Long-distance hiking/trekking/walking on long-distance hiking trails
Source: Fritz Käfer / OEAV

Long-distance hiking/trekking/walking is not a new invention because travelling journeymen and merchants used to hike from place to place and from country to country for professional reasons since time immorial; the same is true for pilgrims who used to pilgrimate or "hike" to the sites of mercy; as well, mountain guides can be considered "original hikers".