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
Mountain Hiking
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