Latest / Fit for Hiking / Ep. 80 Tips for Beginner Hikers
Transcript
- Hi, my name is Brady and I'm a longtime fitness professional and Midwest girl turned mountain living hiking addict. And combining my knowledge of fitness and passion for hiking, I've helped hundreds of women get lean and strong for the trails. Think of this as your one stop shop for both education and inspiration on all things female wellness, trail talk and adventure. Hiking, female metabolism, motherhood, nutrition, travel and fitness are all topics you'll hear discussed here. If you are outdoorsy and active, looking to level up your health, unlock your potential, and become inspired to live your most vibrant life, you're in the right place. You're listening to the fit for hiking podcast. Hello everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the fit for Hiking podcast. Um, today we are going to be talking through tips for someone who's just starting out with hiking or wants to get into hiking, but maybe just doesn't know where to start. You know, we've done episodes about lessons learned from getting started with backpacking, how to get started kind of with like bigger summits, but we really haven't covered. The basics for someone who maybe is new to all of this, and maybe you're searching something like this and landed here because you want to do more hiking in the coming year, or you just move somewhere where there's a lot of of opportunities to get outdoors, but you're not really sure where to start, and you don't know what you don't know. Right? So it's really helpful to have a little bit of guidance as you get started with a hobby like this. Um, a little bit of my own personal backstory. I moved to Colorado from Indiana when I was 23. This is nine years ago now. It's so hard to believe, but I had never grown up doing anything outdoorsy whatsoever. I'm talking like never camped, never hiked, never went out west, never did trips where we were really like in mountainous regions or anything of the sort. It was always beach trips or just trips down south, things like that. So all of this was completely foreign to me when I first relocated to Colorado, and it felt very daunting. You know, there's so many outdoorsy hobbies that you can take up when you move to a state like Colorado. Right? But it felt very intimidating because everyone knew what they were doing. Everybody was very outdoorsy, it seemed like. And here I was a complete noob in this department, but I was very interested, right? Like, I wanted to find a hobby that would allow me to experience the beauty of Colorado. In an accessible way. And this is where hiking is an amazing opportunity, because it's not something where you need to invest in thousands of dollars worth of gear. You don't need a pass to go. You don't need to make a reservation. Most of the time, you don't need a ton of prior knowledge or skills. You can kind of just start where you're at and then build on your knowledge and experience and skill level from there. And that's exactly what I did. Hiking felt like the least barrier to entry into this world of outdoorsy opportunities in Colorado. So I started out hiking and just kind of built up from there, and I was very much clueless in the beginning as to what to do in certain situations, what I needed, what to invest in, just general tips and things like that. There wasn't as much out there in the way of like social media and hiking accounts and and resources like this, really, um, even nine years ago. It's kind of crazy how that has really taken off in the last few years. There were a few blog resources that I really utilized during that time, and those are really helpful for me because I was learning everything on my own through trial and error, and I didn't have a ton of people telling me exactly how to do all this stuff. So I had to figure it out on my own. But there were a few resources that I found helpful, so hopefully this can be a helpful resource to you. If you are a beginner and want to get out and expand your knowledge of hiking. So let's get into 12 tips for Beginner hikers. Okay, so number one. Would be to just start by looking up some local hikes that feel doable. Uh, a great app for something like this is all trails. It is a resource that I've used in all of my nine years since moving to Colorado. I still use it. You can look up hikes by region, by difficulty, by the terrain that you want to experience. There's so many different settings and things that you can put in there to kind of customize your experience based on what you're hoping to get out of the hike and where you live, all of that. Um, the distance that you want, the hike, all of it. So you can save hikes to different folders based on location. Um, and it's just helpful to have that resource to look back on and say, oh yeah, I've, I saved this hike. Maybe I'll do that this weekend. So you can start by just looking up some small local hikes. I would I say small because I really do think starting small is the key. You don't want to go too big too fast and then get intimidated or feel like, oh my gosh, this is way harder than I thought. And then it's no longer enjoyable, right? So start by just looking up maybe 5 to 10 hikes within an hour, hour and a half radius of where you live currently and look for ones that are considered easy, right. They're going to be ranked on all trails, and you can also go through and read all of the trail reviews and people will say, uh, not actually as easy as I thought it would be. Or here were some of the parts that were like kind of challenging or this part of the trail we had to do a creek crossing or something like that. Right. So you can kind of get a little bit more information. I really use those reviews quite a bit, because I think it's so helpful to hear about other people's experiences instead of just reading like a rating and a distance and being like, okay, sounds good, because, you know, three miles on a easy paved path is very different from three miles to the top of a summit at 10,000ft. Right? So you want to get some context for what you're getting yourself into, especially if you live in a state like Colorado, where you have really some major variance with the altitude that you're going to be hiking at and the difficulty and the terrain. Um, you know, so you really want that context, you know, how to prepare. So reading the reviews and reading the information, instead of just looking at a few pictures and saying, okay, let's do it. Okay. So use that those features to get as much information as you can and just start finding some local ones that are going to feel not too intimidating to you. Uh, number two. Here's a few things you need to know before you go. Will you have cell phone service? What are the potential animals you might encounter, or just wildlife that you might encounter on that trail? The difficulty level parking situation, whether in that area projected for the day and the terrain because, say, like you're coming from somewhere like Denver, right? It's a city. It's a completely different weather situation. Then if you're going for a hike even an hour away and you're gaining a couple thousand feet in elevation, right? So that was something I didn't really fully understand when I first moved to Colorado, coming from someplace like Indiana, where it was extremely flat and there was no variance in the elevation, I would think, oh, well, it's 70 and sunny in Denver, and then I would pack like that to go on a hike, and then I would get to the hiking destination and it would be, you know, completely different weather, windy, rainy, cold, you know, just very different than what I thought it was going to be based on my starting point. So make sure that you understand what the weather actually is going to look like in that particular area that day. Is there going to be ice on the trail? Is it going to be muddy? Um, you know, do you need to prepare with bear spray? Do you need to make sure you have some sort of other tracking or navigation device, because you're not going to have any service whatsoever? These are things that you want to know before you end up out in the wilderness. And of course, some trails, you don't have to worry about a lot of these things because they're very close to town or, you know, there's tons of people. The navigation is very clear, but other trails, not so much. And you really have to kind of know what you're getting yourself into before you go. I've learned that the hard way many, many times. And so that's why I really stress, like being educated before you head out, even if it looks like it's going to be an easy, you know, simple to navigate type of trail situation, it might not be okay. Number three, understanding how you're going about navigation in general. This is just something you don't want to be lax on, because you don't want to find yourself in a scenario where you are lost in the mountains. Trust me, it is not a fun situation to be in, especially when you don't have service and maybe you're by yourself, or you're with one other person and neither of you have any form of navigation, so you want to either have offline maps downloaded. You can use something like all trails map. However, you need to have the trail downloaded beforehand, okay? Because once you're out of service, you're no longer going to be able to really use that map capability. Um, and this of course, is depending on you having a cell phone with battery. So that's another thing you need to consider if you are going on a really long hike, or if you get lost for a while and you have a cell phone that's dying, what is your backup plan? So this is where things like having a Garmin inReach, where you can download maps and have navigation, you can have service to contact somebody, even if you're technically out of cell phone range, um, or having a paper map with you. Those things go a long way. So you need to have a plan and then have a backup plan, because you really don't want to find yourself stranded or in a dangerous situation, especially if weather were to take a turn. There were to be an injury. There were to be an animal situation. You just don't know what you're going to encounter. And so it's helpful to have multiple forms of navigation. So you always know where you are and know how to read the map. Right. If you if you've never done this before and you've lived in the era of technology your whole life, and you're used to just typing in an address and allowing Google Maps to do all the work, then you might want to spend some time trying to understand how real maps work, and make sure that you know what you're doing when it comes to navigating, um, a wilderness area. Number four is to invest in a few key items, and you don't need to break the bank on this. There are really great options as far as like consignment shops for outdoor gear. Um, you can get things used. You can do something like the Rei garage sales, where they, uh, discount majorly certain items because other people return to them for whatever reason. But they're still in really great condition. Um, so don't feel like you have to break the bank, especially if you're just getting into this and you don't even know if you're going to utilize these items a ton. You don't need many of them, and you don't need to buy the nicest quality of everything, because you want this to feel accessible and not like you have to save up for months before you can hit the trails, right? So a few things that you're going to want. And this is something where you can buy them new, or maybe just kind of use what you have, even if it's not the most ideal. As you get started, one is some form of a pack. So whether that's like a actual hiking pack or that's just a backpack that you feel comfortable wearing for a couple of miles. Um, number two is good shoes. So hiking boots or hiking shoes, um, you know, you could definitely get away with tennis shoes on certain trails, but certain terrain you're going to want like, really good tread and good quality hiking boots. So it depends on where you are and the caliber of hiking that you're doing. Socks. Good hiking socks. So again, if you're wearing tennis shoes, this doesn't apply. But if you are wearing hiking boots, you're going to want to make sure you have good socks. Um, some form of a good quality weather resistant jacket. So some sort of rain jacket that is actually going to protect you from the rain, um, is going to be important because you just never know when the weather can turn on you, especially at high altitudes while hiking. So having something that is going to actually protect you from the elements is important. This one you might have to spend a little bit of extra money on, but it's something that you can't buy at once, and likely you'll be able to use it for like years and years and years. Right? Um, and then some form of navigation. Those are the five things that I really recommend investing in, and that they're going to serve you for years and years, as long as you get good quality versions of those. And I'm going to link my top options for some of these in the show notes, because I know it's easy to say, like, oh, you need a pack, you need shoes, you need a jacket. But it can feel daunting when you don't know, like what brands are actually good quality. What should I be looking for? Um, obviously I'll be sharing just my personal recommendations. Some of these things, especially like shoes, hiking boots are so personal and what I like somebody else might not like at all, might think that they feel too heavy or they prefer a lower ankle or a lighter option. Um, so just know that some of this, you will have to do a little bit of trial and error. However, I will link some of my recommendations so you can kind of get a starting point there. Number five other items to consider bringing other than these essentials. So obviously water you need some form of hydration. This seems like duh. But I've been on so many trails with people who are just thinking, oh, it's a short hike, I'll be fine, and they bring nothing, and then they're just not feeling good and super parched. And again, you just never know if something's going to happen. You're going to end up out there longer than what you bargained for. So having some form of hydration is absolutely essential. That's not something that you want to skip out on. Um, the longer the hike, you might want to consider having, um, like a bigger water pouch in your pack other than just like a standard water bottle or even bringing a water filter. If you know that there's going to be water sources that you can use along the trail, that's a great option so that you're not just breaking your back carrying leaders and liters of water. Um, of course, that really only applies when you get into, you know, long full day hikes or multi-day hikes. But it is a good option if you drink a lot of water and you just want to make sure that you don't find yourself in a position where you are low on on hydration snacks definitely always bring something to eat. Um, even if you feel like, oh, I don't need a snack for a two mile hike again, you just don't know the circumstances you might find yourself in. It could end up being a much longer hike than you predicted. You might take a wrong turn and end up out there longer than you thought. Having something is just a good backup plan, even if you don't plan to eat a lot while hiking. So just bringing a few calorie dense options. So rather whether it's a protein bar, a granola type of bar. There are so many great options now that are really calorically dense. Um, and they don't weigh a ton. You can bring peanut butter sandwiches, you can bring some fruit or dried fruit, nuts, trail mix, things like that. Have some options though, and just keep them in your pack. Even if you go several hikes and don't eat them. Just better to have them on hand just in case. Um, a first aid kit, just something small that has the basics in case you run into anything out on the trail. Um, layers. Especially if you live in a place like Colorado where the weather does change so fast. Um, even if you think that you're going to be able to hike in a tank top the whole time, you never know when a storm could roll in and the weather can literally change on a dime. And I've experienced it so many times where it goes from being super sunny and warm to literally snowing and sleeting on hikes. So pack some layers, whether that's like a long sleeve shirt to go over a tank top or a rain jacket or a light puffy jacket, having something in your pack is going to just be a wise decision. If you live somewhere where that's an option, especially higher altitude hikes. Sunscreen or some form of sun protection. Again, even if it doesn't feel like you're going to need it, especially at higher altitudes. The sun is very strong and you might be getting more sun than you think. And then something like bear spray. Of course, this is location dependent. If you're hiking in certain areas, this is not going to be something you have to worry about at all. But in other areas you want to be bear aware and be prepared. So just know if the areas where you're hiking you do want to bring something like a bear belt or bear spray. Number six, depending on the location, begin doing some cross training to make the hikes just a bit more enjoyable. So by cross-training, I just mean you're including some extra exercise in your life that's going to support what you're doing on the trails. Things like single leg exercises, core and back work, and glute work are going to make a really big difference in the strength that you experience on your hikes, and then combining that with some strategic cardio training so that you don't feel completely gassed or winded the whole time. That is going to go a long way. This is what we focus on with Mountain Metabolic coaching. Um, not all of our clients, but I would say probably 75% of our clients are hikers and have big hiking goals. So that is included in what we are putting together for their customized programs. Usually people have secondary goals, like maybe some body composition changes or certain health habits, relationship with food, things like that. So we're working on multiple things. However, if there is a goal of hiking or outdoor performance. Um, our clients have just been shocked at what a big difference it makes when you incorporate strategic and smart strength training that actually supports outdoorsy activities, as well as just small amounts of aerobic conditioning. It doesn't have to be daily cardio or anything crazy. Just combining these two types of training in a in a strategic manner that's planned out, um, really goes a long way. And they see that in their hiking experiences. And that is really rewarding to see as a coach, because I've totally been there where I've done the hard hikes and I suffer through them, and it sucks and it's kind of miserable and you really miss out on the enjoyment of the experience. And then I've done those hikes again when I've actually trained properly and prepared physically. And wow, there is such a difference in how I'm able to show up and enjoy those hikes confidently. Um, so this might not be necessary for you based on, you know, the caliber of hike that you're doing. Um, whether or not you're doing like lots of incline or your fitness level coming into this. But if you're someone who doesn't do a ton of exercise or really doesn't ever do any strength training or aerobic Aerobics conditioning. This might be something that you want to look into. Um, and this is why we have our bit for hiking guides and the Mountain metabolic program. So really the main difference is our fit for hiking guides are self-paced. They are kind of just guides that you go through on your own. They're a much lower price point. We have four different levels beginner all the way up to Summit Crusher, depending on your activity level coming into the program. And um, you can kind of just choose whatever level you think works best for you. Those are great options. If you have a low budget and you don't feel like you need a ton of accountability or personalization, if you feel like you have your nutrition dialed in and you don't have any other big goals like body comp or anything like that. Um, so we have those guides linked in the show notes, and if you listen until the end of this episode, I'm going to give you guys a little discount code, okay? So stay tuned for that. If you are not really sure where to start, and you just want some workouts that are actually going to support your hiking goals to get you started, that you can do just with dumbbells or really anywhere. Number seven. Go with more experienced hiker friends. And if you don't have people in your life who know what they're doing, then you can also join hiking meetups. There are so many hiking meetup options nowadays it is super cool. So search. Just do a quick Google search in the area where you live, see if you can find some little meetup groups and and start there. If you don't have friends or a significant other or people that you know that are experienced in the realm of hiking, I do think it's really helpful to just kind of build your confidence to go with people who have done this sort of thing, especially if you're wanting to dabble with like longer, harder hikes or more rustic terrain. Um, for the first time, it's helpful to have other people to go with who can kind of show you the ropes and help you build that confidence. Number eight work your way up to hikes longer than three miles or more. Rustic tree. You don't want to just jump into the deep end and then find yourself in a precarious situation, right? Start small, work your way up, and again use some expertise from other people to help get you there. Maybe you do a few three mile or under hikes on your own, and then you join a little meetup for a longer hike, or find a group of people who are willing to go on a longer hike with you. Number nine. Avoid starting in high altitude destinations later in the day. Okay, so the reason for this is the higher and elevation that you go, the more likely you will experience afternoon storms. So this is something you don't want to find yourself caught in because it's very dangerous, especially if you're above treeline and you're exposed and there's lightning. So if you're going to a higher altitude destination, you want to start earlier in the day to avoid the ugly weather and just be prepared that the higher in altitude you are, the faster the weather can change on you. So you really want to be way more prepared when it comes to, um, the clothes that you're bringing, what you're packing. And just know that, like, you could start out on the hike and it could be 60, 70 degrees and then it could drop down into the 20s or 30s. It really does happen so fast when weather systems roll in. Um, so you just want to be prepared for those types of things if you're hiking at some seriously high altitude. Number ten have cash on hand for certain trailheads. This might sound like a silly tip, but there actually are a lot of trailheads now that are requiring cash to park there. Not everywhere, but in certain places. So just kind of know before you go what you're getting into as far as the parking situation, what your odds are of getting this spot if you show up like maybe later morning or in the afternoon, is it going to be impossible for you to find parking, or is it a less popular trail? And it will be no problem. So having an idea of how to prepare for parking, um, just makes the day go so much smoother. Um. Understand what to do when you encounter certain types of wildlife. Um, general hiking, safety and etiquette, those types of things you just want to have an idea of. So if you go into a hiking situation, you have no idea what to do. If you see a bear, that's going to be a problem. Okay, so know what type of wildlife is typically in the area where you're hiking, know how to respond. And then as far as just general hiking safety and and etiquette, things like dog protocols do it. You need to keep your dog on a leash. Do you need to bring poop bags? Um, having music on while you're hiking? Leave no trace, not leaving banana peels or trash behind, leaving the trail better than you found it. Things like this. Okay, so you really just want to have an idea of how you can be a responsible hiker, how you can support leave no trace in these areas so that we're not leaving too big of a mark on them and how to keep yourself safe. Um, just in general. And from the wildlife, those are things that you're going to want to know about the areas where you're going. And number 12. Be prepared to learn as you go and just be flexible. This might sound kind of vague and silly, but being flexible is so important in these adventure settings because you really never know what you're going to encounter. There have been so many times when I set out with a certain plan, and then I have to completely reroute my idea for the day, because I get to the trail and it's a road is closed down due to something weird that happened with weather, or there was an animal sighting and they had to close down a certain part of the trail, or the trail has just completely full and there's really no backup. There's certain things like this that are going to come up, and you're going to have to be flexible and just be prepared to kind of go with the flow. You're also going to learn a lot as you just get out and experience these things, right. There's only so much that you can learn from podcasts, blogs, Instagram, TikTok, things like that. A lot of the things that you're going to learn are going to be from real life experiences, from learning things the hard way, from being in situations that are less than ideal. Hopefully you can learn as much as possible to stay safe and be prepared and confident when you go. But there's still going to be some things that you kind of have to learn on the fly. Um, that's just part of the experience. So just know is not always going to go 100% smoothly. Sometimes these hiking situations are not at all Instagrammable. And, you know, you have these situations that are nothing like what you thought they were going to be like. And that is just all part of the adventure. So you just kind of have to learn to be flexible and enjoy it along the way. Okay, you guys, we've made it through all 12 of our beginner hiking tips. So I promised you a little discount code. Um, so if you're interested in our self-paced 90 day guides or fit for hiking guides, we have four ability levels that you can choose from. And the first 15 people to use this code. Um, we'll get 30% off on any of these guides. You can get multiple of them, or you can just get one. Um, so use the Code Podcast 30 at checkout to receive 30% off. And that is linked in the show notes for you. Okay. So again those are called the fit for hiking guides. If you are interested in more accountability, customization, nutrition guidance, a personalized app and calendar, then Mountain Metabolic Coaching is going to make more sense for you. That's what I talk about the most on here, because I found that having a one on one coach, someone to work with you for four months and kind of be with you from start to finish is typically a lot more effective. But if you already have the habits established, you already kind of know what you're doing with your nutrition to support your goals, and you just want workouts for getting into hiking and becoming a stronger hiker then the fit for hiking guides are a great option for you. Okay, so both of those, um, different options are going to be linked in the show notes. And if you want 30% off of the hiking guides, it's, uh, the Code Podcast 30. Um, just for the first 15 people to use it. So don't dilly dally. If you're listening to this, make sure that you jump on it and you'll get a really nice little discount. All right, you guys, thank you so much for tuning in. And I will chat with you in the next episode. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the fit for hiking podcast. As always, I hope it leaves you feeling inspired and informed on how to take your health and adventure into your own hands. For more content like this, be sure to follow along with my daily posts at Ponytail Underscore. On a trail that's ponytail underscore on a trail. You can also stay up to date on my new episodes being released at Fit Underscore for hiking, and find more free resources at Pony Tail on a trail.com. Happy and healthy trails.