Walking is the most powerful creative tool that I know…the most powerful spiritual practice known to man…Walking makes our breathing rhythmic and repetitive. As our breath steadies and soars, so do our thoughts.
For more than 40,000 years, Aborigines have walked in Dreamtime. In this“timeless” dimension, they dream toward the future and the future dreams back. In this realm they alter the future by altering the way they dream back at it ——– We can do the same thing. Walking allows the body to move into Dreamtime.
Julia Cameron; Vein of Gold
Only where you have walked have you really been.
An English translation of the slogan of the Austrian hiking company ASI.
Although simple in concept, there are many aspects of walking, especially when hiking or backpacking, that are not obvious. Hiking and backpacking often involve a great deal of hard work. Making that hard work as easy as possible is my goal. I believe one must like the hard work to enjoy hiking.
1. Physical fitness.
It is not enjoyable to hike when unfit. Walking up and down hills requires strong legs and reasonable aerobic ability. Steep down hills especially stress knees and require strong quads. Simply walking around town, or jogging, doesn’t build the type of strength necessary for hiking.
There are many ways to build hiking fitness. Climbing hills or stairs is the best. Adding weight to your pack and going to a gym to use leg machines and stair climbers helps. Lower weights with frequent reps may prevent overuse injuries or exacerbating past joint injuries. It is always best to do the activity that you will be doing, simply start according to your ability and work your way up. Weight loss may make the most significant difference.
2. Clothing. When I hike, the only cotton clothing I wear is a bandana. Wet cotton is difficult or impossible to dry and there are a plethora of options involving synthetic material which wick well, are light weight, and dry quickly. Most are now treated to avoid odour. Merino wool base garments are increasingly available to utilize the warm when wet qualities of wool and my favourite underwear are merino boxers.
Layering is well accepted, starting with a wicking base layer, then insulation layer(s), and finally a wind/water proof layer. I virtually always hike in shorts. I also prefer light coloured synthetic long sleeved zip tees. They protect your arms and neck from the sun and can have cooling options by undoing the zip and rolling up the sleeves. Light colours are not hot in the summer and don’t matter in the winter as they are covered by warmer layers. Look for brands that have high ultraviolet protection as many will protect up to 40 SPF. I use MEC zip T silk weight underwear in an off white colour.
I prefer hiking shoes or boots that have stiffer but not rigid soles. These offer the most support and absorb more shock especially when going downhill. A roomy toe box is important. Wear two pairs of socks, as below, when purchasing new boots. Boots with ankle support prevent injuries. Wearing two pairs of socks is best. Thin, synthetic wicking socks (I like Wigwam Ultramax) inside thick socks that cushion and absorb moisture, work well. Some wool in the sock often in combination with synthetics works best. This is the combination most likely to prevent blisters and hot spots. Replacing your insoles with better quality ones may improve comfort. Many require orthotics. Short gaiters are very useful to keep socks and boots clean.
To keep warm when it is cold outside, it is important to not sweat. This is a lesson best learned from the Inuit. With sweating, your clothes become damp, and are less effective insulators. The moisture continues to evaporate after sweating has stopped, causing further cooling. The trick is to exercise at a rate where you stay warm without sweating, and that is largely a matter of adjusting speed and clothing. An individual has more flexibility than a group in controlling speed. If you can’t adjust speed, you must adjust your cooling.
3. Start cool. Most of my hiking experience is in mountains. Ascents of a few thousand feet usually begin immediately at the trailhead and within five minutes, things are starting to heat up. To prevent excessive sweating, start walking wearing the minimum, often your light synthetic wicking layer (this depends on the season). I like to avoid sweating as much as possible. For those who are very cold intolerant, one can start with more clothing but stop early as soon as any sweating starts. Once your muscles are warm, this is a good time to stretch your legs.
4. Pace. Walk at a pace that allows normal conversation. This is often a pace that one can maintain for at least an hour or longer without stopping. It also prevents excessive sweating. This results in the most efficient way to cover the greatest distance and to enjoy the surroundings. For people who like to socialize, it allows easy conversation. Everyone will have their own pace depending on fitness, terrain, and weight of pack. Average paces might be five kilometres/hour on flat ground, three km/h day hiking while climbing, or 1½ km/h backpacking uphill. When fatigued, shortening your stride will help. Shorter, more frequent steps may allow one to maintain the same pace. How often to stop is very individual, but most will want to stop hourly. I often have trouble regaining my pace after long breaks, so will more often have a small snack and water while standing for a few minutes or so and then continue on my way. Hydration systems that allow one to drink regularly whenever any feeling of thirst strikes, work best.
5. Foot placement. Walking on rocky ground requires the hiker to almost constantly look at the ground for stable foot placements. Placing your foot on a flat, as nearly horizontal a surface as possible, causes the least fatigue and strain. I’m constantly looking for larger rocks or roots which usually provide the most stable surface to step on. Avoid loose rocks, scree, and sand as much as possible. When walking uphill on sand or loose scree, try to step in the footsteps of whoever is ahead of you. Hopefully they have the same stride length as you. Safe foot placement is crucial to avoid injuries. One of the most important rules of hiking is to never injure oneself when miles from help. I once fractured my ankle on an unpleasant bushwhack. It was a long six hours hobbling back to the car. Keeping one’s foot flat is an important general principle. When walking up steeper hills keep your heel constantly raised recreates flat foot placement.
6. Rest steps. When having to work extra hard and fatigue is setting in, use rest steps. A rest step involves pausing on your straight downhill leg. Standing on a straight leg allows your muscles to relax as your weight is completely supported by your leg bones. In this brief non-contracted state, the muscle recovers faster. This could be for a split second or for as long as a few breaths. Rest steps are especially valuable at higher altitude.
7. Pursed lip breathing. This involves breathing out against pursed lips. Simply hold your lips tightly together forming a small “o” on your exhalation, which significantly lengthens each exhalation. This raises the back pressure on the air in your airways and lungs, increasing the time available for oxygen transfer and holding your airways more open. This is a technique used by people with emphysema to help them breathe more efficiently and is especially useful, like rest steps, at higher altitudes for everyone.
8. Hiking poles. Poles help going uphill especially for people with limited aerobic ability, on rough terrain to improve stability, or downhill to ease the strain on joints, especially knees. Other benefits include giving your arms a workout and preventing the finger swelling common when hiking (secondary to the pendulum effect of arm swinging).
I find them more of a hindrance than help on boulder fields because of the difficulty of finding good placements for both your poles and feet. Collapsible poles are easier to store on your pack when not in use. I prefer the flip lock mechanism on Black Diamond poles. Poles are an integral part of many lightweight tarp/tent systems.
9. Health issues. Blisters. Prevention is key. Start with some prophylactic covering with your first hiking trip – duct tape is cheap and effective, Moleskin and products like Compeed are all useful. As blisters develop in seconds, stop the instant you feel a hot spot and cover it, change the tightness of your boots, and change socks adding or subtracting socks as necessary to improve fit. Once a blister has formed, they are usually best drained using a needle and thread. Leave the thread running through the blister to keep it draining. Once formed, I use doughnut-shaped foam corn pads under moleskin or duct tape. Alcohol can be useful to dry blisters and toughen the skin of the foot. Purchasing new shoes (often larger especially across the toe box), is necessary. Traumatic nail lesions. With nails not cut short enough or a too-small toe box, repetitive trauma to the end of the nail will often result in losing the nail sometimes complicated by infection. Tendonitis around the ankle. Due to repetitive strain, treatment consists of ice, rest, large doses of anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, and active stretching of the calf and achilles tendons.
10. Hiking essentials There are many lists (mine follows in a separate article). The essence of any list should include gear that would enable one to stay outside overnight. Just imagine if you were to break your leg and could not be evacuated. What are your chances of even being minimally comfortable?
They are arranged in a relative order of importance and would allow one to survive overnight if necessary (imagine that you have broken your leg, can’t be rescued that day, and have to spend the night outside – what would you need to survive in relative comfort?). That should determine the essence of any list.
1. Water. One can go several days without eating.
2. Signalling mirror/Emergency Locator Beacon. A mirror is the best simple way to signal help as it can be seen from a long distance especially from the air. Whistles are of less use as sound does not travel well. Emergency locator beacons are obviously the best things to have if help is needed. Cell phones, UHF Radios, walkie talkies and satellite phones have value depending on location. Lighting a safe fire is useful 24 hours a day.
3. Large garbage bag. A large orange leaf bag can serve as an emergency shelter and increase visibility. A bivy sack may be a better option but is much heavier. The Integral Designs 8’x10’ Siltarp 2 is another light, great choice.
4. Warm clothing. The amount varies with the season but every pack should have a warm jacket (down is light and warm but shouldn’t get wet), rain jacket and pants, long underwear, touque, gloves, and neck warmer. A light sleeping bag would be nice.
5. Seat cushion. Keeps your bottom warm and off the ground.
6. Map and compass. If your GPS fails, a compass is invaluable. Know the declination. 1:50,000 topographical maps should be carried on every hike.
7. Fire. Fire-starter, matches, lighter
8. Food. Ideally should carry an extra day’s food, 1000 extra calories over and above that day’s food would be a minimum.
9. First Aid Kit. Athletic tape, pain killers and steristrips with bandaids would be a minimum.
10. Insect Repellent. DEET is safe and the best.
11. Flashlight. An LED headlamp is best. Spare batteries.
12. Knife. Multipurpose tool like a Leatherman with pliers may be better than a Swiss Army Knife. Keep blade sharp.
13. Sun protection. Sunglasses, sunscreen and lip protector with sunscreen.
14. Nylon cord. Useful for many things.
15. Keys and Identification.
16. Pack. One large enough to hold all this stuff.
17. Common Sense.
Why hiking is uniquely beneficial for your body and your brain
Hiking provides immense cardiovascular and musculoskeletal benefits, but being in nature while participating in the activity might be the greatest advantage of all.
By Daryl Austin
If you’re among the nearly 60 million people participating in America’s most popular recreational activity this summer, chances are you’re getting a lot more out of the experience than quality family time, beautiful vistas, and a breath of fresh air.
Hiking provides a host of mental and physical health advantages including improved cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health, better balance and coordination, and mental health improvements unmatched by other forms of exercise.
“Hiking is an amazing way to get outside and explore, reconnect with feelings of wonder and awe, and reap countless benefits such as decreased anxiety and depression and reduced risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity,” says Alyson Chun, assistant director of the Adventure Sports and Recreation Adventure programs at Stanford University.
Such benefits are especially encouraging considering that hiking has been shown to be accessible to all and less dangerous than other popular mountain summer activities such as rock climbing, mountain biking, paragliding, or mountaineering.
“Whether it’s a local path or a challenging mountain hike, there’s a trail for everyone—each offering a customizable adventure for any fitness level and schedule,” says Rami Hashish, a physical therapist and body performance consultant at the National Biomechanics Institute in Los Angeles.
Physical upsides worth climbing for
High on the list of physical benefits associated with hiking is better cardiovascular and respiratory health, provided, in part, by strengthened lung tissue and cardiac muscle.
“A stronger heart is able to pump more blood with less effort, which results in less pressure on the arteries and reduced hypertension,” says Chun.
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The activity also improves cholesterol levels by normalizing blood lipids and lipoproteins, which play crucial roles in removing excess cholesterol from the body and transporting the molecule to and from tissue. Such factors mean hiking can be effective in reducing one’s risk of heart disease and cancer development, which improves longevity.
“When hiking on challenging terrain, the average person can burn around 400-550 calories per hour,” says Chun. In this way, the activity plays a crucial role in avoiding chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
The weight-bearing nature of hiking can also help increase bone density, which reduces the risk of osteoporosis, adds Hashish.
Muscle growth and maintenance occurs as well since hiking targets multiple muscle groups, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors, shins, calves, glutes, and core, says Joel Martin, a kinesiologist and associate professor at George Mason University’s College of Education and Human Development. Using trekking poles can similarly engage upper-body muscles like arms and shoulders, “and steeper hikes can intensify the workout for many muscles,” says Martin. “Some individuals will also choose to hike with additional loads such as a ruck sack or weight vest for an additional stimulus.”
Frequent changes in terrain and navigating around rocks and other obstacles also means one is improving balance, posture and coordination.
“Hiking is really a three-in-one exercise that combines components of cardio, balance, and weightlifting—and this increased complexity creates a greater challenge for our bodies,” says Joyce Gomes-Osman a physical therapist and neurologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Improved mental acuity
The mental health benefits of hiking are no less compelling. “There is substantial research evidence of the benefits of hiking on mental health outcomes in a range of individuals including the old and young,” says Martin.
For one, hiking for only 30 minutes has been shown to reduce stress hormones by as much as 28 percent. Walking for longer bouts of time and more frequently has been further shown to improve physiological stress parameters associated with acute stress, “such as heart rate variability and cortisol levels,” says Martin Niedermeier, a sports scientist at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, and the lead author of supportive research.
The activity also can reduce anxiety and depression, plus improve cognition, memory function, and problem-solving skills.
One of the ways it provides these benefits, explains James Ashton-Miller, mechanical engineer director of the biomechanics research laboratory at the University of Michigan, is that “hiking requires the frontal lobe of the brain to pay constant attention to process the ever-changing visual field to identify sequential trip and slip hazards as they appear on the hiking path.”
Another contributing factor, notes Gomes-Osman, is that hiking boosts neuroplasticity in the brain, which is the nervous system’s ability to reorganize and establish new functional connections. “Neuroplasticity is vital to us as humans because it enables us to learn and evolve through life and it powers the thinking and memory centers in the brain,” she says.
Hiking with others has also been shown to be good for one’s social life, which can reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Benefits unique to nature
But many of the best mental health benefits associated with hiking stem from the rhythmic cadence of walking combined with the calming effects of the sights, sounds, and smells of nature.
“Simply inhaling an organic compound called phytoncides that trees release has been found to improve immunity,” says Suzanne Hackenmiller, an integrative medicine physician based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Another benefit of hiking is that the combination of physical activity and exposure to nature can promote endorphin release which, improves mood and reduces stress, says Hashish. He points to research that shows that the natural light of being outdoors can also help regulate circadian rhythms and improve sleep quality, in addition to the vitamin D provided by sunlight being good for bone health and staving off illness and disease.
Studies also show that people walking in nature vs an urban setting experience less rumination, “which is that experience of stressful thoughts getting stuck in an infinite replay loop,” says Hackenmiller. In a similar vein, she highlights other supportive research that shows how people hiking in nature also improve their attention spans by as much as 20 percent.
Another compelling perspective builds on research surrounding Blue Zones—regions of the world where people live longer, healthier lives.
“Much of the research associated with these areas is aimed at pinning down the active ingredients,” explains Gomes-Osman, “and it turns out living in a mountainous area is one such factor.”
Hiking can even improve one’s attitude towards exercise generally. “This is likely why hikers expel more energy than runners or walkers as they tend to spend longer periods of activity than if they exercised in a different environment.
Getting started
Another plus is that there are few barriers for entry and beginning the recreational activity isn’t hard to do. Hiking is an activity that requires little expense in terms of gear, plus no training or certification requirements.
When getting started, she recommends hiking with others—or at least making sure someone knows where you’re going and when you expect to return.
Don’t neglect wearing proper hiking shoes with good grip, and be sure to dress in layers suitable for the weather and to bring plenty of nutritious snacks and water. The American Hiking Society recommends bringing between half a quart and a quart of water per hour of hiking, depending on the intensity of the hike and how hot it is.
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A small first aid kit, and a cell phone or other trackable electronic device, ideally on silent mode, but with you for emergencies.
When choosing hikes, start with trails that match your fitness level before progressing to more challenging ones. When searching out such trail options, look at things like accessibility, rated difficulty, nearby sources of drinking water, any expected changes in elevation, and to always check the weather and trail conditions before you leave.
