A Thousand Mile Journey: The History of Hiking

A thousand mile journey.

Have you ever relished the primeval nature of hiking, returning to the elements in the woods, the plains, and along rivers, and wondered how many people like you have done the same throughout history? As it turns out, hiking is one of the most fundamental forms of exercise mankind has developed, which has afforded it a long and extensive history – from the stone age to the information age. Here’s a brief history of hiking.

If you want to be technical about it, the history of hiking began around 1.5 million years ago when early man learned how to walk upright. Since early man was also nomadic, this meant that walking and hiking was a part of daily life in the stone age, before the development of agriculture meant that man could settle and begin walking for recreation’s sake.

However, it hasn’t been until modern history that hiking – and especially the most extreme form of hiking, mountaineering – became as popular as it is and saw other milestones really be conquered. More modern technology and the further exploration and charting of mountains helped hikers conquer new heights, one at a time.

In 1874, hikers/mountaineers named Grove, Gardiner, Walker, Sottajev, and Knubel scaled the summit of the highest mountain in Europe, Elbrus. Some years later, in 1913, mountaineers reached the top of Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America. Mount McKinley stands at over 20,000 feet in Alaska, making its conditions treacherous even for 20th Century mountaineers.

As technology progressed and these accomplishments encouraged further trekking up mountains, hiking up to even greater heights became possible. In 1953, Mount Everest was conquered. In 1985, it was conquered once again – this time by Dick Bass, the first person to reach the highest peaks in all seven continents.

Nowadays, hiking doesn’t just include mountaineering and adventurous sojourns into the heart of the world’s most extreme environments. Hiking can simply be a brief walk through the woods or an all-day adventure that takes you through peaks and valleys and back again.

Like other sports, what you accomplish from hiking will depend on what you put into it: if you want to be the next person to climb Mount McKinley, it will take tremendous energy and dedication. But the intrinsic rewards of hiking are obvious once you return from that first hike, feeling satisfied from the fresh air.

Do you have what it takes to take the next steps in hiking history? Even though people might have already conquered a peak before you had the chance, you can still conquer it for yourself.

And who knows what’s possible? Perhaps you’ll be the first to take on Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in the solar system.

Photo Credits: Matthew_Dutile

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