Recreation | Seneca Trail

Hiking Your Way to Fitness

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Getting outside and venturing off into the great outdoors is one of the best ways to work on your mental and physical fitness. Almost anyone will tell you that staring at a treadmill is one of the most tedious and boring fitness experiences you can have. But what if you could get a better work out while experiencing natural beauty and having social time with friends?

One of the most enjoyable ways to work on your fitness is to go on a hike. The beauty of the mountains, fresh air, and solitude (or social time, depending on your preference of hiking partners) will deceive you into thinking you are just having a good time. In reality, you are enduring one of the most strenuous workouts around. Almost any hiking trail has natural gradients that make sure your muscle groups are working at all times whether you are going up or down. It is great for toning the body but also is a wonderful cardiovascular workout.

While you won’t get the same results that you would if you were cycling on triathlon bikes, several good hikes a month will definitely help you get the fitness level and physique you want. As an added benefit, hiking is also a mental workout. Exposure to vitamin D in the sun and the fact that you have to be aware of what is coming up next rather than staring aimlessly at the wall ensure that you stay mentally, as well as physically, sharp.

The added exposure to vitamin D from the sun, fresh air, and endorphins released by being in a naturally beautiful setting make it far superior to any gym workout you can think of. Even if you don’t tackle a mountain, you can enjoy the benefits of hiking.

Filed Under: Adventure, Fun, Hiking Tagged With: Hiking, Organizations, Outdoors, Physical exercise, Physical fitness, Recreation, Trail, United States

Fitness Or Hiking? Which Should Come First?

: Image by DVIDSHUB via Flickr

Should you become fit before you start hiking or should you try to become fit by going on hiking trails? Well, this can be very confusing question which often forces people to simply skip the idea of hiking.

A certain level of physical fitness will be essential. This does not mean you should lose all the extra fat and become completely fit before you even think of hiking. Such an approach is only going to prove counterproductive in the long run.

You should be fit enough to move around without causing injuries or leading to health risks. If you are so fat and so unfit that climbing a flight of stairs leads to heart palpitations, there is no point in even thinking of hiking.

If you are physically fit enough to walk around and move around, you can always try hiking. Make sure you have comfortable clothes and make sure you listen to your body. The first few hikes will be most difficult. This is no different than your first few visits to the gym or the first few sessions of any sport. Your body will react violently and will try to stop you from participating further.

Well, you can overcome this problem by simply adopting the carrot and stick policy. Do not try to force your body beyond its limit of endurance. On the other hand, do not let the body decide how much you should exercise. Cutting back on your hiking and coming back home midway is not a bad thing. However, completely stopping hiking and staying at home is not a smart move.

As time goes by, your body will get acclimatized and you will find that you enjoy hiking. You will enjoy the trees, the birds and the fresh clean air. Further, you would enjoy the company of all your friends and fellows who have accompanied you.

Filed Under: Hiking, Sports Tagged With: Hiking, Recreation, Trail

Love Hiking? Check Out Hiking Trails In National Parks For Maximum Fun

If you are fond of hiking, then you should try and find the best spots in your state for hiking. If you do not mind filling a rug sack and moving out on a hiking trail across the country, then you can hike whenever you want and wherever you want. However, if you want specific natural conditions and if you know what you want, then you will have to check out the right places to hike well in advance.

You cannot just approach any hillock or hill and start climbing. Of course, such a trip would, technically speaking, qualify as a hike. However, most hikes have a specific goal or objective. Normally, the objective is to reach a particular spot which may be an elevation or which may be in a valley or near the coast. The idea is to hike and walk your way to the destination. If you want to make it more fun, you can ask your friends to start hiking and agree to join at a particular spot at a particular time.

Needless to say, it is as dangerous it sounds romantic. There are numerous precautions that you have to take. In any case, an average family man with responsibilities cannot simply pack bag and leave. In such a scenario, you can visit national parks that offer specific hiking trails designed for hiking enthusiasts. It is nothing but a path that has been cut in the forest or through the hill.

You just have to follow the trail and you will enjoy a good view of the surroundings. Most hiking trails are designed in such a manner that they are easy as well as tough at the same time. There may be some sections which will require lot of effort. On the other hand, there would be other sections with fantastic panoramic view that will make you forget all your exhaustion and exertion.

Filed Under: Hiking, Sports Tagged With: Hiking, Recreation, Trail

Hiking Precautions – Make It A Point To Be Prepared For Emergencies

Do you know how to handle an emergency when you are hiking? Most persons presume that they shall be the victim of the emergency and convince themselves that they shall be very careful to avoid such complications. Well, what if you are on your hike and you find another hiker injured on the hiking trail.

There are many persons who are foolish enough to just turn around and walk back. There are others who offer sympathy but do not bother doing anything. Such mistakes violate the basic code of hikers. Well, climbing a mountain can never be more important than the life of another individual.

Of course, you might have been planning for the hike for many months. You might have booked the hiking trail and maybe looking forward to enjoying time in the national park with your family members. However, just put yourself in the position of the injured individual. Would you want to be ignored?

It is obvious that you would expect others to forget everything else and help you because you are injured. The injury may be because of a slip or fall or even an animal attack. Are you prepared to tackle these issues? From contacting the authorities and getting help to carrying out immediate first aid -you should have of all possible solutions in your hand.

Many persons are of the opinion that they do not bother have to these things because they are not medical experts. Well, when you are in the middle of a jungle and when civilization is quite far away, you have to be prepared for contingencies.

You may not be a doctor but you should know how to give mouth to mouth breathing or set a splint to make sure that the fractured leg does not suffer more. Of course, nobody is asking you to carry out a multiple bypass surgery in the middle of nowhere. Yet, you should be prepared for medical problems.

Filed Under: Hiking Tagged With: Hiking, Recreation, Trail

Carrying Excessive Hiking Equipment? Dump It Before It Spoils Your Hike

One mistake that almost all beginners make when making repressions for their hiking is miscalculating the rate of hiking equipment. Most of us presume that we shall be carrying only the basic essential items.

However, we quickly add items to the list of things to be carried without bothering about the weight. The end result is that we discover that the bag pack is far too heavy for any individual to carry for even a short distance, let alone a long hike.

This places us in a very difficult situation. If we are hiking with our friends or family members, we end up creeping and complaining about the excess weight. There are numerous instances where individuals have actually fought with each other because they believed that the other person was responsible for bringing up too much equipment.

What should you do? Well, it is very important to be decisive when you are hiking. When you are walking alone in the jungle, you cannot afford to just complain and be done with it. Rather, you should take steps to solve the problem. If this means taking some hard decisions, so be it.

If you can walk back to the administrative office, you can dump excess equipment there and request the authorities to keep an eye on it. Of course, they would not be amused by your amateurishness. However, you should be prepared for the entire stuff to be stolen but make sure that you do not climb with so much of weight.

Another option you have is to change the manner in which the bags have been packed. Rather than having two bags which will be hung on your shoulders, you can opt for poor bags which will be carried on your shoulders as well as in your hands.

If you are a sport, you could simply proceed and keep yourself cheered throughout the journey by singing songs and having a blast with your company.

Filed Under: Hiking, Sports Tagged With: Hiking, Outdoor, Recreation

How To Select Equipment For Your Hike? Some Useful Pointers Below

Your choice of hiking equipment should depend on the duration and the nature of the trip. If you are hiking for a single day, then it is obvious that carrying tents and other such objects will be a waste of energy.

If you intend to start early in the morning and come back let in the evening, you would just not have the time to set up a tent from scratch. Even if you do, you would be spending not more than a few hours in it before you start packing all over again.

On the other hand, you should have sufficient food and water because you cannot rely on local sources for energy. If you are planning on hiking for a few days at a stretch, then it is obvious that you will anticipate the total distance you would cover in a single day and prepare campsites accordingly.

If you adopt such an approach, then you should have a campsite where there is close access to water and food. Even if you are carrying food with yourself, you should have sufficient facilities to cook it if necessary. If you are not keen on carrying a stove up in the forest, then you should at least have matches and other equipment that will help you make a fire and cook your food using natural means.

Your equipment should also depend on the total number of persons who are trekking as a group. If you are hiking alone, you should consider going in for a very light weight and small sized tent. On the other hand, those who hike in a group often have one or two persons specifically assigned to the task of carrying the heavy duty canvas tent.

You will also have to distribute responsibilities to setup the tent, bring water and perform various other activities depending on how big the hike is and how long you intend to trek.

Filed Under: Hiking, Sports Tagged With: Hiking, Recreation, Tent

Buy Hiking Equipment Online To Save Money And Enjoy Good Quality Goods

What factors should you consider when you are purchasing hiking equipment? Make it a point to never compromise on quality and performance just to save money. If you are so short of cash, completely skip the hiking expeditions so that you can use the money saved elsewhere.

However, make it a point to purchase only best quality hiking equipment. From the quality of shoes to the quality of tools and equipment that you are carrying-everything should be of top quality.

Many persons feel that such an over cautious approach is unnecessary. However, when you discover that your poor quality shoes have simply given up the ghost and when you find that you are walking practically on barefoot during your hike, you may easily end up with not just a lot of pain in the feet but with blood poisoning caused by constant contact with dirt and dust.

This can lead to a severe health risk if it is not treated well in advance. Needless to say, you can overcome this problem by opting for good quality hiking equipment for your trip.

Make use of the internet to find out brands of manufacturers. You may be surprised to find out that there are certain brands which are considered the most trustworthy when it comes to equipments, clothes, accessories and other stuff. In the same way, other manufacturers may be reputed for the quality of footwear or the quality of tents and other accessories offered.

When you are purchasing hiking equipment, make sure that you pay a lot of attention to the bag you buy. This is because the bag or the rucksack will contain all your equipment. If you end up with a poor quality bag and if you start losing equipment, you might as well opt for a hiking trip without any protection whatsoever. In both cases, the net result is going to be the same.

Filed Under: Hiking, Sports Tagged With: Hiking, Outdoor, Recreation

Want To Convince Your Friends To Join You In A Hike? Here Are Some Tips

What steps should you take if you want to encourage your friends and relatives to join you in your hiking trips? Well, this can be a very difficult task because hiking invariably seems like a lot of hard work. Of course, it can be a very fun exercise but that is something that your friends and relatives will understand only when they start hiking.

It is advisable to become an expert in hiking on your own before you start converting others. Otherwise, your learning experience will cause many problems for your friends.

Secondly, you will be in a position to understand the benefits of hiking much better because you would know the mindset of your friends and the benefits of hiking. Your friends may not be very keen on enjoying the beauty of nature. However, they may be more than willing to listen to what you have to say when you speak of sporting a six-pack through hiking.

Thirdly, you should take it slow and steady and provide them with information about the various aspects and facets of hiking. It need be something that involves climbing hills or mountains. It can even be a walk on a flat piece of land provided you have fun and enjoy the nature.

Finally, you can set up a blog about hiking where you can meet other persons with the same interests about hiking as yours. If you cannot convert your existing friends to par join you when you are hiking in national parks, you can make new friends who will be more than eager to join you and enjoy the benefits.

Filed Under: Hiking Tagged With: Hiking, Outdoors, Recreation

Hiking is a great fitness tool

Walking is one of the simplest and most convenient physical activities for getting into shape and staying fit.

Mixing in more walks on a daily basis will boost your health and fitness, regardless of your age or how currently fit you are. When you get comfortable with walking on a daily basis, you should consider stepping your fitness up another tier, by adding hiking. This will raise your fitness training more so than just a simple daily walk.

Hiking is one of the most physically demanding exercises a person can do. Strap on a backpack and you’ll get even more out of it.

Hiking is nothing more than walking off of a road. A hike can give you things that a regular work cannot in terms of strengthening your body. You body is challenged on hiking grounds because it is a bit more demanded than just walking around the neighborhood.

Your feet and ankles are always adapting to the environmental changes, like walking on uneven and unbalanced surfaces. These surfaces send signals to the nervous system that the body needs to rebalance itself. This vigorous version of a cardiovascular workout helps to work the leg, buttock, and lower back muscles.

There are so many locations to choose from, wherever you may be located to take in some rigorous hikes before the summer weather leaves for the fall.

If you make your way into some national parks, double check to make sure the trails are open before you head there. Always hike with others if possible. Most national parks are natural areas so you take the good with the bad when it comes hazards that are a natural part of nature. Notify someone you are close with when you will be heading out and when you will be home. Make sure you have plenty of water and food for the trip and it is vital to bring along some extra clothes in case you get some drastic weather changes.

Filed Under: Adventure, Hiking Tagged With: Hiking, Outdoors, Recreation

Essential Hiking Equipment – Do Not Leave Home Without It

How to make sure that you carry all the essential hiking equipment and do not leave anything behind? If you think that this cannot happen to you, then think again. There have been innumerable instances where individuals have made elaborate plans to go on hiking but have failed to carry even essential items like a water canteen and a flashlight.

Always keep in mind that a hike is not a walk in the park. You cannot just land up at the hiking trail and start walking or climbing. If you try such an approach, chances are high that you will be back in your vehicle in 15 minutes because you were just too thirsty.

Dehydration is a very big deal. So is protection from elements. The idea of standing on top of a hill without anything covering your head may sound very cool. However, chances are high that it will be either too hot or too cold and will end up with a sun stroke or a nasty cold.

Hence, you should prepare list of all the hiking equipment that you need to carry. It is important to categorize the various equipments in the right manner. Further, you should have the list accessible at all times so that you can cross verify whenever you want.

What if you do forget to carry something essential? Whatever you do, never make the mistake of presuming that you can manage without it. If you have an item listed as an essential equipment, then you should not hike without having it in your hand. If necessary, buy it from another hiker at a premium. However, do not start hiking without it.

It is not just a question of safety. It is a question of attitude. If you start cutting corners even before you start hiking, chances are high that you will end up with a savior accident because of your carelessness.