Hey, Camp Fans!
Today is National Trails Day! So once you’re done reading this post, lace up your boots and go take a hike! Nature trails offer an awesome venue for folks with all kinds of interests—from hiking to biking, or bird watching to horse riding! No matter what you’re into, there’s bound to be a nearby trail for you to enjoy Trails Day!
Just as summer camp offers a lengthy summer stay away from our media-saturated world, park trails and other footpaths give us miniature escapes from the bustling city life and virtual world in which so many of us spend so many hours. Meanwhile, the natural world offers us fresh air, exercise, and peace.
Immerse yourself in the scenic landscape of the natural world today!
But I’ve already run down the laundry list of healthy benefits that result from you hitting a trail in a previous Blog post which you can check out by clicking here. But today, I’m more interested in discussing how nature trails and other footpaths have come to be. Nature didn’t just provide us with a convenient, winding path through her majestic wilderness.
The world’s vast majority of trails are created through wear and tear of frequent usage. Aside from deer trails or frequented, worn-down paths of other animals, trails are obviously man-made. And even the trails that appear the roughest and most basic took an incredible amount of effort and energy and do take a good amount of maintenance.
If trails pass across flat, dry areas, all of the brush, tree limbs, and undergrowth are cleared away to make a suitable trail for the activities intended to take place on the trail. Of course, paved trails and otherwise constructed paths require specific and complex design as well as a comprehensive skill set.
Bridges (or other alternatives such as culverts, stepping stones, or shallow fords) are built when creek streams or rivers are deep enough that a means to cross is required.
Appreciate the nature around you and be sure to take great advantage of the hard work and maintenance that went into the winding paths that snake through your area. Hit a local trail today and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!
- John