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Why is it that if I walk 3 miles around a field that's a hike

But if I walk 3 miles around my neighborhood that's a walk. I did that yesterday and I want to say I hiked but nobody will let mekitty-cri

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  • i think of hiking as something done over uneven ground, maybe a dirt trail at most. a "walk" is a broader term, but is tended to be associated as a means of travel ("take a" bus, car, bike, walk) over a paved surface in the context of the built environment.

    i don't assume this is technically correct, but if i am trying to talk plainly that's how i use them. confusing or blurring the boundaries can be an easy bit, because hike implies more distance and maybe even gear. "the bathroom is downstairs. it's kind of a hike."

    also there's the dismissive go away... "take a walk, buddy" vs "take a hike, buddy"... the hike one seems to tell someone to go farther away, maybe in a direction away from other people even."

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