Back when hiking was pretty much my full-time job I hiked daily, racking up 30 to 40 miles a week. My philosophy, to borrow from Dani Rojas, was “Hiking is life.” When I scheduled hiking programs I did so under the assumption that hiking was everyone’s life. Who wouldn’t want to hike as many days of the week as possible?
Tag Archives: guided hikes
First Day, First Hike
The question isn’t if you’ll be taking your first hike of 2024 on Monday, but where.
Taking a brisk hike to welcome the new year is a long-standing tradition. It became formalized a few years back when American State Parks challenged state parks across the country to hold First Day events. Today, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a state park in the U.S. that doesn’t hold a First Day Hike. That’s especially true in North Carolina and Virginia, where 113 First Day events are planned in state parks; some parks are even celebrating with two or three events.
Maybe it’s time for the Chiltern Hills
My hikes can be more vicarious than real. It’s a nice two-for-one benefit of hanging with adventurous folks who like to get around.
Sunday, for instance, I caught up with Howard for the first time since he’d returned from hiking a section of the Camino de Santiago in June. I was especially interested because Howard’s plan was to average 15 miles a day for 7 days; Howard is in good shape and a strong hiker, but that’s the kind of mileage AT thru-hikers aspire to — after building up for a month on the trail.
Guide to Summer Hiking (and why you should!)
Usually it’s mid-June before we’re forced to address the issue of summer heat. Before, that is, we’re forced to issue our annual plea to stay on the trail during the summer months ahead.
In some parts of the U.S. — the Northeast, the Pacific Coast, the mountain states — hikers live for the summer and its warm days. Not here, where Summer is equated with still air, sticky clothes and sweat-stung eyes.
GetHiking! Spring 2022
Since grade school, we’ve always looked forward to spring! Recess on the playground (not in a cramped gym), romping through the neighborhood into the evening, the promise of the school year coming to a close and the prospect of summer vacation! Spring was always been a time to get outside.