Adventure Hiking

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Tactics for the Beginning Hiker

By Carl Street, Pupbrothers.com

Hiking trips aren't just like taking a stroll through the your local park. Rocks and dirt, steep hills, streams, and other natural characteristics make it a great feat to sustain good rhythm over the long distance of a hiking trail. And, for anything but a few hours trek, you'll probably want to bring a backpack along. All those things make hikes an entirely different animal than just a leisurely 'walk in the park'.

Preparing for the journey starts with getting into shape. Once you've developed some back and leg muscle, and have built up stamina through jogging, you're set for the next aspects.

Hiking more than a few hours should involve at least a little preparation and forethought. One detail of which should be to lug a fully packed hiking backpack around for many days preceding the hike. Accomplished hikers need not do this, just beginners.

Carrying a backpack loaded with hiking equipment allows you to evaluate how it fits, analyze various load strategies, and look for areas of body irritation, pack wear, or unevenness. All the while, you're working those precise joints and muscles you will require for the actual event.

Take long jaunts with your backpack around the neighborhood. Be sure a chunk of that is on irregular ground - unmowed grass, curbs, over small boulders, or children's playthings. Look for skewed surfaces to use - hillsides, long driveways, city streets, and so on.

Test various methods of loading and walking combinations to see what is the preferred method for your body type and condition level, with the camping and hiking gear and boots you'll actually be using.

When starting the actual hike, hopefully with a seasoned sidekick, go slow. Lots of novices, even if in good shape, try to travel too swiftly, too quickly and take too few breathers. Take time to enjoy your surroundings. You'll find your endurance to be higher, along with enjoying your adventure hiking that much more.

For longer hikes, resist the urge to traverse every small rise and ford every stream you come to. Walking up (and even down) hills takes a lot more power than along level ground. If you want to have your hike last all day, you should get in the mindset of a marathon runner and not a sprinter.

Build a stable pace. Amateur marathoners quickly find that, while the first couple miles may be rough, getting into a rhythm allows you to run several miles without getting dead tired. Follow their lead.

Because of your practice hikes, your body will know what feels comfortable. Attempt to sustain that, pausing for 5-10 minute breaks each hour or so. You will discover that you can easily journey 5 miles or farther, even on your first set of hikes.

As you acquire experience, and build endurance, your hikes will get longer and longer with less chance of injury or fatigue. The longer you can go, the more great scenes you'll enjoy.