In an age of environmental change (climate change, erosion of the land, diversion and pollution of watercourses, destruction of woodland,... ), in an age of alienating lifestyles that subject us to considerable levels of stress, where the pursuit of appearing has taken the place of the values of being, we would like to convince our readers of the ever more pressing validity of the idea of "Sustainable Hiking".
Definition of sustainable hiking
"Sustainable" is a term that came into use in the 1990s with the growth of environmental issues. Sustainable development means the kind of development thanks to which the environment can be left as an inheritance to future generations in the same condition (or better) as we received it.
By extension we feel we can use the adjective "sustainable" for hiking too, where sustainable is everything that leaves the environment in the same condition in which we found it. Sustainable in environmental matters as well as sustainable in matters of lifestyle.
What is proposed below is a change in the way of hiking, an alternative to the ordinary itinerary, where the tourist is no longer a passive entity of the "package holiday" but an active part of the fabric and life of the places they visit.
It comes naturally to set out a short decalogue of easily shared principles.
1. - Respect park areas
Get information from the village pro loco tourist offices, talk to the park rangers: they'll be able to point you to the most evocative places to visit. But do this respecting the network of paths and any access bans. Don't light fires unless this is allowed in the designated picnic areas. Don't pick plants, flowers or shrubs. It's not just forbidden: there is a delicate balance that needs to be preserved for future generations. Don't leave litter (cans, bottles, cigarette butts): it's ugly to look at and it takes decades and decades to return to the ecosystem.
2. - Respect the environment
Even when you're not in protected parks. The nature to be protected doesn't end where the park area ends. There's a lot of nature outside natural parks too; indeed, that's precisely the nature in greatest danger.
3. - Stay longer in the area you visit
When, during your hikes, you stay on in the mountain areas you visit, staying in the villages, using the services of a mountain hut, sleeping in bed & breakfasts, you set the local economy in motion. Always reward the businesses that favour and protect the area, where there are signs of care for the land. Because economy and the management and upkeep of the land can only go hand in hand. Take a day away from the shopping centres to see a sagra (village food festival) or join in a patron saint's feast.
4. - Take time to visit the area
Visit the churches, the villages, the streets of the towns. Walk along country lanes even when they don't seem to lead anywhere. This isn't only about the idea of reviving the local economy. At stake is the idea of taking back your own time, even of wasting it, discovering simple things like the banal, and yet essential, act of walking. In this sense, devoting more time to photography rather than to sporting and competitive performance can be a way of making a hike more "sustainable".
5. - Practise mountain sports with caution
The mountains can offer endless opportunities for fun, from sports on snow to hiking on summer paths. From mountain biking to mountaineering. Always get informed before setting off on an adventure, because in the mountains the risk lies not in nature, but in our reckless behaviour.
6. - Less technology for a direct relationship with the environment
If you really want to understand the power of nature. Walk with scant means... Every now and then avoid using mobile phones or GPS devices. Rely on classic maps, get help from a hiking leader or a mountain guide. The latter is the best way to learn to understand, from their words, the nature and the history of our land. This too, moreover, will help set productive economic cycles in motion.
7. - Spread the idea of sustainable hiking
If you really believe in it, talk about it in your family, at work; lead by example by telling of your experiences in contact with nature. Take along a friend who has never been to the mountains; if you have children, take them from an early age into nature, in contact with the woods or the mountains. Your example will be far more effective than any written decalogue.
8. - Turn the hiking experience into a journey inside yourself
During the exploratory adventure listen to your thoughts, seize the moment to observe yourself in your most intimate weaknesses, observe the flow of your feelings, try to answer those questions that in daily life we don't have time to answer. You only have to walk, taking the time to exist.
9. - Sustainable hiking in your relationships with your adventure companions
Set aside your goals of success. On a hike there's no prize to win, no destination to reach; you just have to learn to savour the present moment, respecting your rope mates and seizing the chance to build a bridge of friendship and disinterested mutual interest.
10. - Bring sustainable hiking into everyday life
When you have walked, respected, stimulated mountain life. When you have spread love and passion in your life and in that of others, it's time to bring everything you have learned back into your everyday gestures.
We have seen in this decalogue that the idea of sustainable hiking and tourism is not only an idea concerning our impact on nature but also on ourselves, our thoughts, our bodies. A way of going to the mountains in which observing nature, reflecting on it and within it, is a way of improving the quality of life.