15 reasons why wilderness walking is good for you

It’s your legs’ nature to walk. Do as they were designed to do! You’ll improve your well-being by slipping on a pair of hiking shoes and taking a walk in the wilderness. However, if you need more convincing, here are 15 reasons you should get outdoors and get moving. 

1. Walking makes you wiser 

By exercising your body, you are also exercising your mind. With each step you take, your thinking becomes clearer, more focused, and you become more attentive, while your problem-solving skills improve. If you head outdoors on an active pursuit, you’re more likely to finish that tricky Sudoku puzzle! 

Here is a video of Jon Lineen, author of Perfect Motion: Why Walking Makes Us Wiser, explaining how walking benefits the brain. A sample of his bestseller can be found here as well.

2. It makes us healthier, more fit, and slows down the aging process

Exercise is a proven method of strengthening your heart, reducing your blood pressure, burning fat and helping with weight loss, improving your energy levels, strengthening and toning your muscles, maintaining strong bones, reducing the risk of chronic disease, and even slowing down the aging of your skin. It’s time to say hello to the fountain of youth! Do you agree that lace-ups sound even more appealing now? 

3. It boosts your mood and relieves stress 

Do you need a chill pill? Walking reduces stress and anxiety, boosts your mood, and boosts your mood. We need to walk and change our surroundings when we’ve mostly been confined to our homes. The effects of aerobic exercise on anxiety and self-esteem are boosted after even a few minutes! The movement of your body in the outdoors will improve your well-being and increase your levels of feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters, including: 

Endorphins – your body’s natural painkiller. You can think of them as morphine for your body that triggers positive feelings. 
Dopamine- It plays a significant role in the way we feel pleasure, as well as our learning, memory, focus, and motor functions. 
Serotonin – controls mood, appetite, digestion, memory, learning ability, and sleep. 

In short, walking makes you happier – yay!

4. Walking in the wilderness can lead you to less traveled paths 

Access places you can’t reach by any other means by getting off the tour bus. Walking holidays are the perfect way to switch off from a busy lifestyle and the crowds of an urban area, and what better way than to get out from under the stress of the city? A wilderness escape lets you escape the hustle and bustle of city living for a more solitary experience. Stepping away from technology and distractions is the best way to relax. Go where the Wi-Fi is weak! 

5. Get in touch with nature on a deeper level 

Slowing down to appreciate Mother Nature while taking a walk makes you appreciate the natural surroundings and wildlife that call them home. You begin to notice even the little things: the colours of the wings on an insect, the smell of flowers as you stroll, the shape of a cloud, or the sound of trees whispering. 

6. Breathe in the fresh air 

You can’t beat a dose of fresh air to keep your lungs healthy, and believe it or not, there are people out there selling canisters of bottled clean and green air, mainly to areas that are threatened by air pollution. Yeah, that’s captured air from places like the Blue Mountains and Tasmania, where you can enjoy fresh Aussie air wherever you are, or maybe you prefer the crisp, alpine Banff air bottled from Canada that will always set you back $32 for 130g. 

It speaks volumes about how healthy it is to take a walk in the wilderness. The better the air, the better the health! From promoting diaphragmatic breathing to improving brain function, the cleaner the air, the better! 

7. A chance to start over 

In addition to improving your mood, walking can also help clear your mind. By setting it up in a space surrounded by enchanting mountain backdrops without anyone else in sight, it offers the chance to reset. Experience nature’s sounds and forget about the stresses and a busy lifestyle back home the next time you walk in the wilderness away from noise and light pollution. You will return home feeling more energized, energetic and alive after spending time away. 

8. Sleep more soundly 

In order to get a good night’s sleep, aerobic exercises have been shown to help you fall asleep faster as well as improve the quality of your sleep. Here’s to a good night’s sleep!

9. Boost your creativity 

When you get a chance to clear your mind, it allows opportunities to grow. When you go on a walk, you can come up with some of your best ideas. A movement-based activity can stimulate your sensory systems. As you walk on your walk, allowing your mind to wander can allow it to work through whatever you’ve been grappling with, or even help you feel more focused at the end of it so you can handle the next thing of life is thrown at you. 

10. Take your steps 

Are you obsessed with increasing your average daily steps every month? We too! If you’re motivated by your Fitbit, a wilderness holiday will surely help you achieve your fitness goals and clock in plenty of steps. A climb of Mt Sonder on the Larapinta Trail will put you at around 31,000 steps! 

11. Invest in memories that will last a lifetime 

There are many things in life you forget, but you never forget a walking holiday. Especially when they are set in some of the most beautiful and untouched landscapes. Walking in the wilderness will leave you with a lifetime’s worth of memories. 

12. Conversations can be sparked and relationships can be strengthened 

When you are planning for going outdoors, joining a group of like-minded adventurers on a wilderness walk is a great way to relax, bond, and chat. Getting a group walking together is a fun option for creating new connections or strengthening existing friendships and family ties. Cycling does not provide that on the trail because of its speed. 

13. Take advantage of uninterrupted listening time 

If you prefer to go solo in the wild, plugging in your earphones and switching on your favorite music or podcast will give you some “me” time. A self-guided hike can be the perfect playlist for those who prefer the music of nature.

14. If you are going on a walking holiday in the wilderness, support local communities 

Traveling off the beaten track on a wilderness holiday gives you the opportunity to share tourism income with many remote communities and villages you visit along the way. In wild and remote parts of the world – from the Andes to the roof of Africa – choosing walking holidays made by local operators and communities supports not only the local community, but also its residents who are employed as guides, cooks, drivers, porters and other helpers. 

This means that expeditions such as Nepal’s Great Himalaya Trail employ many local porters and support staff from remote mountain regions, procure food from these isolated villages, and provide travellers with the opportunity to purchase traditional handicrafts from various local communities. 

During this ongoing pandemic, you can support the wonderful individuals who have given us so much enjoyment during our travels through our Grants for Ground Staff Appeal, many of whom are dependent on travel and tourism, and who live in countries that will not see the vaccination for some time.

Making a positive impact and giving back to the communities you visit can make your adventure all the more rewarding. 

15. Enjoy your sense of accomplishment 

There is an old Japanese proverb that says, ‘Life without endeavour is like entering a jewel mine and walking away empty handed.’ When embarking on a wilderness walk – large or small – the sense of accomplishment that comes with it is just another of the amazing benefits. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing a full pack on the John Muir Trail for 23 days, trekking through highland weather in Tasmania, or hiking through the Peruvian Andes for the first time ever. You can grow from any new or more challenging pursuit, no matter how far it is; and money cannot buy growth from an experience like this. 

With persistence and drive, you may even prove to yourself that you can accomplish almost anything. That’s not bad for a wilderness trek, is it? 

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