If you’re not particularly the archetypal sporty type, the idea of team sports or spending your weekend sweating at the gym probably won’t sound too appealing. Getting active will not only control your weight, help to beat stress and keep you healthy, toning your body can also boost your self esteem and encourage you to keep up an active lifestyle. Getting started is the hardest part, so let’s take a look at an activity that’s easy, fun and free, walking. It’s proven to have huge psychological and physical benefits but can walking tone your body? Let’s find out.

The benefits of walking

Walking, especially hiking in the great outdoors can work wonders for the mind and body. However, even if you’re not the outdoor type, a walk around the block, a walk to the shops instead of taking the car, walking the dog, it can all add up. Because we naturally walk, it’s easy to rule it out as a sport, however, if you plan to walk to lose weight, it can be extremely effective, with a little planning and by staying on top of your goals. Best of all, it’s free and requires no specialized skills to get started.

Walking regularly can help you to get active, serving as a springboard to other activities, or other types of walking, more on that later. Walking can help to control your weight, build up and strengthen your muscles and boost your morale. Of course, if you are strictly looking only to define your muscles then you’d be better off doing certain specific exercises. However, walking can still help you to stay on top of your weight, meaning any muscle definition you have will be revealed.

For the rest of us, walking is a great start, a gentle learning curve that can be gradually built up and complemented if desired by other activities.

Getting started

If you’re in reasonable shape you might want to skip this step, if you need to start small, read on. To burn off calories, get in shape and start to tone up your legs, hips and buttocks, you’re going to have to take walking seriously and combine it with any necessary dietary changes, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to outwalk a bad diet. However, getting out and about more often and slowly building up your stamina will give you the opportunity to make a real go of it.

Find a pleasant local walk or pick a destination and enjoy your time outdoors. Slowly increase your distances and when you feel ready try picking up the pace. This isn’t going to happen overnight but walking regularly will have huge benefits and you will see and feel the difference. It’s important to incorporate walking into your daily life, not just scenic strolls, but making walking part of your lifestyle, that way you end up being active regardless of what day it is or how you feel.

Step further

If you’re in reasonable shape or you’ve already started to walk regularly, you’ll probably want to increase the intensity of your activity. Short hikes over varied terrain are an excellent way to progress. Not only will you get to see more of the great outdoors and reconnect with nature, a varied terrain will increase your balance, keep you interested longer and burn more calories. Hills are an excellent way to test yourself and increase the number of calories you burn off, while working out your muscles.

Look up local hiking trails and test yourself, while remembering to stay active at home on a daily basis, walking as much as possible. As you begin to build up your stamina, you could give backpacking a try. If you aren’t ready to try out a trip into the wilderness or if you prefer short day hikes within easy reach of civilization, you could always try weighing down a backpack with water bottles. You’ll be surprised how much more of a workout you get even with a small weighted backpack. Carrying a backpack weighing 15 lbs could increase your calorie burn off by 15 % and improve your balance.

Try walking with trekking poles for a great upper body and increased cardiovascular workout, there’s plenty of scientific research into the benefits of Nordic walking. If that’s not for you, you could also try longer hikes over more challenging terrain at a fast pace. Fastpacking, as it’s commonly known, is a sort of speed hiking. It’s a great, intense workout consisting of trail running, hiking over difficult terrain and camping, travelling long distances rapidly carrying ultra-light gear, with the aim of being completely self-sufficient.

If you prefer to keep things local and simple, you could find that briskly walking as part of your daily lifestyle, with a few toning exercises thrown in on the go, could help you to lose weight and in doing so reveal a more toned, healthier you.

Conclusion

Walking is an excellent way for most people to get active, lose weight and boost self-esteem. While walking alone is not going to have a huge toning effect, getting out and active will undoubtedly build up muscles and increase weight loss which will in turn reveal the muscles that were concealed behind extra body fat. To make walking work for you, you’ll need to make it a part of your everyday routine and whenever possible, take the opportunity to increase the pace, difficulty or terrain, to ensure you’re actually getting a thorough work out too.

There are many walking activities and groups that can help you to get started or you can make your journey truly your own. So, can walking tone your body? Yes, although it might be less effective than exercises developed to target certain muscles, but any exercise is better than none, and walking with its psychological and physical benefits combined with the sense of wellbeing that comes from reconnecting with nature, is definitely an excellent way to get started.

When you start to look at hiking and what type of outdoor jacket could be good to get, you could easily get confused quite quickly, especially if you’re new to the them.

There seems to be so many different types of jackets for the outdoors, it can be hard to know what the purpose is for each of the different types, and what is good to get for your needs.

Sure, some of them are straightforward e.g. a rain jacket is obviously a jacket that is used to protect you from the rain. But what about say a down jacket, a soft shell jacket, or a hard shell jacket?

All of these are created with a specific purpose in mind, so in this article I want to run over a brief summary of each type of jacket category there is available, and what their core purpose and function is.

I say core, as many jackets will server multiple purposes e.g. a rain jacket will also give you some protection from the wind, but there is a whole specific category of wind jackets in their own right.

Note, for this article I am not looking at the complete and full range of outdoor jackets, only ones that can and do have some use in the context of hiking. There are outdoor jackets designed specifically for other outdoor sports and activities e.g. skiing, running, etc.

The jackets and their core purpose that we will review in this article are:

• Rain jackets
• Down jackets
• Fleece Jackets
• Hardshell jackets
• Softshell jackets
• Insulated Jackets
• Wind Jackets
• Winter Jackets

Rain Jackets

Well, this one is pretty clear. A rain jackets core purpose is to protect you from the rain. In terms of hiking, these will typically be very lightweight and packable. Often times, they can be referred to as a rain shell which is a very literal description i.e. a shell, so on the outside, over you to protect you from the rain. Pictured below is the Venture 2 rain jacket from the North Face.

Their construction aims to keep rain from getting in while allowing the inside area, between the torso and the inside of the jacket, to breathe i.e. perspiration can easily get out so you don’t get wet from the inside.

These jackets are built with motion in mind, so they tend to be designed to allow a lot of movement and room for additional clothing e.g. layering, helmet, etc.

Rain jackets are versatile and perfect for hiking but also can be used for a variety of other outdoor activities, as well as typical day-to-day use.

Down Jackets

Down jackets are made from ‘Down’ which is the soft and warm feathers from the underbelly of ducks or geese. The core purpose of these jackets is to provide warmth.

Down is an excellent insulator and so, a very warm material. Down utilizes fill power as a measure of the loft or ‘fluffiness’ to provide an indicator of its insulating properties. The higher the fill power, the more air pockets in the down and the more insulating the jacket will be for its weight.

Down does have a synthetic counterpart, see below, and while it may hold its own against down in terms of warmth, it generally loses out in terms of overall comfort as Down is much more breathable.

While some Down jackets will have waterproof capabilities, Down is not good if it gets wet so that is something to be wary of. If you’re making camp on a cold and crisp evening, a Down jacket really comes into its own to help keep you warm when you stop moving, and the evening gets cool as the sun goes down.

Fleece Jackets

A fleece jacket is a key part of any hikers gear list, definitely a key part of mine anyway. A fleece is usually constructed from polyester synthetic wool and is typically used as part of a layering system.

It is typically not supposed to provide protection from the wind or rain, although you can get some crossovers which may provide some rain resistance.

The core function is to provide warmth while also providing a good level of breathability to let your torso breathe.

They come in different thicknesses, with the thicker ones providing more warmth. In my opinion, they’re perfect for hiking, I have several of these, of different thicknesses, which I use on the trail throughout the seasonal changes of the year.

I also find that good quality fleeces, tend to have a long life so I am ok to spend some decent money on them, as I know I’ll get years out of good quality ones.

Hard Shell Jacket

A hard shell jacket is, as the name implies, a shell you wear on the outside, which is, you guessed it, hard. A hard shell jacket at its core will protect you from rain and wind and is again a key part of any layering system.

Breathability will also form an important part of the functioning of a hard shell jacket, but that is very closely linked to your entire layering system i.e. it all needs to work together. As with a rain shell jacket, If you’re too warm from your inside layers, you will get wet from the inside as perspiration can’t get out.

The best advice I could ever give in this regard is, you have to find out what works best for you, as breathability ratings provided by manufacturers are not definitive, and in my experience are at best a guideline. You may also rightly wonder what the difference is then between a hard shell and a rain jacket!?

The main difference will be quality of construction and level of protection. Hardshells are typically better performers in terms of rain protection than rain shell jackets. However, they can be bulkier and heavier, and usually cost much more than a basic rain shell jacket.

They all have their place though and if I’m day-hiking in heavy rain in winter, a hard shell would usually be a better option.

Soft Shell Jacket

So now we move onto the soft shell jacket. A soft shell jacket will typically not be waterproof, but will usually have some element of water resistance. Its construction will also aim to be exceptionally breathable.

Similar to a fleece, a soft shell jackets core function is to provide warmth, while allowing moisture to wick away from your lower layers closest to your body.

They are usually very flexible so excellent for any activity where you need to stretch e.g. climbing. In terms of hiking, they can form part of a layering system and be used as an outer layer under the right conditions e.g. when you need a bit of warmth on the move on a crisp Spring day on the trail, but it isn’t raining.

Insulated Jackets

These are pretty much the same, in terms of function, as down jackets, but with one important distinction. As far as I can tell, the main difference is that an insulated jacket is made from synthetic fibres as opposed to natural down material.

The core function is the same, primarily for warmth, say on a cold evening at camp. You can of course wear them as part of a layering system, under your outer shell jacket for example, but as referenced above, they are usually not as breathable as a down jacket.

However, they are much better at retaining warmth when wet, than a down jacket, so that is an important thing to take into consideration too.

In my experience, I have always only ever used down / insulated jackets when I stop for a time e.g. stopping to eat lunch on a day hike on a cold day, pitching camp for the night on a cold evening, etc. When on the move, I use a fleece in conjunction with my lower layers for warmth and breathability.

That doesn’t mean you couldn’t use one in place of a fleece, as long as it worked ok for you in terms of letting perspiration out. If it was cold enough, it might well be needed and as with all things related to hiking gear, you need to find what works best for you, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different combinations, in different conditions, etc.

You can find some insulated jackets that roll up into their own pocket to form a really tidy bundle that is great for packing into a day pack.

Wind Jackets

The core function of a wind jacket is of course, protection from the wind. They will typically have some element of water resistance and they should be very functional in the breathability department. I imagine these could be very useful on boats, or out fishing where you could be exposed to higher winds.

They are made from synthetic materials and act as a windbreaker / windcheater. If the wind chill is a major factor, something like this might be a good addition to your hiking kit.

I personally have never had a big need for a jacket specifically designed to protect from the wind only. I rely on my rain shell jacket for that purpose.

Winter Jackets

A winter jacket is a jacket that is used for warmth when the very cold times of year roll around. They will have broad elements of weather protection, and will offer rain resistance as opposed to offering waterproof protection. Pictured below is the Canada Goose Expedition Parka jacket.

A winter jacket is not something I personally associate with hiking as it’s too bulky, but I thought I would add it in here, as it could come into play as a general jacket for warmth, say if you’re bunking in a cabin as a basecamp at the foot of some mountains for example. Could be a very nice to have, as you collect you firewood or go about other chores about camp.

Conclusion

I hope you found this article on the various different types of outdoor jackets and their purpose useful. It is not meant to be a detailed deep dive into each category or type, rather an overview to give you an idea of what they are, so you can more specifically identify what you may need.

In the context of hiking, all the above could come into play although not always on the trail, as in the case of a winter jacket.

I have owned or used nearly all of the above, except for a wind jacket, so they all definitely have their place and function for a hiker and other outdoor activities. They can all also be used for general use as well, so they are versatile and they, largely speaking, look pretty stylish.

Remember, if you’re a casual hiker, a quality version of one the above, may cover many bases so you may not need to get all the various different types.

As always, please like and share if you found this useful 🙂

So, maybe it’s that time of year again and you just can’t believe another year has rushed by, and Santa is looking around for the naughty and the nice. Or maybe it’s someone you loves birthday or you just want to get a hiker in your life a gift for the heck of it!

In this article I take a look at some hiking gift ideas for the hiker in your life. The good news is that it is not hard to get a gift for a hiker, there is massive choice available! So here I give five excellent suggestions for affordable, and functional hiking gifts.

So, let’s begin!

Hat and Gloves

This is an easy one that is an immensely functional gift for any hiker. Hats and gloves are a must over cooler times of year like autumn and winter. The main thing about then for a hiker is function. When you’re standing on a cold peak in less than zero temperatures, you are primarily interested in warmth, comfort and functionality.

Although you of course would like your hat and gloves to look well, making a fashion statement is not a primary consideration for the vast majority of hikers. With that in mind, you want to aim for function first. The good news here is that you can get very functional hats and gloves that are also stylish for hiking for a very affordable price.

In terms of warmth, ski glove style gloves and mittens are excellent options. While you can of course go all out and spend a fortune, you don’t need to, it’s entirely up to you. If you want gloves with specific capabilities e.g. water resistance, touchscreen capable, etc. then you can expect to pay a bit more, even on basic gloves. Check out this article for more about what I use for hiking gloves to get some more tips and suggestions. In terms of warmth in a hiking hat, it’s hard to beat a hiking beanie, and again, you can get one for a few bucks or spend a bit more if you wish. I tend to get the cheap and cheerful beanies, see the image below, and they work just fine. Not spending a fortune also has the added benefit of not being heartbroken if you lost it!

What if you live in a warm area? Well, again, a sun hat is just as necessary as a good beanie in the cold. Also, gloves also serve multiple purposes e.g. blister prevention, protecting hands while scrambling, etc. There is a huge range of hiking hat options to choose from depending on your needs.

The main point here is that there are hats and gloves that are useful for nearly all climates, so as you can see, the options are pretty much endless, so this is an excellent choice as a gift for a hiker. Even if they already have hats and gloves, there will nearly always be a use for new ones at some point. Hiking hats and gloves, tend to get a lot of use so can wear out quite easily, they are also prone to getting lost i.e. left behind or accidentally dropped in the hills and on the trail.

It’s worth noting that there are a whole host of other options in terms of face protection. For example, a balaclava is excellent for very cold conditions and again can be got at a very reasonable price. Neck gaiters are also very functional and useful in colder temperatures, while bandana’s are great for use most of the year round as a versatile and functional protection for the head e.g. from sun, keeping sweat out the eyes, etc.

Hiking Socks

Oh yeh! ‘How boring!’ I hear you say, ‘I can’t buy Uncle John a boring pair of socks, everyone gets him socks at Christmas, Yawn!’ Seriously though, in general, I personally find socks a really useful and practical gift. Assuming someone gets me the right size and they’re not some outrageous pattern or design of course.

I digress though … when it comes to hiking socks, they are actually a really important part of any serious hiker’s kit. Whether the hiker in your life loves to hike up scraggy ridges in the Cairngorms in Scotland, or likes to take in the trails in Zion National Park in Utah, their hiking socks play a serious role in keeping them comfortable. Socks are of course the border between the skin on a hikers feet and their hiking boots or trail shoes (which is of course getting pounded by the trail as they hike), so good ones are essential.

Again, the ranges and options are many. Buying a good pair of Merino Wool socks for warmth and comfort, will cost a bit more than a light sock for hiking on trails in sunnier climes. However, nearly all are in the affordable category. Be sure to get an idea of what kind of hiking the receiver of your gift does though i.e. make sure they are functional for their use. Again, socks could be looked at as boring, but trust me, hiking socks wear out regularly enough for a regular hiker, so new ones are usually not too far from their shopping list.

In summary, hiking socks are a very affordable and a very functional gift option for the hiker in your life. You can learn more about some specifics about buying hiking socks here.

Hiking Survival Kit

OK, now into some more exotic and fun stuff! Hiking survival kits are more what I would class as a novelty gift. Don’t get me wrong, many of them are good and you get some good stuff with them, but as a regular hiker, I am probably unlikely to pack one with me, but that’s more just because I already have all the separate parts. I use a specific type of compass, I have a Swiss army knife and so on, that’s just me though.

Aside from fun and novelty value, there is function in these for sure. Having a good knife or torch handy is always useful, although I typically use a headlamp for hiking and camping purposes. Personally, I see these packs as more something I would keep in my car as an emergency spare. Could be great to have on hand for camping and the like.

Typically, with a survival kit, you get a whole host of tools with one, for example, common contents are things like:

• Flintstones
• Multi-function scraper
• Emergency tungsten steel pen
• Emergency thermal blanket
• Tactical torch flashlight
• Multi-function compass
• Portable mini light
• Tactical Military Knife
• Saber card
• Whistle
• Shockproof case

That’s just one example and as you can see, there’s a lot of good stuff in there. All very functional and useful. I think this is a better gift for a newbie hiker as it opens up all sorts of possibilities to them that they may not have considered i.e. what do I use a compass for? What’s the emergency whistle for? etc.

Snack Pack

Another fun and easy one! You can get pre-made snack packs (basically a selection of snacks in a box) that can add a nice bit of novelty to things. However, there is no reason you can’t make up your own! Get a bunch of hiking foods together, things in wrappers with a decent shelf life are what you’re after here.

So, think along the lines of a bag of trail mix, some granola or energy bars, protein bars, chocolate for an energy blast, boiled sweets, dried fruit, etc. you get the idea.

You could even go on step further and make some of the things yourself! I have a friend who makes his own protein bars, and they’re yummy! How about that for a unique and tailored hiking gift idea, specially made protein bars!

Now, that may be a stretch for most, but it could be fun thinking out of the box and seeing what you can come up with! No matter what option you go with above, again, you’re unlikely to break the bank, so you can get a fun gift for a very economical price!

First Aid Kit

I actually got this as an unexpected gift from a colleague in the office as part of a Kris Kringle some years back! I was quite surprised at the thoughtfulness of the gift, and it was a really quality one! It had all the basics, and I needed one, so it was perfect! It was ready to go, aside from missing one or two things like Vaseline.

It really was a great gift. You can also make your hiking own first aid kit as well, again, another option to personalize it if you’d like to add your own touches. As with a snack pack, or hats, glove and socks, a good and functional hiking first aid kit shouldn’t break the bank, so another very functional gift to help with blisters and other little problems and niggles while the hiker in your life is out on the trail. I also know myself, that while I have a hiking first aid kit, I would have no problem with someone buying me a new one, as it can be good to replace stuff every so often so, as with all hiking gear, it’s good to have back-up spares!

A Voucher

I am concluding this with a trip to Boringsville! Ha ha … yes, indeed, the trusty voucher. Not anything that’s going to generate massive excitement, but it is something that the hiker in your life will find practical use for.

A voucher for a good outdoor store or a voucher from Amazon, will be welcomed by any hiker. They will need new gear periodically throughout the year, so being able to help with the cost of that, is a good thing!

As well as that advantage, it can be hard to pick hiking gear for people, say things like boots, jackets, etc. There is so much personal choice involved, and there are so many options these days, it can be very hard to make a good assessment and guess as to what a person may like without discussing it with them. That can be fine sometimes, but unless done with stealth it kind of takes the element of surprise out of the equation. That is where the voucher really comes into its own!

If someone has to get a new pair of hiking boots, or a new rain jacket, the cost can be significant. Knowing that they have, for example, a $100 voucher on hand that will help lighten the load of that cost can be a really good thing, especially for folks on a budget.

That voucher may also enable them to get a better level of product e.g. they have a budget of $160 to spend on hiking boots, they now have the option to add the $100 voucher to their budget making their buying power $260, so they can get a higher level of quality in their hiking boots.

So, yawning aside, the trusty voucher definitely has its place, and it’s easy to slip into a Christmas stocking or birthday card, no wrapping pressure too ha ha!

Conclusion

So, there you have it, I hope you found these hiking gift ideas for the hiker in your life useful! As you can see, there are lots of options to choose from and you really don’t have to break the bank to get something thoughtful, useful, functional and potentially fun.

Of course, as I referenced at the start of this, I am only scratching the surface here, walk into any hiking gear shop and you will find a veritable menagerie of stuff to choose from! It can be a bit bewildering if you don’t know anything about gear though, so enlisting the help of a sales assistant may be advisable if it’s all new to you!

If you’ve been too busy to get to the stores and you’re doing your shopping last minute, no worries, an online voucher can be a great way to go, to dig you out of a hole!

Whatever you do, I hope you end up with the right gift that brings a smile to the face of the hiker in your life 🙂 If you liked this article, please like, share and comment!

I thought it might useful to add up some tips and ideas on how to plan a hiking trip or vacation. I’ve organized and taken part in many hiking trips over the years so I thought I would drill down into the main things I look at when considering a trip.

First off, I should start by saying that by a hiking trip, I mean more than a day trip to your local mountains, although some of the items below could still apply. For this article, I am talking about taking a few days or more away, often in a location unfamiliar to you.

Every hiking trip is unique, no matter how small or large. However, if you want to go away to another country or state for a weekend with a few friends to hike some trails in a national park, generally speaking that will be much easier to get together than say, climbing to the top of Mont Blanc or hiking the Inca Trail.

So, let’s look into this some more. Below are some ideas on what to consider to help you find the right information to get you going.

The Basics

Starting at the start, establish the basic framework of your trip. Do you already know what type of hiking trip you want? This is the fundamental basis of organizing anything, you need to define what you want, or at least get an idea of what you’re looking for.

Sure, it can be fun to start from a completely blank slate, but the amount of choices are practically infinite so at some point, you need to get a clearer idea of some of the basic things you’d like your trip to cover. Listed below are some key areas to get you thinking.

Budget

This is self explanatory really, so not much explanation needed really. If you live in London and want to head to Everest Base Camp, it’s going to be a lot more expensive than heading to the Italian Alps for a few days. Travel is a big one in this example as it is way more expensive to get to the start of your hike to Everest Base Camp than it is to travel to your chosen start point in the Italian Alps.

Also, the more adventurous you get, you may need more specific gear to handle whatever the hike may throw at you. For example, if you think you’ll be hiking over glaciers, you may need to buy or hire crampons.

Of course, you should never be crossing glaciers without the guidance and help of a trained mountain guide, or if you and your party are that experienced and know how to rope up and do it yourself. I assume the latter is not the case for most folks and so, the extra gear will add cost.

Then of course, as reviewed in more detail below, there will be the costs of accommodation whether you travel of your own accord or join an organized tour or trip of some kind. You have to eat and drink too so you need to factor that into your budget as well.

Typically organized trips with a company will cost more, but they have the added advantage of supplying all the gear you may need for the hike which is a big plus. I first experienced this when I climbed Mont Blanc. The company I went with not only took care of all the gear needed, but they supplied transport, guides, accommodation, meals, etc. It was great, as it meant me and my friends could focus on the task at hand, namely getting to the top of Mont Blanc! Which I’m happy to report, we did 🙂

Duration

How long do you want to go away for, a weekend, a week, longer? Depending on the type of trip you want to take, this will of course vary. But if you know you only have a weekend to work with, that immediately puts certain limits on your options and helps narrow down the search criteria.

Hiking Type

This was alluded to just above but it is fundamental to organizing your trip. Exactly what kind of hiking do you want to do? Are nice and easy trails, taking in the morning sun your thing, or are you after challenging off trail stuff?

This is kind of the fun part, as the choices are practically limitless. Taking all other considerations into account, you can get to pick from any country, park, trail, etc. Within reason of course, some places are of course just not viable or accessible.

You also can consider whether you need guided help or is it’s a do it yourself mission. I touch on that in more detail below.

Weather and Climate

Important to factor in, if you have a hike in a certain location in mind. Depending on the time of year, the weather and climate could mean it’s a big no-no to do what you want to do. You may have to pick the right time of year.

For example, a common one, is that some mountains in winter time are just no go zones as it is far too dangerous to attempt to summit them in winter. Even in summer, when the weather is typically better, it could be a no no.

For example, I hiked in Death Valley in April last year, and I found the heat tough. I can’t imagine what it would be like to do that in August when the Summer heat is scorching. Potentially very dangerous and it could mean you’d be wiser not to even consider heading out on the trail there at that time of year!

Hiking Gear

Already touched no above but it is an important one so deserves a specific mention. Whatever trip you decide on, do you have all the gear you need for it? will standard hiking boots do the job or do you need specialized boots e.g. crampon compatible? Will your normal hiking rain jacket be enough, or do you need something much more resilient to the elements?

There is a lot to think about here, depending on your trip. For standard hiking trips, you can probably get away with gear you already have. You can check the complete day hiking checklist for the standard gear you typically need for an average day hike, that covers most things.

However, for more adventurous hiking trips, you may well need to hire or buy more specialized gear to ensure you are safe while out on the trail. If you choose to go with a guided hiking trip or adventure holiday, any required gear may be supplied by the company, so that is worth looking into as well if specialized gear is required.

Getting There

Depending on the trip you want to undertake, you have to of course work out how you’re going to get there. When you hike, you are of course in mountains and so on, so you’re not likely to have an airport in close vicinity to your chosen destination (which is of course a good thing as who wants an airport in the wilderness!). I’m sure there are exceptions though.

The point being that if you’re travelling and organizing things yourself, you’re not going to always have easy access transport to the mountains. Sometimes you will, but not always and even if there is public transport, you will most likely have to get a series of connections to get there if you aren’t hiring a car (Or driving yourself there in your own car from home). So, in summary, how hard it is to get to where you need to get to, is an important thing to consider.

If you are going on organized trip, say a hiking package holiday, all of this should be taken care of for you, from when you arrive at the airport till the time you get back. There are also plenty of hiking day trip options from city centers so that can be another option i.e. to use a main city or town as a hub or base and travel in and out of it to your hiking location of choice.

This isn’t always desirable though and you may be better planning to set up base in the local area. Anyway, you get the idea, there are often plenty of options available, if you go down the organized trip route. Cost plays an important role in this as you can imagine, so you should try and get an idea of all the travel costs involved.

Accommodation

Just like getting there, you will need to factor in accommodation for your hiking trip. Are you planning to backpack and camp in the wilderness, or do you need a hotel or hostel to sleep in at night? These things all add up in terms of cost as well, so you need to examine the various options available.

This isn’t usually a big deal when travelling to popular travelling destinations as the local economy is setup to support that kind of tourism. Timing may be a problem for this though, so you may need to book well in advance.

On the other hand, if you’re going well off the beaten track though, that may not be the case and you need to do a lot more research to figure out what will work best.

If you’re thinking about backpacking, be sure to check the rules in the area (see the restrictions and limitations section below) as you may need special permission, like a wilderness pass to do that kind of thing i.e. you can’t just show up, head into the mountains and pitch a tent. That isn’t the case everywhere of course, but it is in plenty of places so you need to take it into consideration and check when doing your planning.

Do it Yourself or Guided

I touched on this above, but depending on what kind of trip you end up looking for, you may need to sign up for a guided tour. For example, sometimes you need a license to hike in certain countries national parks, which are only available through official tour companies. This is done to prevent overcrowding and to protect the natural habitat, history, etc.

On the other hand, this can sometimes be optional. For example, if you land in the UK and want a hire a mountain guide to take you hiking to the top of Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the UK, you can do that. However, if you’re an experienced hiker, there is no reason you can’t head up Nevis of your own accord given the conditions, etc. are suitable. You just need to be aware that you will have do you own route planning etc.

Again, this ties back to your requirements and how experienced, adventurous, etc. you may be. I have used both options at times, when the choice has been available to me. In some cases, say going to a foreign country, guided help can be a real help.

If you’re unsure about this, again, just do some research online, etc. In most cases, you will find information in articles and so on, on how easy or hard it may be to go on your own, and whether it is better to have a local guide with you. There are plenty of hiking forums too.

There are of course, as always, exceptions to this. There are countries with beautiful hiking regions that aren’t frequented as much as others. Think of somewhere like Siberia, or deep regions in India as an illustrative example. A hiking location could be well off the beaten track and far from populated civilization. Therefore, there may not be as much information available on these types of places (even things like available maps of the region may not be great or they may even not exist).

Now, for this kind of trip, you are moving into adventurer territory to a degree and suffice it to say, you need to do a lot more good research, as opposed to for a more mainstream type of trip. Employing a competent local guide (who speaks the language) is both sensible and probably essential for this type of trip. This is also good for the local community / economy as well, as you’re putting money directly into the hands of locals.

That is a nice segway into my final point for consideration on this. Many tour companies will organize trips abroad from your home country. These can be excellent, and they usually take care of everything end to end, from your home airport, right till you get back.

However, sometimes, it could be worth considering directly employing a local tour company in the place you are visiting. Your money is potentially going directly into the pockets of local people, without an intermediary.

Now, I do not mean to imply that international tour companies do not support local economies on these types of trips, in most cases they do and employ the local people as well. However, it is something which might be worth looking into, as if you are willing to take care of your own travel arrangements, you might just save some money too as utilizing local resources directly, can often be much cheaper than a big established international tour company.

Again, it comes down to what you’re most comfortable with and what meets your needs best.

Restrictions and Limitations

As already referenced above, many places have restrictions and limitations on what you can and can’t do. It’s very important to get clear on this before you go. So, for example, if you need a license or pass to hike in the area, you can get one organized in advance; if you don’t need a pass but you’re not allowed to hike on private land, you should be clear on where you can and can’t go; and so on …

Broadly speaking, most national parks and established hiking locations have clear rules and regulations to follow, to ensure everyone enjoys themselves and stays as safe as possible. If however, you’re aiming for somewhere much more off the beaten track, that will not likely be the case, so again, at a minimum, consultation with a knowledgeable local expert is a must and ideally, hire a guide to keep you safe and within the rules.

It’s worth keeping in mind cultural differences here as well. For example, are there religious festivals or local traditions that may impact the planning of your trip!?

Finally, depending on the country you’re travelling to, you may even need a visa to just get into it, and they can cost money, so that is another factor to consider.

Health and Safety

Probably more one for the more adventurous hiking trip but it is something that you need to think about in certain cases, and it could well add to your budget too.

For example, do you need vaccines for the country you intend to travel to? If you’re heading to the Amazon, you will need a bunch of vaccines to be sure you don’t catch any unwanted diseases like Malaria, Typhoid, Yellow Fever and so on. Are you going to high altitudes and so may need medicine to help with altitude sickness?

As well as this, you may need to keep in mind the basics like food and water. Is the water safe to drink? If not, how will you sterilize the water to make it potable? What about food, will the local diet agree with you? Again, these are things to reflect on and consider, especially if you’re going to an exotic location or somewhere well off the beaten track.

Roles and Responsibilities

Typically, for a trip of this, one or two people take on the organizing of it, if it is for a larger group. Where this is the case, it can be wise to work out who is looking after what. Many times, I have chose the route of organizing all my travel, accommodation myself, and then passing on the details to everyone else to book for themselves. This can be the least painful way to do it, and whomever decides to go, books for themselves.

However, this may not always work and you may need to assign one or two organizers, who do all the set-up work. Where this is the case, and you’ve had everything arranged for you, it’s always nice to show your appreciation in some small way e.g. buy the organizers dinner on a night out during the trip. That kind of thing to show your appreciation.

Online Search

Ok, Ok … I am totally stating the obvious here but it is a key step in the process and one that I want to conclude with! Once you have some level of all the above requirements defined, you need to get onto Google, Internet Explorer or whatever your browser of choice is, and start the search. Type in exactly what the first steps gave you. For example, ‘Good sunny hiking destinations in <location> for people on a budget in Spring’.

I won’t dwell on this as it is obvious to most, but this will return a host of possibilities that might meet your initial requirements. You can then do a deeper dive into options so you can start to hone in on relevant and more detailed possibilities that look to fit the bill.

Also, keep in mind, asking around your hiking friends and other ‘offline’, if you will, resources can also lead to excellent possibilities too, many of which could be far from the madding crowd, so keep this in mind. Not everything is on the internet, but a hell of a lot is 🙂

Conclusion

So, there you have it, these are just a bunch of tips and areas to consider, to help get you started on planning a hiking trip. I think when most people start as beginner hikers, if they take to it and enjoy it, many folks start to get the taste for hiking in different locations, for more adventures further afield and so on. And why not, there’s a great big world out there to explore and enjoy, with amazing hiking locations all over the globe!

If you’re just starting to entertain the possibility of your first hiking trip, check out the gallery 40 of the best hikes and trails. It lists some of the top hiking locations all over the world, so there will be plenty of inspiration there to get the creative juices flowing as you try and settle on a plan.

Again, these are just some things to think about, the main ones. However, there are potentially oodles of other things involved and, as mentioned at the start of this article, every hiking trip is unique, so there will nearly always be exceptions and special things that need to be taken into consideration.

I hope you found this article on how to plan a hiking trip useful 🙂 Please like, share and / or leave a comment below if you did!