Sweden is encouraging Hittaut (recreational nature hiking) with the added encouragement of exploring places to find specific checkpoints along the hike.¹


This is like a walking scavenger hunt, except you use a checklist to look for specific checkpoints. Along the way, you use navigational skills, collecting only photographs.


In recent months, many have canceled vacation plans that involved international travel, due to travel restrictions.² As a result, outdoor recreation options now focus on closer-to-home opportunities, such as re-discovering the beauty of nearer places—assuming they are open (or re-opened) for recreational use.^2,3

The idea of organized hiking trails in scenic natural settings is nothing new. In fact, the Germans have celebrated organized programs of recreational “volksmarching” (from Volksmarsch, meaning people recreational walking/hiking) at least as far back as May 14, 1883, when the German Hiking Association's (Deutscher Wanderverband, a.k.a. DWV) was founded.⁴ In fact, many types of hiking clubs and programs are popular all over the world—and have been for many generations.

But this year, most recreational opportunities focus on local places. These remind us to appreciate our own neighborhoods (as well as other outdoor places within driving distance of home), which have recreational value that is so familiar that it is “hidden in plain view.”^2,3

For the Bible-believing Christian who appreciates God’s role as our Creator, hiking nature trails with family, friends, or alone (and perhaps combined with birdwatching) is valuable, but not just for recreational uses.

Appreciating natural exhibits (such as trees, wildflowers, rocks, deer, birds, squirrels, rabbits, streams, etc.) of God’s wondrously artistic creativity is itself a worthwhile reason for hiking. God made the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees, the sunlight and the breeze.^3,5

For several consecutive summers, my family (as part of a 3-generation vacation) stayed at a Christian family camp, at an elevation of about 9,000 feet high, in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Westcliffe, Colorado. Bordering a national forest, the campground offered many opportunities for nature hikes. One hiking trail in particular, the Cha-ha-oh, could be taken with the help of a trail guide. Cha-ha-oh Trail apparently represents the Navajo way of saying “Summer Shade” Trail. This trail guide blended ecological and doxological aspects of mountain trail hiking there.


Of course, don’t expect those reverent exhortations within a nature trail guide authored by secular-minded evolutionists!

However, Christians who heartily thank for God being the Creator, and who know God’s wonderful character as He is revealed in Scripture (especially in His incarnate Son, the Lord Jesus), should be the people who most enjoy a nature hike—especially if some resources provide contextually helpful information.


Perhaps there is a nearby place where you can outline a simple nature trail, with specific objects to see (listed sequentially as a checklist, maybe with a few notes about those specific exhibits of God’s handiwork) that your family and/or friends can use for a local outing.⁵

It need not be complicated. Just hiking through nature can be meaningful enough to remind us that the beautiful scenery and the providentially cared-for biodiversity is all compliments of the greatest Artist of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.

References
1. Staff writer. 2020. Hittaut Invites Swedes to Exercise and Explore Local Nature. Posted on TheMayor.eu June 1, 2020, accessed June 2, 2020. Although other nations are quicker to trade freedom and fun for pandemic politics (and panic), Sweden has taken “the road less traveled by” and—to use Robert Frost’s words again—“that has made all the difference” for the Swedes’ recreation opportunities. See Sherwin, F. Sweden’s Herd Immunity. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org April 22, 2020, accessed June 2, 2020.
2. Regarding interrupted travel opportunities, see Johnson, J. J. S. 2020. When Travel Is Restricted, Be Honest and Trust God. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org April 4, 2020, accessed June 2, 2020.
3. Nowadays many Icelanders are recommending recreational nature hikes in accordance with whatever opportunities you may have, especially local places conducive to nature hikes. See Ćirić, J. Iceland’s National Parks Prepare to Welcome Local Tourists This Summer. Iceland Review. Posted on IcelandReview.com April 29, 2020, accessed May 4, 2020. Regarding the recreational and doxological benefits of birdwatching, which can usually be enjoyed locally, see Johnson, J. J. S. 2020. Turtles, Birdwatching, and Living through Tough Times. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org March 30, 2020, accessed June 2, 2020.
4. Staff writer. Hiking in Germany: Wandering as a national pastime. Deutsche Welle. Posted on dw.com May 15, 2018, accessed June 1, 2020. Volksmarching (from German Volksmarsch, meaning folk-marching) is a non-competitive recreation tradition (at least 50 years old) that promotes physical health, usually by walking in scenic places, typically along marked hiking trails. Some Volksmarching clubs keep formal records of hiking events and achievement programs. Another German term, Volkswanderung (meaning “folks wandering”), is similar, yet is now used less often because it sometimes connotes un-leisurely mass migrations, such as wanderings of refugee emigrants.
5. Quoting Kelley, D. W. 1985. A Trail Guide to ‘Cha-ha-oh’ Trail (revised edition). Westcliffe, CO: Horn Creek Ranch and Conference Center, pages 2 and 31. This is the same Horn Creek family camp noted in Johnson, J. J. S. Steller’s Jays, Dumpster Diving, and Comparing What Is Valuable. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org May 2, 2020, accessed June 2, 2020. See also Psalm 104; Colossians 1:16-17; Revelation 4:11.

*Dr. Johnson is Associate Professor of Apologetics and Chief Academic Officer at the Institute for Creation Research.