With today’s fast paced lifestyle, it is impossible for anyone not to feel stressed. Even a day in a busy office will surely drain all your energy out. How much more if you will be working for months, for sure you will want to take a break. You would want to experience something different and breathe some fresh air. With that being said, hiking is one of the best ways of relieving stress brought by your daily busy schedules. A light adventure into the wild is what you most likely need.
However, everyone knows that hiking is not the safest activity in the world. Some accidents are bound to happen if the hiker is not very careful. Various hazards are waiting for you in the wild. It could come in the form of wild animals, ill-natured individuals, or bad weather. The most important thing you should do is to be prepared. But how would you get yourself prepared? Well, that is what we are going to talk about today. We will going to give you a couple of tips to take note.
- Check the weather on your hiking day
Your hiking experience would be less than great if the weather will not cooperate. So try to check the weather first before deciding the date of your hike. You can check the weather on various local media or on the internet. There are various free reliable sources that you can turn to on the internet. A few clicks will most likely give you the information that you need.
Of course, it is a lot better to do hiking when the weather is sunny. You can do whatever you are planning to do if there is no rain that spoils the fun on your hiking trip.
- Inform your friends and relatives
People usually let their love ones know if they are going to leave for work. It is to keep them notified about their activity, and also to establish a better family bond. The same can be done if you are about to go hiking. You should let your family or friends know about your plan. So that when emergencies come, they will always know where you are and will able to lend help. Disclose the details of your trip to your family members. Having a family member as a companion on your trip is also a good idea.
- Bring the essentials on your trip
Depending on your trip, you should decide what you will bring. Your hiking trip could last from one day to a week, so design your inventory accordingly. Of course, the longer the trip would be, the bigger will be your backpack. So that is another thing that you should consider on your hiking trip. You don’t want to bring a very heavy backpack which affects mobility and hardness level of your trip.
Here are some of the items that you should have in your backpack:
- Navigational devices: The main thing that you will need when hiking is the right direction. That’s why you should bring devices that will aid in navigation. You could bring GPS devices or maps together with a compass. There are a lot of best hiking GPS devices reviews out there that you can check, if you don’t have a GPS device yet.If you are planning to go hiking for days, then you need to bring a compass and a map rather than a GPS device, since they don’t need an electrical energy source in order to work.
- Light Source: If you think that you will be spending your night outside, it is essential to bring illuminating devices. It could be a flashlight or other lightweight light sources. Just make sure that they are fully charged so that you will something to use for the entire trip.
- First-aid Kit: Hiking is a risky activity. Even though adventure is what we are really after when hiking, it is always good to bring a first-aid kit. It should have the most basic items like bandages, alcohol, antibiotic ointment, eye drops, gloves, and anti-inflammatories.
- Food: The body won’t operate efficiently if it doesn’t have a nice supply of energy. Bring foods rich in calories so that you will not get tired easily. Energy bars are also good picks.
- Water: Last but not the least, always make sure that you have enough drinking water on your backpack. The quantity depends on the length of your trip and also on the weather.
Observe proper safety precautions while hiking
Here are a couple of things to observe while hiking:
- As much as possible, don’t eat anything from the wild. Always make sure that you have enough food for the entire trip, or bring a little more so that you will have something to eat in case you are lost.
- Always put out the fire before sleeping to avoid unnecessary fires. Make sure that there are no heat left in the ground and is completely cool.
- Wear clothes that cover the most part of your body to avoid insect bites. Like long sleeves and long pants. Also, bring bug sprays to further drive bugs away.
- Avoid attracting too much attention while you are walking on the trail. Don’t use perfumes that have strong scents. Also, keep watch of dangerous wild animals like bears, wolfs and other aggressive animals. It also helps to bring bear sprays. Avoid making unnecessary noises like laughing or shouting.