Hiking - why and how?

Does it get dangerous?

Hiking is good for your body and mind. But like any other activity, walking in the mountains can be dangerous. The biggest risk is the danger of falling, which certainly can happen not only in the mountains, except here it can have worse consequences. Hiking accidents happen all the time in Switzerland, some of them sorrowfully end badly. However, millions of people go hiking regularly and the risk of accident is low. Hiking is therefore considered one of the most harmless recreational activities.
There are just a few things to look out for. It starts with the planning of the hike. Choose a route that suits your options and limits, so it's not too long or doesn’t vary too much in altitude. Take into account the weather conditions and equip yourself accordingly (see above).
On the hike itself, you should pay attention not only to the beautiful landscape, but also to your surroundings and to yourself. In this way, you can recognize, among other things, any looming natural hazards, such as thunderstorms, floods, rockfalls. If you reach an obstacle or a difficult passage that seems insurmountable to you, and in any other case of doubt, you'll be better if you back off. If you are overly exhausted, it is always more reasonable to end the tour earlier.
On the question of wild animals: until recently, wolves and brown bears were extinct in Switzerland. For some years though, they appeared in the wild again. As a rule, they are very shy and therefore keep away from hikers. The only animals that can potentially be dangerous for hikers are either very large - cows, or very tiny - ticks.
Cows have a strong protective instinct towards their calves. If hikers get too close, they can become very aggressive. Unfortunately, some farmers do not uphold their responsibilities well and refrain from pulling a fence between the pasture and the trail. If you suspect that a mother cow is about to defend her calf, you would better retreat.
Ticks hang from twigs and grasses from spring to late autumn and drop when animals or humans pass by. They suck a little blood of their victim and can thus transmit diseases, such as meningitis or Lyme disease. As a hiker, you can protect yourself easily and well by wearing long pants and lightly spray them with an insect repellent spray.

What’s the benefit?

On a hike, you will train your heart, brain, arms, back, and certainly legs and feet. Studies have reported positive effects on the circulatory and immune systems, musculature and bone structure. Those who hike regularly have a lower pulse rate and blood pressure, an increased proportion of health-promoting HDL cholesterol, and reduced intraocular pressure. On a hike, blood circulation in the brain is improved, the mood brightens and psychosomatic symptoms retreat. Some experts refer to hiking as broadband therapeutic.
While hiking, the human brain switches to another operating mode. Urgent questions and complicated problems that seemed inextricable the day before suddenly show up in a completely different light, and the only solution is to pick them like ripe fruit. This feature can even be actively made use of: whenever a weighty decision is pending or a creative idea is required, some people do not bother with long brooding and weighing, but instead simply go on a hike. They surely know that the solutions will surface as a result.
Hiking is also very sociable. Conversations can be carried out in a refreshing informality. Surprisingly, this rarely results in banal babbling. On the contrary, sometimes profound discussions about truth and the meaning of the world may spur.
Whoever converses while hiking gets inevitably closer. Yet silence should never be seen as a problem. As opposed to other conversational situations, there is no place for embarrassment if nobody speaks for a while while hiking.
Novelist Elizabeth von Arnim put it in a nutshell: ‘Walking is the perfect way of getting around if you want to discover real life. It is the way to freedom.’