The votes are in

The votes are in for the poll question: What's the number one reason why you hike?

Although the poll didn’t generate as many votes as I had hoped for (there were 82 votes), there were two answers to this question that clearly stood out.

The top answer, represented by 46% of the respondents, including me, said that the most important reason why they like to hike is for the views and the scenery. This result didn’t really surprise me. Perhaps John Muir summed it up best when he said; “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul.”

The second most popular reason for hiking, receiving 34% of all votes, was to relieve stress and /or forget about the modern world.

The other five remaining answers only received a handful of votes. Interestingly, no one voted for seeing wildflowers as their number one reason for hiking. Additionally, only 1 person voted for seeing wildlife as their most important reason for hiking.

Here are the full results (with number of votes and percent of total votes in parenthesis):

1) For the views and scenery 38 (46%)
2) To relieve stress and/or forget about the modern world 28 (34%)
3) For solitude 7 (8%)
4) For exercise 4 (4%)
5) For camaraderie with friends and fellow hikers 4 (4%)
6) To see wildlife 1 (1%)
7) To see wildflowers 0 (0%)

Thanks to everyone who participated.


Jeff
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