Is Walking Taboo?

Hey out there, League!

A couple of recent events have led me to wonder if we now view walking as a strange or somehow “taboo” activity.

In the US, most places are car-centric. We have roads, freeways, huge parking lots, and garages designed around car ownership. In most cases, pedestrians appear to be an afterthought. We really love our cars, and as a result, people often seem confused about why someone would move about any other way.

A few years ago, we lived several miles from town. That made it harder to run errands on foot, as a round trip was 6-7 miles. I still did it sometimes. One morning my son forgot his lunch money and I walked to the school to bring it to him. Even as a teenager, I used to walk for miles because I enjoyed it. Walking helps to work the cobwebs out of my mind and gives me a different perspective of the world around me. I get to see the area I live in through different eyes. It’s also less frustrating than sharing the road with people watching Netflix while they drive.

Last weekend, we had a family gathering two miles from our house. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day, so I opted to walk. It was a potluck event, so I had to bring a side to share and my own beverages. I carried my crackers and dip in my backpack along with 2 liters of water and a hoodie. We also do a white elephant game so I brought a wrapped gift as well. I put the gift in a reusable shopping bag and walked the couple of miles. Effectively, I was doing a light ruck of around 12 pounds and a side/suitcase carry of 5 pounds. Nothing too exciting, but a four-mile round-trip suitcase carry adds up!

I had a nice visit with my family and got up to leave. Three people offered to give me a ride home. When I explained that I was walking, they didn’t seem to understand why and waited for further explanation. I told them it was good for my hip to walk a lot, and they accepted that. Apparently, walking just for the sake of walking requires justification, which I found strange. As a kid, our family used to take walks often so I wondered why my family members had apparently given it up.

On the walk home (a lighter ruck but a heavier suitcase carry due to my game winnings) I thought about why so many view walking as a last-resort option. The more I walk, the better I feel in every way, so on the flip side, I don’t understand why people don’t walk more! I understand that some areas are simply unsafe, and I wouldn’t walk in those situations either. Others are unable to walk due to health issues which is understandable. But the frequency with which able people choose to drive short distances is shocking to me.

A few years ago, I remember watching as a small group of people converged on the local community center for a meeting. Being a really small town, I knew them all, and the vehicles they drove. Three of the people attending drove their cars less than a block to the center from their homes. It seems like it’s actually more work to grab the keys, get in the car, put on a seatbelt, pull out of the garage, and then drive around 3 stop signs to get to the center. Walking likely would have been as fast, if not faster. Why does it so often never occur to us to walk somewhere when we are able and it’s feasible to do so?

The other day I needed a gallon of paint to touch up our fence. I walked the mile to the hardware store to pick it up and then carried it home. Along the way, I dropped a package off at the post office and enjoyed looking in the storefront windows. Our town isn’t always walking friendly. Some neighborhoods, including ours, don’t have sidewalks so it means walking in the grass or gravel until you get to a sidewalk. In the winter it can be very challenging because of 3-foot tall snowbanks, so you have to walk on the edge of the road and drivers have poor visibility. Roads and sidewalks can be icy so traction devices are necessary even for winter boots. Yet walking in the fresh snow on a winter morning can be immensely rewarding and worth the effort.

Living in a small, rural town means that I don’t have much traffic to deal with and that can make walking easier. But when I visit cities, there are so many options! I find it easier to walk in most cities than here simply due to ample sidewalks, crossing signals, and larger indoor places to visit. While I always prefer to be outside, on a -40 day taking advantage of walking at a large mall or college would be great! In a small town, we don’t have those kinds of options available. You have to brave the weather or walk laps around your house (which I have done).

Rucking has been on the rise for the past couple of years and that gets more people walking, which is great! There is something more fun about carrying something while you move. It feels purposeful. Expanding the notion of rucking into other methods of carrying can be a great way to add variation to your walks, rucks, or hikes. You can carry a couple of bags of groceries, library books, packages, potting soil, or any other variety of things. If you find walking is too boring, add some carrying!

Why are so many people averse to walking to the point that they don’t understand why someone would choose to? Do we just not think about it? Are we worried people will find us weird? Do we not want to step from our perfect-temp homes into the heat or cold of the outside world, so it’s easier to go straight to our perfect-temp cars? Walking upright is one of the major hallmarks of being human and is a perfect form of movement and exercise. Why have we given it up?

What keeps you from walking more? See if you can find ways to add walking to your day. While I do the little hacks like “park further away” and “take the stairs” I find there is something different, and better, about a solid 3+ mile walk most days of the week. Even if my step count comes out the same, I feel different on the days when those steps come from a longer walk rather than doing chores or yard work. Give it a try and see if you notice the same differences! I’d love to hear if this is true for you, too.

Make it a wild, walking weekend!
-Kim

Is Walking Taboo?

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