Hiking 411 | Additional Hiking Techniques for Beginners

Taking hikes over normal terrain commands being able to maintain a uniform pace for many hours, taking brief breaks (about 10 min or so) in between, one each hour. But streams, extreme or slick slopes, and hiking at high elevations can make that near impossible. To sum it up, your skill has to be custom-tailored to the actual situation.

Normal walking pace on even ground is between 2-4 miles an hour. At that speed, a person burns about 50-150 calories every hour. Contrast that with the quantity of calories expended by simply sitting, which is much lower. In addition, for each hour of hiking, you will expend about a liter of fluid (more when it's hot out) that needs to be replaced.

But as surroundings, as they oftentimes do, become increasingly hilly or higher in altitude, the strain on you becomes much larger. As you traverse up steeper hills you're performing much more work against gravity to remain standing and travel up the slope. And, as oxygen levels diminish, your heart must work intensely to pump blood throughout your body to re-oxygenate tissues.

Remember those details when you start to take on rougher hiking. The more demanding environments are regularly more scenic and exhilarant. Hiking through a densely wooded mountainside at 4,000 feet is certainly more engrossing than a walk around the brush in the foothills.

But conditions demand much more from a hiker. Check your heart rate to make sure it isn't hammering away in your chest every stride you take. A resting heart rate is around 70 beats per minute, while hard exercise will bump that up to 120 beats per minute for brief periods of time. Endeavor to remain on the lower end most of the time. Those rates can differ rather a lot between persons and are merely averages.

Accomplishing that, you can steer clear of the symptoms of something known by many names, such as High Altitude Syndrome or Acute Mountain Sickness.

Just like extreme hills and higher elevation exhibit unique difficulties, so too are challenges presented in the crossing of streams, rivers, and lakes. While utter intensity can be very useful, skill and experience matter a lot also.

Choosing a good pair of hiking footwear is step one. High top, waterproof hiking boots will help your feet remain dry, which is important for avoiding problems with your feet. They will also give you a bit better grip on slick surfaces. Other waterproof hiking gear, like a well-made backpack designed of waterproof material is valuable, as well.

The best tools however are inside your noggin - experience and intelligence.

Don't submit to the urge of fording a river when you don't have to. Cold temperatures, slippery bottoms, undercurrents and other possible hazards are difficult to determine. Step on the rocks in a stream instead of walking through it, if you can do so carefully. Hike around a lake instead of swimming it when you can.

Take bridges or different routes. You'll become less fatigued with a somewhat longer walk than you will with a relatively quick, cold-temperature swim.

Chief among all, apply your common sense. A hike can be a colossal, exciting experience. But injuring yourself or being even grossly uncomfortable should not be part of it.

Hikes

Additional Hiking Techniques for Beginners