Walking Resources
The problem with walking is that, although most of us can do it, most of us don't!
Think about the little "lifestyle" differences between life in the suburban US, where most of us live, and life in "urban" Europe, for example, where people walk so much more!
When is the last time you:
- Walked to the store?
- Sat on a bench?
- Walked to work?
- Walked to "go someplace" rather than just walking "for fun?"
- Parked on the far side of the parking lot when you went to the store or to work?
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You can walk almost anywhere in this country year-round, even if that means "mall walking" part of the year! Find a local walking club or start your own (just get a group of friends and agree to meet once a week for a walk). Plan to walk to work one day per week (maybe you'll decide to do it more often). Better yet, take a day off one day a week and go walking with friends.
- See the web resources listed here for ideas, but many towns and cities have Volkswalk groups, newcomers groups, mountain clubs, and the like.
- Get a dog or take up bird watching, photography, or wildflower identification as an excuse to walk!
books about other people's walks (a short, but great list of books about walks and walking)
- Henry David Thoreau's Essay on Walking
- Clear Waters Rising by Nicholas Crane describes his walk across the mountains of Europe from Spain to Istanbul. See Rick's book review.
- Wanderlust, A History of Walking, Rebecca Solnit (Penguin USA, 2001)
- On Foot to the Golden Horn, A Walk to Istanbul, Jason Goodwin (Henry Holt & Company, 1995)
- The Path to Rome, Hillaire Belloc (Ignatius Press, April 2003) Newly reissued. About his pilgrimage on foot to Rome. First published in 1902.
I shoot the Hippopotamus
With bullets made of platinum,
Because if I use leaden ones
His hide is sure to flatten 'em.
by Hillaire Belloc
- Patrick Leigh Fermor's triology of books about his walk from the Netherlands to Istanbul and southern Greece:
- A Time of Gifts: On Foot to Constantinople : from the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube (Penguin Books, 1979)
- Between the Woods and the Water, (John Murray, reissued 2002)
- Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese (John Murray, 2003)
- what to think about when you walk
Colin Fletcher, born in Britain, but still considered by many as the "dean" of American walking, wrote in his first book years ago that you need to find something to think about while you walk. Here are some ideas.
- I have two friends I know who are poets. They use their walks to think deep thoughts and compose their poetry. One prefers to walk alone while the other enjoys walking with friends but often drops back or sits down on a log to jot down bits and pieces of poetry.
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Fletcher suggests taking up natural history, bird watching or wild flower identification. This gives you plenty to look for and think about as you walk. As a geographer I enjoy using my training to look at geology, vegetation, and geomorphic "process" in the landscape as I walk.
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One of my geography professors, Carl Johannessen, delighted in field classes. He'd take us out into a Douglas Fir forest near Eugene, Oregon and we'd walk for half an hour. Carl would stop and ask, "what's going on here." He was relentless at insisting we look and describe the bio-geographic processes that were affecting the forest. As my walking buddies can attest, Carl's voice carries through on my walks today as we analyze vegetation, glacial processes, and other natural phenomena.
- Maybe you have a budding interest in rocks or minerals, tree identification, or outdoor photography. Whatever it is, you can't do it sitting down!
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