I was looking at the American Hiking Society website. It is a tremendous resource that features and talks about hundreds of great hiking trails across the United States. They also talk about the benefits of hiking and how great of an exercise it is.

They say that:

It is known that exercise increases a person's overall health and results in a longer life. However, only about 15 percent of the U.S. adult population engage in sufficient moderate physical activity. Maybe that is because people think of exercise as a painful process and boredom, but it doesn't have to be! A good workout can be a brisk 30-minute hike with the dog, or a slower one-hour hike through a local park. Hiking is not only a great workout, but it is also the easiest and least expensive outdoor recreation activity.

Hiking differs from a workout in the gym because you get exposure to natural bright light, which increases levels of serotonin and lifts your mood! Because exercise also boosts serotonin production, the benefit is twofold.

The thing I love about hiking is there's something new around every tree and it doesn't seem monotonous like say, walking around a lake in the city park or on an old railroad track converted into a bike trail does.

That is especially true if you find different hikes to go on each time you go out! I love hiking, it how I spend a lot of my summer.

You can also turn hikes into lasting memories... I love taking hikes with friends and loved ones. You can also take a camera with you and all of a sudden you've got another motivating factor, capturing nature. If you are competitive like me, then it can become a game to see who finds the best shot or captures the most ordinary things in amazing ways! I love being outdoors. Being in Washington, you really do try and plan something every beautiful weekend because you know it's not going to be around for long... so you don't take the beauty for granted!

Photography is a great hobby of mine and this is one of the reasons why I really love to go hiking. I also like to workout, so hiking takes care of my photography and working out cravings all at once!