Hiking is a fantastic outdoor pastime and also a great option for those wanting to test their physical fitness and endurance, or maybe even test their survival skills. There are hikes for various skill levels all over the world, so you can choose between basic hiking trails within woodlands, or maybe you’d like to incorporate hikes with sightseeing in a new country.
Why Hike Solo?
Hiking is a great social opportunity if you’re looking to join a hiking group or hike with family and friends. Nevertheless, hiking solo can be an extremely rewarding experience. It allows you to clear your head, connect with yourself, test your own hiking and survival skills, and allows you to explore unique natural places in a fully focused way.
6 Things to Think About Before Taking a Solo Hike
- Your Fitness Levels
Matching the right hike to your fitness level is important for your own personal safety and also so you can better enjoy the hike. Don’t try to do too much, especially because you’ll be hiking alone without anyone to help you or spur you on.
- Your Planned Route
You should always plan a route no matter where you’re hiking, but this is especially important when hiking alone. Planning a route helps you to research the safest path to travel, any issues to watch out for, and also look into established recommendations from other hikers.
- The Right Basic Gear
You’ll need comfortable and suitable basic gear for your hike. This should include:
- Strong and comfortable hiking boots which support you
- Any protection against the elements, such as a waterproof jacket or thermals (depending on the climate)
- A secure backpack or any safe place to hold your gear
- Access to clean drinking water
- Survival Gear Extras
Accidents can always happen on hikes, no matter how skilled you are. However, when you’re hiking alone, the threat becomes more dangerous. What would you do if you suffered an injury or found yourself lost and had to plan for your own survival? Taking the right extra gear is going to be crucial for this. Visit readyandarmed.net for all content and survival gear tips.
It may even be that you’re purposefully hiking in order to test your own survival skills or learn more about emergency situations, in which case investing in survival gear to use and test is a must.
- How to Communicate
How are you going to let someone know if you’re in trouble or where you are if you need to communicate? If taking a phone, how will you preserve the battery, or can you guarantee there will be signal? Will you need any other methods of communication, like a walkie talkie or radio?
- Letting Someone Else Know Your Plan
Hiking alone doesn’t mean you have to cancel out any other support completely. Having someone else know where you’re going and the time you’re due back is paramount to your safety. This could be a friend or family member, or even someone neutral such as the worker on your hotel reception or the assistant in the local store you happen to pass through on your way.
Stay safe with these six solo hiking preparation tips.
