Hiking is the rare exercise that does not feel like exercise. You are looking at something, talking to somebody, and only realise afterwards that you climbed for two hours.
The evidence is unambiguous: regular uphill walking improves cardiovascular fitness, bone density and balance, and there is now good research on its effect on mood and sleep. For anyone managing blood sugar, a walk after a meal is worth more than most things in a pill bottle.
The knees are the usual objection, and the usual answer is poles. Two of them, not one, set to the right height. They take a real fraction of the load off the descent, which is the part that hurts.
On our departures we grade every walk and say so in advance — level, gentle, moderate — and there is always an alternative for anyone who would rather sit it out. Nobody is ever asked to prove anything.
