Preparing for a hike is easy with these tips. Get advice on backpacking, hiking, and the great outdoors in this video.
Use appropriate footwear
Bring a first-aid kit, water, & food
Use walking sticks in uneven terrain
John Flaherty has a great love for the outdoors. In 2003, John and his wife started Central Coast Outdoors in northern California. His company provides hiking, kayaking, and biking services for those wanting to be closer to nature. John has traveled all around the world through his love of hiking.
JOHN FLAHERTY: Hi, my name is John and today we are going to look at how to prepare to go hiking. And we are going to look at some gear today. Hiking is a wonderful sport because it does not require a lot of gear but there is some gear involve that makes things easier when you go hiking. First things first, you're going to spend a lot of time on your feet so I always look at my footwear and it just depends on the length and the terrain of the hike that you are doing. These are my heavy duty hiking boots. I might use these for a longer hike, 8, 10 miles plus, or one where there is really rocky terrain or I know it is going to be nasty weather. These are my Gore-Tex boots so they will repel and protect me from water and nasty mud and keep my feet nice and warm and dry. It is also perfectly acceptable if you are hiking shorter hikes and more moderate terrain to use running shoes, lightweight hiking shoes or even heavy duty sandals, Tevas or Chakos. I frequently hike in it if I am just doing a very short hike. It just depends on what you are looking at. For most day hikes where you are going to be carrying a little bit of stuff, there is the ubiquitous day pack. And this is about a nice size and shape of a day pack. I like ones that have straps in the outside so I could put a jacket or extra clothing there and then in the inside I am going to be carrying the gear that I need. Some essentials for a day hike would be a first aid kit, at least one water bottle, more water if you are going to be going a longer hike or for a hot day and then also to bring some food just. Some snacks, usually granola bars or GORP. Some things that people like to carry instead on a day hike are portable hydration systems, very fancy. Camelback is the brand that I know and this is just a small pack that is primarily devoted toward carrying water in a bladder like this. And this should be good if you know you are going to be going for a longer time or you are going to be going at hot weather and you know you are going to need a lot of water and you do not need a lot of other gear with you. So that would be a hydration system and again you can carry a little big gear on the outside there. Last but the not the least, a lot of folks like to walk with hiking sticks. I personally do not do much hiking with walking sticks but a lot of people do. These are adjustable and they still have the ski baskets on the end but those you can take off very easily. They are adjustable and then a lot of folks like to use this if they are walking on rocky terrain or some other uneven terrain. It just provides a little bit of additional balance either with one or with both hands. And so those are the things that I usually bring together for myself before I am going on a hike.
