Mini Trail Guide #36: Tiny hikes are a mindset
Who cares what others think when it comes to a personal definition of hiking?
This week’s tiny hike humbled me. Not because it was hard, but it made me question my own thinking. I know that ANYTHING can be a hike, but I had to talk myself out of my own negative self-talk that this one isn’t “enough.”
A tiny hike is absolutely equal to any hike. A long time ago, I invented the term “sidewalk hiking” to add to my personal definition of hiking. Why would walking on a sidewalk and noticing the nearby nature not be considered a hike? It’s all about your mindset!
I’m now so content to call any walk: “a hike.” Even if you aren’t walking! If you are out on Back Bay Drive or on an accessible trail or sidewalk in a wheelchair. It’s a hike! Limiting definitions limits us. Expanding your definition makes you care less about the particulars and more about the feeling you get when you are outdoors with birds flitting from tree to tree, or wheeling around roly-polies on the ground, seeing gophers poking up through their holes in the lawn, or even simply noticing the weather while walking in the parking lot from the car to the grocery store.
What if we thought of it ALL as a hike? Wouldn’t it somehow be more fun?
A bit of the culture of hiking is to compare distances, elevations, extreme conditions, and then defend a made-up classification of a “real hike” where some trails make the cut and everything else is equivalent to walking at the mall! Really? Why is it even a thing?
I almost fell for thinking this way and I know better! I had to remind myself that this is indeed a hike. In fact, this tiny hike is even more fun for the artful wonder woven into the trails. And, even adults tend to like it because it’s short and enjoyable without many decisions to be made or thought that needs to be put into choosing a particular route. It’s simply a tiny hike your kids will love.
Trail Guide #36 comes with an elevator and some whimsical surprises! It’s waiting right beyond the paywall below!