While we here at H2WIA support nearly all walks, some are more equal than others. Few walks are more equal than the long walk.
Consider adding a regular long walk to your walking practice. I've been doing about one a week, for the past year and it has been one of the best things I've done for my overall mental health and happiness. These walks nearly always started and ended at my home (or wherever I was staying) and were completed in a single day.
How Long is a Long Walk?
There is no distance requirement for a long walk. The only requirement for a long walk is that it feels long to you, the walker. It should be long enough that when you are finished you can exclaim with honest but cheerful fatigue "that was a long walk!”. Ideally, it should take several hours and cover multiple different environments. Currently, my long walks tend to be in the range 15-20 miles (30k-40k steps), and take most of a day. Over time my long walks have gotten longer. Long walks of the past are have shrunk to medium walks today. As you become more ambitious in your walking, yours may as well.
Why a long walk?
Long walks have several characteristics that favorably separate them from shorter walks.
A long walk gets you out of your local area
A long walk should be long enough that you leave behind your park, neighborhood, , suburb, or other regular walking locale. It should get you somewhere new, hopefully somewhere you have never been before.
A long walk takes you to different sorts of places
A long walk requires distances that results in traversing multiple biomes. A long walk should preferably involve a variety of urban and natural landscapes: Urban, suburban, stroad, park, nature area, and others. A long walk will show you how your city fits together better than anything else you can do.
A long walk requires planning
A long walk requires bit of planning. You don't need to plan out every detail (or even where you will end up) but since you will be on your own, miles from home, possibly in unfamiliar territory you should at least have a look at the weather forecast, and bring appropriate clothing. You should have a rough sense of how far you can comfortable go, how you will get back, and how you will bail out if need be. Be aware of places where walking conditions are dangerous or difficult to cross such as highways. Figuring out where you will safely cross these before you start off is a good practice.
A long walk requires navigation
A long walk requires navigation. Figuring out how you will reach your destination and, if you are doing a loop, how you will return home. These larger navigational tasks, will be interspersed with many smaller decisions: How to cross a parking lot, which series of roads to take through that confusing suburb, and of course, where to get lunch. These add a level of problem solving and planning, and satisfaction when nicely pulled off.
A long walk allows for more of everything
A long walk allows for more of what we like about walking. More steps taken, more places explored. More time in the flow state which allows for a deeper flow state. If a walk offers a break from your day-to-day, a long walk offers an escape from it.
More than the sum of the steps
Taken together these differences add up to be more than the sum of the parts. A long walk starts becoming a little bit of a project, but an easy and rewarding one. A long walk will help you understand your city better. Enough of them will help you understand yourself better.
How to do a long walk
Start from where you are
In most cases, the long walk should start from where you are (This is Rule 3 of 'Chris's Rules of Walking), it should go for about as long as you can comfortably go. I usually loop back to my starting point, however returning via public transit, or some other means, is also an option, and will allow you to go further.
Have a destination
A destination is more important for a long walk more than a short or medium one. Walking for hours without one can result in listlessness.1 The destination gives you a goal, and reaching it provides the satisfaction of achieving that goal. What the destination is matters much less. I've used other towns (though in the Midwest this hasn't really been practical), a distant bar or coffee shop, 'farther down this path than I have been before', a park or natural area, or simply a part of town I've never walked to before.
Stay Comfortable
Like all walks, a long walk should be comfortable. (Rule 2 of 'Chris's Rule of walking: always be comfortable.) While you should feel like you have exercised when you are finished. You should be essentially comfortable while you are walking. It might sound challenging to walk all day in comfort, but evolutionary, this is what we are designed to do. Given moderate weather, appropriate clothing, and a bit of practice walking all day in relative comfort, is quite doable. This is a recreational activity, so if you start to feel uncomfortable, call it day.
Pack and Resupply
As you'll be out by yourself a good chunk of the day, you'll need to bring some stuff. For me the basics are the following:
Water
some durable high energy snack (sponsor me Cliff Bar)
backup socks, especially if it is wet out.
well charged phone
Clothing is weather dependent, but you should have what you need to stay comfortable. So, a hat and sunscreen in the summer, and appropriate jackets in the winter, or if rain threatens. I rely heavily on my phone for entertainment and navigation, and a portable battery has been an absolute game changer for not really having to worry about charge. If you are traveling through an urban or suburban landscape keep in mind that you can likely pick up food and other refreshments (as well as things like sunscreen) on your travels. If traveling at night, consider lights and reflective or visible clothing.
Have Fun
This certainly isn't an exercise regime, so go ahead and explore! Change your plans, go down that trail because it looks more interesting, sit on a bench and have a think, browse that shop, stop for a drink. A long walk is flexible and your feet should follow your heart.
Happy Walking!
-Chris
The technical medical term for the this “Meanderers Listlessness”, probably.