shoes are for walking, except climbing shoes are for rock climbing.

I agree with mmms, to me, if you are "hiking", you must be going up a hill/mtn of some kind. You can't "hike" just by walking along a flat path, although I have seen people use the term hike just to mean taking a walk. I don't think walking has to be a totally flat path, it can have some gradation changes, but you aren't climbing anything. I don't agree that it has to be handicap-accessible, either. I go for a "walk" on a dirt trail through my nearby state park which isn't handicap accessible and is not paved, but I don't call it hiking. And there is plenty of nature along the way given it's a state park, but it still isn't hiking.

I can go hiking here through a forest, over beaver dams, around a bog and call it a hike even though there would be close to zero elevation change. It would definitely not be a walk.

Interesting differences around the world:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiking