If you’re beginner hiker or a hardcore mountaineer looking for a change of pace, “soft hiking” is a new word for an old concept. By soft hiking, you can enjoy the outdoors and stay active at your own pace while being open to the full experience.

To practice soft hiking, find a less challenging trail, slow down, and stay mindful while you walk. Take your time to absorb the surroundings, listen to the sounds of the forest, observe wildlife, and experience the peace and tranquility of the great outdoors.

Soft hiking provides an opportunity to focus on the more mental health benefits of being in nature. I like to pair a leisurly, soft hike with a guided walking meditation from Headspace or Waking Up.

The author, naturalist, and environmental philosopher John Muir described this practice as “sauntering” back in early 1900s:

I don’t like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains – not ‘hike!’ Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It’s a beautiful word. Away back in the middle ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going they would reply, ‘A la sainte terre’, ‘To the Holy Land.’ And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not ‘hike’ through them.

Muir always took the time for deep and profound appreciation of the places he traveled. According to Albert W. Palmer in his 1911 book, The Mountain Trail and Its Message:

John Muir lived up to his doctrine. He was usually the last man to reach camp. He never hurried. He stopped to get acquainted with individual trees along the way. He would hail people passing by and make them get down on hands and knees if necessary to see the beauty of some little bed of almost microscopic flowers. Usually he appeared at camp with some new flowers in his hat and a little piece of fir bough in his buttonhole.

So, whether we call it sauntering or soft hiking, let’s all take a lesson from John Muir and mix in some easy, mindful nature walks with those strenous mountain climbs.