Indeed it does. I grew up hiking in mountains and acquired this skill (thanks boy scouts). We would regularly traverse mountains which had no trails around all. Or go from here to there making use of some trails, and some free walking. Understanding contours, water, vegetation comes with training and experience.
Hiking is also a peculiar sport. It's very safe to the prepared, but can be very dangerous in unexpected ways to the inexperienced. The barrier to entry is basically zero, and with phones/GPS gets ever lower.
Outcomes when things go wrong are usually OK. Wrong clothing, getting lost, you might get cold, hungry and tired. But mostly it's inconsequential. Until you get unlucky in the mix. Then the penalty for failure can be death.
Of course a bit of training covers a lot of ground. Scouts did a lot of that, not least I suppose because we were all kids who tend to make bad decisions. Proper footware, warm clothing, spare water and food, and most of all the ability to recognise when things are bad to Stop, hunker down, and wait for better weather or help.
My recommendation is that if you want to go hiking, join a club or find some training on how to Be Prepared (tips hat) and how to manage increasing danger levels.