I think 99% of people who say they love hiking just love taking pictures of themselves hiking
Last Saturday I went out to a trail near Shenandoah with a buddy and we passed this group of like 12 people all wearing matching fitness gear, and not one of them looked at anything except their phones. They stopped at the overlook for 20 minutes taking turns posing, then turned around and walked back to the parking lot. Whole thing took them maybe 40 minutes. We kept going and did the full 7 mile loop and saw two actual deer and a waterfall and barely anyone else. Here is my bad take: most folks who post about how hiking clears their head would not go outside if cameras did not exist. I know that sounds mean but I have watched it happen over and over. The trail is just a backdrop to them. Am I the only one who thinks the fitness influencer version of the outdoors is basically a photo studio with dirt?
Wait, 40 minutes total and they only made it to the overlook and back? That is wild to me. All that driving and getting geared up to walk maybe a mile and stand around posing for half of it. The deer and the waterfall were right there past where they turned around and they had no clue.