What the Wild Walk Wednesday?
Hobart, lets walk in Nature a little more. At least once a week.
More green and less screen. Yeah, that will be a good dose.
“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt” John Muir.
Here is the thing, for many modern people, these two simple pleasures - walking and being in nature are at most a sliver of our time each week. We are hooked and goaded to rush. Entertainment and comfort consume so much of our non-working awake lives.
I personally think that if every stressed, depressed and anxious person, every unfit, unhealthy and unmotivated person could just walk along a dirt trail in the bush for one hour it would be transformative - literally at the end of 60 minutes, transformed from downcast soul and cold, unfit to buoyant and warm, energised.
They say that nature is medicine. I will add that walking in nature is medicine for not only the body, but also the mind and spirit as well. There are numerous articles and recently published research papers on the benefits of a simple walk in nature, google this one phrase for a quick peek.
On the other hand you may be seeking even more time in nature than you are currently getting or you are training or preparing for an upcoming event or trip that demands an extra level of fitness. If so, then Wild Walk Wednesday is also for you.
How many steps can you do in an hour. How many might you do in 4 weeks time?
Wild Walk Wednesday, or WWW, is for every body and any body, any shape or level of fitness. You have to live in Hobart of course, or be visiting, as this is a Hobart based initiative. We are open for business as of right now, in fact we have been running since December, and we operate every Wednesday daylight hours (October through to April)
The concept is ‘Walking in Nature made easy’ and it really is. All you have to do is make it to the meeting place at Brooke Street Pier for either the early or the late walk, and then jump on the bus. It is a great way to either start or finish hump day and if you commit to coming you will have someone really looking forward to having you join the early or late walkers, and disappointed if you can’t make it.
Once everyone is in the bus - it’s a small group maximum of 11, we then drive quietly to one of a dozen trails on Hobart’s fringes, no more than about 15 minutes away. We quickly get out and then just start walking.
You can walk in silence, but headphones are not encouraged. Walking with headphones is for Keith. It’s an urban thing, to dampen the noise, focus the mind, get to wherever it is you need to go. Walking in nature is really quite different.
It may take a few minutes of brisk walking but you will start to relax, your mind will relax and the self chatter will quieten. When you start hearing the birdsong and noticing the temperature changes, the ferns, the flowers, insects, the light and you begin to start breathing deeply - none of this shallow breath, then you will start to deeply enjoy yourself.
This is actually really positive biochemistry at work as you walk and relax, relax and walk. Cortisol reduces, this is the stress hormone, and is a primary cause of inflammation which is a contributing factor and often a direct cause of most chronic disease. Serotonin (relaxation and happiness) is increased as well as endorphins (positive feelings).
After a solid hour of walking we get back in the bus and then straight back to Brooke Street Pier. In total you have committed to 90 minutes to gain a precious one hour of exercise, but its exercise with a massive dose of Vitamin Green.
As the Driver, I will walk the trail with you and I will be congenial, talkative, supportive or even silent.
There is no commitment, you can come only once if you are not sticking around. Hopefully you will come again, and again and each time it is a different trail and we start to notice each other.
This is our hope for Wild Walk Wednesday.
Happy Trails
