The Solo Traveller
Your independence, passion, and lifelong memories.
Hiking and Trekking
Teton County, Wyoming, USA. Photographer: Kevin Doran | Unsplash.
The long view
By Simone Baxter
Briefly …
A quiet examination of hiking’s physical and mental benefits, particularly for those who walk alone. While our journeys can often be about our ambitions for distance or pace, they are also often about what unfolds for us along the way.
There is something quietly restorative about the act of hiking. Away from screens, schedules and the low hum of constant demand, the trail creates space to move at a completely human pace again, even with all of our apprehension. Our steps fall into rhythm, breath steadies, and attention drifts outward to the ground under our feet, the weather, and the light.
For solo hikers especially, this time can become a form of gentle recalibration – a chance to think, or not, without interruption. It’s in these unstructured hours that many people notice a softening of mental noise, a renewed sense of perspective, and a feeling of being more present in their own bodies.
Hiking asks more of the body than flat, urban walking ever does. The ground constantly shifts underfoot, the paths rise and fall, and muscles work constantly to stabilise, lift and propel. Legs, hips and our core are engaged in a way that pavement rarely demands, while the heart and lungs respond to changes in pace and elevation. An integrative review published in Frontiers in Public Health (2025) found that recreational hiking supports cardiovascular health, muscular strength and bone density, while also contributing to improved metabolic function and long-term disease prevention. As a weight-bearing activity carried out over uneven ground, it builds a kind of functional strength that quietly carries back into our everyday lives.
A day hike up from Manang, Nepal. Photographer: Simon English | Unsplash
For many of us, this stands in sharp contrast to how our days are usually spent. Hours pass sitting at desks or on couches, bodies largely still, attention fixed on screens of all shapes and sizes (computers, phones, and televisions) with little sustained movement to interrupt the inertia. Physical inactivity – a mostly sedentary existence – has become the default, not the exception.
The researchers are blunt about the consequences. “With the acceleration of globalisation and urbanisation,” they note, “detachment from natural environments have led to rising trends in chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes, as well as mental health issues including anxiety, depression and stress disorders.” Their findings point to outdoor hiking as a direct counterbalance – an activity shown to improve cardiovascular function, reduce the risk of chronic disease and enhance immune function, while also easing stress, lifting mood and reducing symptoms of depression.
“… an activity shown to improve cardiovascular function, reduce the risk of chronic disease and enhance immune function, while also easing stress, lifting mood and reducing symptoms of depression.”
Yet the effects of hiking extend beyond measurable physical outcomes. Time spent moving through natural environments has been consistently linked with lower stress levels and improved emotional wellbeing. The same Frontiers in Public Health review reports reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms among those who regularly take part in outdoor activities such as hiking. These benefits appear to stem not only from exertion, but from being immersed in natural surroundings, places that encourage the nervous system to settle and allow attention to recover in ways indoor or urban exercise rarely, if ever, achieves.
Norway. Photographer: Darya Tryfanava | Unsplash
Hiking also engages the mind in subtle but persistent ways. Following a trail, reading the terrain and responding to changes in the landscape, the weather, and the attendant wildlife, require presence and focus. For those who hike alone, the trail can become a space to think, or just to be, free from constant digital interruption and distraction. What sets hiking apart, the research suggests, is this convergence of movement, environment and challenge creates experiences that strengthen the body while offering space for mental clarity, emotional balance, and resilience.
Reference
Peng, T., Zhang, Z., Zhang, J., Liang, W., and Tang, X. (2025). An integrative review of the physical, mental, and socioeconomic benefits of outdoor hiking. Frontiers in Public Health, 13.
Simone Baxter is a devoted hiker and writer based in the USA.