Sierra Club

YOU CAN HIKE A LOT BY JUST WALKING!

Rex Burress

I will admit I took that title from Yogi. [You can observe a lot by just watching]. But propulsion is what it's all about whether you're pushing to reach a destination on the John Muir trail, or strolling along the river, or even rolling in a wheel chair! Sierra Club members know all about foot locomotion.

Our hero John M was fond of calling a good walk “sauntering,' and I remember the story about when he left the Bidwells in Chico to float down the Sacramento in a “snag-hopper” boat they built. He landed on the shore adjacent to the “Marysville Buttes” and sauntered across the fields to reach the top of what is now the Sutter Buttes. Along the way he made the acquaintance of the button willow.

Plain hiking without watching for wildlife was not Muir's style, as he absorbed every plant, rock, and animal he confronted. He often carried a plant press, too, as described in the book, “Nature's Beloved Son; Rediscovering John Muir's Botanical Legacy,” by Bonnie J. Gisel with images by Stephen Joseph, a portfolio consisting of 150-year-old specimens Muir had collected.

Muir spent time studying glacial tracks, too, and making notes in his journal. You can't do all that without a meandering/sauntering style, nor can a guided nature walk be built on a fast pace. Just ask Wes Dempsey, guide extraordinaire of Chico, who makes frequent stops to discuss things like the Zigedene Lily along the trailside.

I had the pleasure to guide an Oroville group on a nature walk recently, and I'm even slower than Wes. To really see nature you have to observe a lot! The group was used to “making six miles a day,” which doesn't leave much time for petal pondering in one morning. A couple of participants became impatient and zoomed on ahead, which is alright, but it makes “descriptive phrases” by the speaker rather shortened and gives the guide a feeling of inadequacy.

There are many styles of walking. Like in a marathon footrace, some focus on mental images, some count, and even physical foot falls differ. Do your toes or your heel hit the ground first? Postures are also unique. When I worked at Lake Merritt in Oakland, I would see the same joggers and walkers everyday, and I could spot them all the way across the lake by just the way they moved. Those were mostly exercise geeks who were only intent on sweating and getting there. They proceeded as if in a trance. That's OK for fitness goals, but just a little fitness and a whole lot of watching the world around us is preferred by others.

On mountain treks, a five-foot favorite stick is helpful, but for more stability, the ski-type, two piece metal poles are recommended. In fact, older walkers generally have less foot control and that third or forth leg will aid your balance. It's unthinkable to fall and break a leg out there in the outback.

I haven't done a “thousand-mile walk” but I walked thousands of miles in my youth on the Missouri farm, just in doing daily chores, hunting, and fishing. The creek was two miles away in the bottomland and I went there often. Following the coon hounds at night really put on the mileage as you tried to keep going in the direction of the bawling dogs. Of course, you never got tired when there was booty to bag!

Both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau wrote contemplative essays on walking. Thoreau also used the term 'sauntering.' He said, “It is a great art to saunter...an early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day...I spend four hours a day sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields...”

A mountain hike with fellow Sierra Club members, when you're toting a 40-pound pack, involves a whole agenda of different thinking, but there is surely a time for strenuous hiking and a time for a slow nature walk. Watch and combine objectives when you can.