If you love to hike then you are certainly not alone, each year there are literally thousands of us who hit trails across the country exploring the fine nature of this beautiful nation of ours for their health and fitness. Every hiker is different, some like to go away for days on end, others prefer to head out for no more than half a day, one thing that we do have in common however is our love for getting our backpack on and hitting a trail. To help you become a better hiker, here are some tips for you which you may wish to incorporate on your next hike.
GPS Trackers
There seems to be a worrying trend amongst many younger hikers of taking their smartphone with them to use as a GPS device whilst they are on the trail. The big problem with this however is that smartphones are designed to do far greater things than simply act as a GPS tracker, which means that the battery can easily die, and signal will most certainly be lost. This is why some of the best GPS trackers have a function called SOS, which will send a message to one of your contacts should something go wrong.
Cook Books
Is your cooking pretty lame when you are on the trail? Do you generally eat whatever you can carry? If so then you should check out one of the wide range of wild camping and hiking cook books which you can find, that will help to take your cooking to the next level. A happy stomach makes for a happy heart, so why not learn a little and put a smile on your face during those cold nights under the stars!
Investing
There is a time to be frugal and there is a time to spend money and when it comes to camping gear and equipment, this is a time when you should be spending money. In most cases you really do get what you pay for so if you aren’t sure about whether or not you should spend that extra $100 on boots, the answer is likely to be a resounding yes. Getting the best equipment simply makes your life easier when you are on the trail, and you will be grateful that you did.
Challenging
Something which many people do is to find a trail that they like and then stick to it, if you are one of these people then it is time to change your ways. There is nothing wrong with hiking the same route more than once but don’t make it your only trail, make sure that you add some variety and mix up which trails you take. The idea of hiking is about exploration and discovery, so be sure to go on routes which you have no idea about, this will put the thrill back into this hobby for you.
Leave a Reply