We love hiking - we've always enjoyed walking - I always have - even when I was much younger I loved nothing more than hiking on Dartmoor in the UK or through woodlands or whatever. When the children were younger we always found places to walk with them and they've all grown up spending weekends and trips walking and hiking in woodlands etc...today we spent several hours out hiking trails and 'bushwacking' (lol this word is new to us and we keep laughing about it but it seems to be used a lot in geocaching so we've started using it).
Tonight I was looking online for some info on health benefits and hiking so I could log the info into my fitness journal instead of the info off of my treadmill - and I came across THIS GREAT ARTICLE!! It talks about how great hiking is for you - not just regarding calorie burning and cholesterol and blood sugar levels, but in preventing depression!
I particularly thought this quote below was interesting (although not surprising in my opinion and experience - I'm not big on malls or shopping in general unless there is something I need):
"In fact, they found that taking a hike in the countryside reduces depression, whereas walking in a shopping center increases depression. Results from the 2007 study showed that 71 percent reported decreased levels of depression after hiking, while 22 percent of the participants felt their depression increased after walking through an indoor shopping center. Ninety percent reported their self-esteem increased after the nature hike, while 44 percent reported decreased self-esteem after walking around the shopping center. Eighty-eight percent of people reported improved mood after hiking, while 44.5 percent reported feeling in a worse mood after the shopping-center walk."
I can definitely agree with the fact that after an afternoon in a mall I feel nothing but stressed from crowds, the over-stimulation of lights and noise and the feeling that I've wasted time, money and energy. After an afternoon spent outside hiking I come home rejuvenated, relaxed, happy and feeling good about myself from all that fresh air and exercise and like I've done something good for my children. Today we spent time listening to Grouse drumming, owls hooting....we watched woodpeckers on the ground, squirrels running....we hunted geocaches and traded items...we investigated old wasp nests....we learned about old trails that lead up to the North West Territories.....we looked for signs of Spring....we burned up al those calories from Easter treats.....we laughed, we climbed, we took turns with the gps. We all came home in good moods.
