The school holidays are approaching, we can walk during the day… what if we went hiking?
The verb "hike" has its roots in the 13th century when hiking or hiking meant "running fast". He keeps this meaning and slides towards the venerie from the 16th to the 18th century, having then the sense of the hunters' race after a beast and then the race that this hunted beast makes. It was not until the late 18th century that, by extension, the Dictionary of the Académie française stated that "to make a long hike" meant "to walk for a long time".
This activity takes off with that of travel, such as the Grand Tour. In the 19th century, this recreational walk gained increasing interest with the development of tourism and in particular mountaineering as on this view.
Here we are in Davos, Switzerland in 1896 and far from the practical equipment used today! Above a torrent, the crossing seems rather acrobatic!
Magendie Collection, Mag1554
Davos, a group of young women spanning a torrent
https://www.stereotheque.fr/result,4180-0