Ruminations on Walking Words

These ruminations on walking words are an outgrowth of the challenges I’ve had over the last 20 years or so in understanding what people write about hiking and trekking and walking and camping and ultralight and so much more, then attempting to apply those words to hiking el Camino de Santiago. The experts know what they mean by what seem to be specific words that are used somewhat interchangeably. Since I’m as guilty of this as anyone, it seems worthwhile to throw a little light on the subject by defining what I mean when I use words describing walking and hiking and trekking on this site.

Walking

Walking means just that. Putting one foot in front of the other regularly to move across some space, no matter how large or small. One does not walk the Camino. One walks while hiking the Camino.

My exercise routine includes a lot of walking, including walking to the grocery store and walking on our treadmill, because that is what I demand of my legs while hiking the Camino.

Hiking

Hiking refers to walking over a significant distance and carrying needed items along. Hiking is done on established trails that are generally well marked, as the Camino is with a variety of things including yellow arrows and scallop shell medallions. Some are easy walking, some are difficult, some include steep climbs and descents, some are flat, some are urban and some are rural. I’ve given an overview of my experience with differing conditions during my hiking on the Camino’s Northern Route thus far (about 650 kilometers or 400 miles) as the answer to FAQ-03 on my FAQs page.

While people talk about all kinds of hiking, and especially when talking about specific trails, there are really only three flavors.

Day hikes

A “day hike” is just that. It’s design is to be completed in a single day, either through a loop design that returns to its point of origination or by other transportation. For example, when I’ve exercised by hiking portions of the Muddy Branch Trail near my home I’ve both used other paths to provide a loop so that I ended where I started and imposed upon my wife, Janis, to rescue me from a local Mexican restaurant, Guapo’s, where I was medicating myself with Margaritas to recover from my exertions.

A day hike is simple, requires no real planning, and only a little gear. Water, a snack, possibly trekking poles if the going is even slightly tricky. If I use a backpack, the load is just to increase the challenge of the training experience.

Day hikers, such as the woman on the left, are common on the Camino’s trails.

(Plain Old) Hiking

Generalized hiking follows a known path or trail that does not return to its point of origin. This requires some equipment and planning.

Hiking a significant distance involves a series of hiking days with beginning and ending locations that build on one another. This is typical of hiking the Camino as some, but not all, Camino routes provide excellent and closely spaced services that include stores, restaurants, bars, and a variety of places to sleep as described on my Places to Stay page. This allows a person to customize how they hike that route. I have met pilgrims who spend little or nothing along the way by combining camping and shopping in stores for groceries that they cook themselves. This requires carrying more equipment, such as cookware and a functional tent, as well as the food they plan to cook at their campsite. I have met pilgrims who choose, instead, to carry almost nothing beyond water and a snack at the expense of paying for services such as Camino Con Correos that carry their baggage from place to place.

Some Camino routes have fewer services and greater distances between them. This necessitates added planning and equipment.

Anyone planning to hike the Camino should give careful study to the various routes available and select the one that combines the level of services desired with acceptable terrain and trail conditions.

Through Hiking

Through hiking is much the same as “plain old” hiking but indicates a significantly longer distance being traveled as one continuous effort. For example, one might “through hike” the entire Camino del Norte from Bayonne to Santiago, 784 kilometers or about 490 miles according to gronze.com, as a single effort over a period of a month or two.

Trekking.

Trekking is hiking without following an established trail or path; it is an overland trek into the unknown. One must carry sufficient supplies for the duration of the excursion –  including food, water, and emergency equipment – which makes trekking very challenging, indeed.

Hiking el Camino de Santiago is not trekking.