5 unproven facts about hiking

1. Hiking is the fourth most popular outdoor activity in the US behind running, fishing, and biking (aka fast hiking, stationary hiking, and lazy hiking*).

2. The Swiss have something of a national fetish for hiking and are blessed with the highest density of hiking trails per square kilometer in the world – that’s 1.9km of hiking trail per square 1 kilometer of land nationwide. In the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, this figure rises to a frankly awesome/crazy/logistically mind-boggling 3.4km per square kilometer.

3. The oldest hiking trail in Europe, and possibly the world, is the Via Francigena, a 1,243-mile pilgrimage path that runs from Canterbury all the way to Rome, Italy. Don’t forget to pack your sandwiches and turn the central heating off if you plan on taking this one on!

4. The oldest continuously used and maintained recreation trail in America is New Hampshire’s Crawford Path, which was originally established in 1819. This 8.5-mie trail traverses a mountainous ridgeline that converges with the Appalachian Trail before continuing to the summit of Mount Washington, the highest peak east of the Mississippi.

5. The Appalachian Trail receives about 2 million visitors annually.

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