Hiking Tips
Below are some hiking tips, with special
attention paid to advice and information for mountain hiking.
In addition to the general information here, you'll find links
to other pages that cover certain aspects of hiking in more detail.
Hiking Shoes , for example, has tips on how you can safely
substitute running shoes or hiking shoes for your hiking boots,
and what shoe/sock combination stopped me from ever getting blisters
again.
Hiking Clothes has tips on what to wear in a mountain environment
(why a single-layer jacket, in combination with a sweater, gives
you more flexibility than an insulated jacket, for example).
Hiking Staffs discusses whether you need trekking poles or
walking sticks, and the advantages of making your own while on
the trail.
More Hiking Tips
Anything information or tips that don't
merit their own page can be found here. I'll be adding to this
page regularly, and if it's a topic that gets its own page, I'll
put a link here.
Conditioning Tips
I heartily recommend that if you are
not hiking regularly now, you start before you get in
shape (this is how you get in shape, after all). Walking
is one of the safest exercises you can do. There is no particular
danger in walking a little, and then a little more, each day.
Wear a pack on your walks occasionally,
if you plan to hike with one. This will toughen up your shoulders.
Put some weight in it, of course.
If you will be hiking a lot of steep
trails, you can condition yourself by bicycling (to work, maybe?).
This exercises many of the same muscles you use for hiking uphill.
Foot Care Tips
It is not clear whether walking around
the yard barefoot is more abusive than beneficial to your feet,
but I have had good results. After spending half the day barefoot
for a few weeks, my feet are not only tougher, but they don't
get cold as easily. This is good, because I hike in thin nylon
socks, even when it is below freezing.
Stop hiking when you feel blisters or
"hot spots" starting. Take off your shoes and socks
and let your feet cool. If you have moleskin or other foot treatments
with you, use them on trouble spots before you get a blister.
Duct tape has stopped many people's blisters from forming, although
I find it a mess to remove later.
A few more quick hiking tips for keeping
your feet blister-free and happy:
Regularly empty your shoes of sand and gravel that may have accumulated.
Put on clean socks if you have them. Rest with your feet in the
air once in a while, to reduce the normal swelling that comes
with hiking. Buy shoes at least a half-size larger than you need,
because your feet will be as much as a full size larger by the
end of a long hike. Stop and soak your feet in a stream or lake
from time to time. Finally, start paying conscious attention
to them, until you are habitually caring for your feet.
Mountain Hiking Weather Tips
In the mountains there is almost always
a wide swing in the temperature during the course of the day.
When we lived in Anaconda, Montana, it was common for it to be
within a degree or two of freezing in the morning, and then over
eighty degrees Fahrenheit by afternoon. This effect is due to
the altitude, as well as the drier air found in many mountain
ranges. So be prepared when you are hiking, even if it is only
a day-hike.
Once, in September, I saw several teenagers
near the top of Mount Whitney, still going up to the summit at
eight in the evening. They were in t-shirts, with one flashlight
between them, no other clothing or gear. They obviously didn't
realize that it would be near freezing long before they could
hike the four hours down to their car.
Be aware that lightning is a daily occurrence
in some mountains during the summer. When I was hiking in the
San Juan Mountains in Colorado, I was chased off of mountains
several times by lightning. One couple coming down from Red Cloud
Peak told me their hair had stood on end and their aluminum trekking
poles started buzzing.
Learning to read the sky a bit, and recognize
the patterns of weather, will go a long way towards making your
hiking safer. Hikers get killed by lightning in the mountains
of Colorado, but if you remember the pattern-afternoon storms
that last a few hours at most-it is easy to avoid the danger
(go for the summits early or late.)
Tips On Eating Wild Plants
Learning about edible wild plants not
only adds to the enjoyment of your hiking experiences, but is
also good knowledge to have if you are ever lost in the mountains.
Even though food is not normally a priority in such a situation,
it is comforting to know there is food around you to eat. A well
fed survivor is less likely to panic too.
There is no ecological problem with eating
edible wild plants, as long as you don't collect the endangered
species, and you don't take all the plants in a given patch.
If you are not sure which plants are protected or rare, you can
always learn to identify the common wild berries. You won't hurt
anything by having the occasional lunch of wild raspberries.
My wife and I ate nine species of wild berries during one hike
in Glacier National Park, and at least five of them were delicious.
Tips On Safety Items
Because of the variable terrain, weather,
and wildlife, I always try to bring certain things on hikes that
go more than a few minutes from the car. The list:
1. Rainwear
2. Matches
3. Spare socks
4. Warm clothing
5. Small First Aid Kit
6. Compass
7. Map
8. Water
9. Snacks
10. Common sense
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