Hiking is an activity enjoyed by people all over the world, but did you know that the activity of “hiking” is described differently in English speaking countries?
I first heard the term bushwalking from a New Zealander friend of mine, who once told me that he did not grow up hiking, but rather “bushwalking”. Having never heard the word before, I was curious to know what it was, and he just laughed and told me it means hiking, or at least the “hiking” as defined in the American vocabulary.
Because I have now met many people from around the world who all share my love of the outdoors, I decided to share this simple guide to hiking terms around the world.
America
Hiking: In America, hiking refers to walking along a trail, typically something that is more intense than going for a walk.
Day hike: A hike that is completed in one day.
Backpacking: Multi-day hikes where the hiker carries her tent, food, and other provisions are considered backpacking trips.
Cross-country hiking: A hike where a considerable portion is off-trail, so the hiker is “route-finding” and is not following an established trail.
Thru-hiking: Used to describe hiking the entire length of a trail. A thru-hike is typically done in one continuous backpacking trip, but can also be done in sections, which is called “section-hiking”. Popular North American trails for thru-hikes are the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail , and the Continental Divide Trail.
United Kingdom
Hillwalking/Walking: These are the terms used to describe “hiking” as it referred to in the U.S.
Rambling: Another word to describe hillwalking and walking.
Australia
Bushwalking: In the land down under, bushwalking is used to describe hiking and cross-country hiking. I guess Australians are more adventurous and expect that most hikes will take them on both on-trail and off-trail routes!
New Zealand
Bushwalking: Same usage as in Australia.
Tramping: Used primarily to describe backpacking trips. Walking: Another way of discussing bushwalking.
Around the world
Trekking: This term is used to describe multi-day backpacking trips. It is frequently used when talking about the Himalayas
Happy trails! Time for me to take a hike, or hillwalk, trek, ramble, or bushwalk 🙂
Yes love it. Yes in the UK and I still call it hiking – so matter what its fab
Not all of us Aussies are that adventurous! I quite like staying on the trails! Although a lot of the trails aren’t very well kept, so maybe that kinda counts as off-trail!
Hi from Oz!
Yes, bushwalking it is “down under”. It does make it confusing that the same activity across the world has different names. This is especially so when you are trying to find information or write a blog post that will be useful across the world.
Most bushwalking in Oz would be on “tracks” through “the bush” or “scrub” (bush being like forest, scrub being shorter “scrubby” trees). In a lot of areas where we hike/bushwalk there are tracks (or at least foot or animal pads) and it is good practice to walk on them so you have “minimal impact”
This link takes you to a post we did a while ago about the Overland Track “Track”. You can see by the images this track has a lot of duck boarding to protect it.
In Southern Tasmania, the tracks are much ruggeder. – my wife Sue is trying to navigate her way through one track on this post.
In Russia, the word “hiking” ( and the activity itself) didn’t exist till recently. Now, they translate the word “hiking” as- walking/on foot tours.