Why Hiking In USA And Europe Is So Different

00:00 INTRO
00:36 GREENBELLY
01:06 BACKGROUND
02:43 LANDSCAPE
05:21 HIKING ACCESS & STRUCTURE
07:45 HIKING CULTURE
10:15 CONCLUSION

A BIG THANKS TO:

Renee & Tim (aka Thruhikers)

Dylan Ivens

Johanna Willi (aka Tinkle)

Arthur Villela

MEDIA CREDITS:
A Solo Night In The Woods Hammock Camping
A Day Solo Hiking in Arches National Park
Ecola State Park Hiking To Crescent Beach to Haystacks

[olavsantiago]

Your comparison of a tiny bit of Europe to the USA was a bit daft, it would be like comparing new England with Europe from the Atlantic to the urals. You missed the nordics where you can be in the forest for a couple of weeks and not see anyone else. Hiking in the alps and other mountains mid week is quiet but weekends are busy just like any north American national parks. You didn't mention the epic scenery of the Balkans, dense forest of Poland/Ukraine/belorussia with elk, boar, bison/buffalo, in Finland you have semi domestic reindeer, forest reindeer, elk (moose if you're north American)

[田中太郎-shx]

I live in Finland and I think hiking in Nordic countries (Norway, Finland and Sweden) is probably the dream combination of Europe and US hiking. There is total freedom to roam with very few exceptions and large areas of wilderness, especially in Northern parts. Population density in Norway, Sweden and Finland is around 15-20 people per square mile. In Nordics there is this hut culture where some areas have huts that can be freely used as shelter but they only offer firepit and beds, no personnel or food. Also Norther Nordics is great because you can safely drink water straight from the small mountain rivers without filtering.

Would be also nice to hear hiking culture in Australia and New Zealand.

[caiusofglantri]

3:22 "While hiking through the countryside, you're likely to encounter numerous historical relics, such as one of these medieval churches..."
Illustrates with a picture of Notre Dame de Paris, which is at the centre of the European Union's largest urban area. :)

[zarzarstrails]

Talking about Europe as a homogeneous area is not a good idea. Sweden for example has a population density of 23/ km² compared to Germany 237/ km². The hiking culture is very different in central Europe compared to the north. It's not uncommon to hike without meeting anyone for a week or so up in Sarek National Park or similar. There are unstaffed safety huts/shelters spaced 1-2 days apart but a tent and adequate gear is definitely a must have. Also a map is good here in the north since there often are unmarked trails.

[allaboutperspective]

I live in Sweden above the Arctic Circle as mentioned in the video, yes all the reindeer are owned by someone, but when it comes to wildlife there are brown bears, wolves, lynxes, wolverines and golden eagles and all of them are hunting reindeer and moose up here in the north it's a bit more like in the USA. The huts (if there are) are often just shelters and we have the freedom to roam and camp however you are only allowed to camp for a maximum of 24 hours in the same spot. The municipality where I live has a population of 4 728 people 17 600 square kilometres 0, 3 people per square kilometre, so it's very different here compared with the biggest part of western Europe.
Edit the only minus point of this video is that it's way to short 😉

[giorgossifnos]

I live in Greece .
Greece is not just islands and seas, as many people think. It is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe.
Olympus mountain, the mountain range of Pindos, the Varvousia mountains, the mountain range of the Rhodope with the virgin forest of Paranesti and Fraktos, which remind us of Scandinavia because there are trees and flowers that you will see in Northern Europe, Taugetos mountain, the White Mountains in Crete ( with a rather difficult terrain ) since it is some of our impressive mountains. Let me not forget to say that bears, wolves, jackals, foxes, deer live in our mountains. In our mountains you will see firs, beeches, and oak trees.
I apologize for my English. I hope what I write is understandable. :)

[vladimirstamenov]

I think that you missed out on a lot by not including the Balkans and Nordics. Others have mentioned the free roam law of the Nordic countries, also low population density. Balkans have some of the most rugged and remote terrain within continental Europe, as well as some of the only countries where you can camp freely anywhere, for any extent of time. You have a very American view of Europe and literally cut half of the continent off, while including places like the Netherlands and Belgium in your statistics which are some of the flattest and most metropolitan areas.

[dereinzigwahreRichi]

As someone from central europe I can confirm thaz only after having been to the USA I truly grasped the scale of that country. And why so many there seem so obsessed with survival and gear... it's not a mildly strange hobby like it would be here, it's an absolute necessity if you happen to get lost there.
Same might go for more remote parts of europe like the nordic countries, to a degree.

[TomMotTom]

Lowkey offended Slovenia wasn’t listed as one of the countries who are part of the alps

[slobodapeter]

It depends on the country. In Slovakia, we also have lot of these "waterfall beer & icecream restaurants", but also wild areas with waterfalls / peaks / natural landmarks with no such amenities. We also have bears, wolves, lynxes, eagles... its similar in Balkans or in Northern Europe - and ofcourse, in eastern Europe.

[basisvinschgauvenosta]

hiking in the european alps is a dream come true. in addition to the beautiful landscapes, there is also culture: like the traditional alpine huts that are managed. They offer top-quality food, home-made cheese, garden and forest produce and traditional cuisine.

For example in South Tyrol (Italy)

[TheScootersg]

Alps cover slovenia also! Do better background check next time

[barbierustefan]

I'm adding the rest of Europe that you haven't talked about in the video.

So in Eastern Europe the hiking trails are great because of the scenery (lush forests), a lot of wild animals to see (keep a bear spray at hand), and the trails are nicely marked.

In some mountains, you might find a "cabin" thats basically a big stone house with lots of rooms and a kitchen that serves food.

Also shelters are available in more remote trails.

So it's more similar to American trails just, if you trespass a property by mistake nobody's going to shoot you.

[Semtekk]

Here in Southern California, the natural diversity is hard to beat. You can literally go snow skiing in Big Bear and the surf at Huntington Beach for dinner. Not to mention that from Mt. Whitney, the highest point, you can see Death Valley, the lowest and hottest place. Massive 12 inch deep lakes in the middle of the Death Valley had people kayaking the desert! It's just amazing.

[tihomirr]

Scandinavia, Iceland, Balkans, Carpathians, Caucasus, there is so much variety in hiking possibilities and cultures in Europe that you didn't even touch on.

[HolyJonte]

Great video! Sweden, Norway and Iceland has FANTASTIC landscapes with so much wilderness. That's the best places to hike in the world! ❤️ Also you can find and pick limitless amounts of mushrooms, blueberrys, raspberrys and more.

[m-faccin]

This video is very interesting, it made me think under a different light all the gear videos and trails "strategies".
I don't feel I need a satellite communicator here in Europe for my trails, 99% of the time there is cell phone coverage and 100% of the time someone else is in my same path. Also the miles covered: for me a normal day hike is between 6 and 10 km, with many breaks and maybe some food in a hut, in the US I probably need to bring a tent and all I need to spend the night out.
I think hiking in the US is a more intense experience but hiking in Europe is so much more accessible for everyone.

[Bluefox]

I’ve tried Australia and boy that was something different than Europe. The preparedness that was required in Australia is unmatched in Europe

[Nefra]

Not sure how well represented nature richness of Europe is in this video. As an example, only in Croatia (a smaller EU country) you have more than 1000 bears, 600 wolves, thousands of deers, eagles, hawks, etc. When I wake up in my hill house very often my garden is full of young deers, and hawk has a nest in the oak on my property. So, pretty strange to see lack of wildlife attributed to Europe. Although we have reasonably high population density, still 32% of country is covered with forest

[chouhone]

Wonderful! I did my first hike in Italy and it was so cool that they had little pit stops for drinks and eats! Love the breakdown od this video. I'm excited to do more hiking in North America and Europe!