A few things to note when hiking, a must-read

Donkeyyou refers to those who love independent self-guided travel. They lived in the open air, endured hardships and stood hard work, and measured the great rivers and mountains of the motherland with their footsteps. However, long-term and high-intensity trekking through mountains and rivers is a big test on one's physical fitness and endurance. The editor of the Tibetan-Chinese Bilingual Network believes that when hiking, you should adjust your backpack, control your body balance and pace, keep your back and shoulders straight, take deep breaths with your abdomen, and touch the ground with your whole feet. You should walk at your own pace at all times, and try your best. Keep a constant speed, don't run fast and slow and stop. The most appropriate speed is one that allows you to walk without panting and to be able to walk all day long.

Of course, there are many skills for hiking. The editor has only compiled some of my experiences. Welcome all hiking friends to leave comments.

1. When you first start hiking, you can slow down a little, let every part of your body warm up first, and have an adaptation process, and then pick up the pace after 5-10 minutes.

2. Team members should maintain a reasonable distance, generally 2-3 meters. The safe distance of the team generally cannot exceed ten minutes or 200 meters during the day, and must be within 5 minutes or 20 meters at night.

3. You must walk at your own speed and rhythm. Don’t show off and follow the strong donkey. This will consume a lot of energy and result in haste, waste. It is best to find a companion who is about the same speed as you.

4. When going up and down slopes, you must try to pull the rocks, branches, and rattan with your hands to see if they can bear the force before doing other climbing movements to avoid Accidental injury.

Don’t just walk with your head down and miss the surrounding scenery. When hiking outdoors, physical fitness is only one of the purposes. Don't go crazy for some so-called "self-abuse" purposes. Extensive physical exertion will sometimes outweigh the gains.

5. Understand your own physical strength and learn to walk in a way that is more comfortable for you, so that your physical strength can be used scientifically and effectively.

6. Rest and eat as planned, adjust the plan in time according to everyone's physical condition during the journey, and prefer to extend the crossing time if necessary. Avoid unnecessary excessive physical exertion and leave room for unforeseen unexpected situations.

7. "Eat more and drink more" when hiking with heavy equipment: The definition of eating more and drinking more is not overeating. If you eat too much, you may not be able to walk. Eat more and drink more here refers to the frequency of eating and drinking. When hiking, the human body loses a lot of heat. In order to replenish physical strength, it is necessary to replenish water and food in time.

8. Drink water in small amounts and frequently. Drink water proactively. Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink water passively. It is better to drink two or three small sips at a time. If you are too thirsty, you can shorten the time you drink water and increase the number of times you drink water. Drinking too much water at one time will not be a waste of precious water sources because the body cannot absorb it, but will increase the burden on the heart. You can drink more water before climbing a big hill.

9. The rest during walking should be long and short, more short and longer. Generally, short rests along the way should be limited to less than 5 minutes, and backpacks and other equipment should not be removed. Rest mainly while standing to adjust your breathing. It is better to take a long break every 60-90 minutes, and the rest time is 15-20 minutes. When taking a long break, you should remove all weight-bearing equipment such as backpacks and stand for 2-3 minutes to adjust your breathing before sitting down. Do not sit down all at once. Sit down and rest when you stop, which will increase the burden on the heart; you can lie down and raise your legs to allow the blood in the congested legs to flow back to the heart as much as possible. Remember: Rest is proactive, not just lying down and resting.

10. Don’t take off your shoes when taking a break. Your feet will definitely become swollen after walking for a long time, and it will be uncomfortable to put them back on after taking off your shoes.

11. The temperature difference between day and night is large in mountainous areas, and the temperature will decrease as the altitude increases (-6 degrees/vertical 1000M). Keeping warm is a must, especially after sweating a lot and before going to bed. Prepare warm clothing and choose an appropriate sleeping bag accordingly. When clothes become wet with rain or sweat, heat dissipates at an alarming rate. At this time, you should change into dry underwear as soon as possible. If possible, choose underwear made of sweat-wicking and quick-drying fabrics.

12. Don’t take the risk of walking at night. Many getting lost occur when visibility is very low, and it is easy to make mistakes when walking at night. When you have to walk at night, it is best to be prepared with a headlamp. A flashlight will occupy one hand and is not conducive to balance protection.

13. Pay attention to protecting your knee joints and develop a correct walking posture. If you can have two hiking poles with you during the heavy trek, it will bring you a lot of convenience. And it can reduce the possibility of knee joint injury due to impact.

14. When traveling in the wild, your feet are the most diligent and hardworking. You must treat your feet well. Do not wear new shoes because your feet have not yet worn in with the new shoes. Wearing new shoes can easily cause fatigue and injury to your feet. When traversing heavily in the mountains, you will encounter various situations, so you should choose suitable high-top hiking shoes. The soles of hiking shoes are thick and made of hard rubber. They have large and deep patterns on the bottom, which can play a good anti-slip effect; they can effectively protect your feet on gravel and uneven roads; the uppers are high and hard, It can support the ankle; when wearing this kind of shoes, water will not easily penetrate into the shoes.

After putting on the shoes, feel whether the toes can move. If they cannot move, the shoes are too small. There should be a certain gap at the front of the toes. Also walk around to see if the heel slips between the heel and the heel, it is easy to scratch the foot, and this kind of shoe is also inappropriate.

15. Shoelaces should not be tied too loosely or too tightly, as this will cause your feet to tire prematurely and make them prone to injury. It is best to use flat strap-like shoelaces rather than round rope-like shoelaces, because rope-like shoelaces are difficult to tighten and loosen easily.

16. The size of socks should be moderate. It is best to choose fabric socks that absorb sweat, wick away sweat, have good touch, and are suitable for walking for many days. If you have a long outdoor activity, prepare several pairs of socks.

17. In addition, where there is a lot of friction between your feet and shoes, you can apply some Vaseline or oil-based skin care products to reduce friction and prevent foot damage

Outdoor Hiking Tips< /p>

Turtle Step

When walking long distances, don’t think that just walking forward with your head held high is enough. In fact, this is a wrong idea. You must know that long strides use the explosive power of the leg muscles, which is limited after all. What we need more is a kind of endurance. Nothing can be achieved in one step. So a smaller stride won't have a big impact. Make full use of the toughness of our leg muscles, they are quite capable of fighting for a long time.

Blowing

The next step is to regulate our breathing, and strive to make our breathing and movement rhythmic. Let the muscles continue to move slowly and endlessly, coupled with smooth and even breathing. Simply put, take one breath with almost every step you take. Marathon runners can breathe every two to three steps on average during the race. If we are not used to it, we can also force ourselves to breathe, just blow in a big mouth. But be careful not to push too hard, otherwise you will strain your lungs and intercostal muscles. Tuning your breathing is a great way to maintain energy in your body.

Use muscles

To make walking become the most natural aerobic exercise with rhythm, when going up and downhill, you should also try to use the muscles to move according to this rhythm, as much as possible. Reduce the burden on bones and joints. Especially when going downhill, especially those long downhill roads, you need to be good at using your feet so that they can stop immediately.

Because rather than having adverse effects on bones and joints after a long downhill ride, it would be better to let the muscles bear more. Rest and replenishment It is also necessary to arrange rest time reasonably and replenish energy in a timely manner on the road. After walking for a considerable period of time or distance, take a proper rest. When resting, you should take in some sugar and water that can be immediately converted into energy, so that the body can be replenished in time to restore physical strength quickly. You can loosen your shoelaces, but remember not to take off your shoes before arriving at the campsite. Because your feet will be slightly swollen during long walks, taking off your shoes during a break will only make you miserable on the next stretch.

Walking skills on different sections

Hiking is a form of outdoor walking. In places with complex and diverse terrain and inaccessible places, there are no ready-made roads to follow, and there are no clear road signs to indicate the direction. You must rely on maps, compasses, and your own mind and feet to read every inch of the land. In places that are beautiful and refined or ancient and vicissitudes of life, It is a kind of satisfaction to leave your own footprints and observe and learn all kinds of useful knowledge in the melancholy and quiet or the smart jumping.

Hiking activities are inseparable from roads. The quality of road conditions is directly related to whether we can successfully cross. Poor road conditions can sometimes cause us harm. If we can master the skills of walking on different roads well, , it will be easier and more enjoyable on the road. Walking, safe and happy is our outdoor concept.

Bluestone Road

Pavement characteristics: This type of road was mainly built in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. The main one is Guxiang Road, which is artificially paved with bluestone slabs of different sizes. Due to the passage of time and the large number of people walking on it, the pavement of this bluestone road has become very smooth. Once you encounter rain or snow, accidents are likely to occur, ranging from falls and sprained feet to fractures and serious injuries.

Walking experience: After the rain, in addition to wearing non-slip shoes when going up the mountain, you also need to relax. When walking, the center of gravity should not be too far forward. The direction of the center of gravity should be perpendicular to the stone slabs on the ground. Try to use trekking poles. When carrying a large bag, the center of gravity of the bag should be lower than the middle, and your hands should be supported on the rock wall or tree as much as possible. When going down the mountain, be sure to use trekking poles and lean your center of gravity slightly forward. Try to place your feet on the gaps between the stone slabs or on the grass and trees beside the road. There should be some distance between two people to prevent one person from knocking down several others after falling. After snow, it is best to use crampons with four teeth. If you do not use crampons, your feet must fall on the roots of trees or grass on the roadside. Trekking poles are essential.

Skipping Road

Pavement characteristics: The so-called skipping stone means that there is no obvious road. The so-called "road" is mainly formed by valleys and ravines washed away by long-term rainwater and flash floods. To walk on this kind of road, you need to jump up and down on the stones to move forward. Thin yarns, creeks, and boulders are staggered and "murderous" are everywhere.

Walking experience: Overcoming the fear of jumping stones is the most important, which requires concentration. During the rainy season, do not go to the canyon to jump rocks before or just after the heavy rain. Be careful of flash floods. Prepare a pair of hiking shoes with thicker soles and harder soles. Before jumping rocks, check whether the shoelaces are loose. Then tighten the shoulder straps and waist belt of the backpack to keep the backpack close to the back to prevent the backpack from shaking and the center of gravity being unstable when jumping. Causing a slip. When skipping stones, you should pay attention to the situation in front of you, accurately judge the next foothold, and pay attention to the dark marks left on some stones that have been used as footholds for a long time. In addition, be sure to clean the soles of your shoes. If there is sand on the soles, be careful of your knees and front teeth.

Dirt road

Pavement characteristics: This kind of road is very common. It is mainly formed by the weathering of stones and the long-term trampling of people on the mountain without vegetation cover. Maybe you think this is the best way to go, what should you pay attention to! That is a big mistake. During the rainy season, this kind of road is the legendary mud road, and it is very easy to fall and hurt your knees.

Walking experience: After heavy rain and exposure to the sun, the surface of the dirt road has been dried, but in fact it has absorbed enough water. At this time, it is easy to be dangerous when going up and down the mountain. When walking on this kind of road, the soles of your shoes must be To grip the ground, make full use of the trekking poles as a fulcrum to avoid accidentally stepping into deep mud. In addition, the temperature difference between day and night is large in spring and autumn, and dirt roads are very easy to freeze after rain and snow, so the risk factor is relatively high. In this case, you should make full use of trekking poles and things that can be used for climbing when going up and down the mountain. Pay attention to the use of climbing tools when climbing and supporting objects. It's important to make sure the pivot point is solid first.

Shrubs

Pavement characteristics: There are many types of bushes, which can be roughly divided into natural bushes and artificial bushes. Natural shrubs are mainly distributed in dense jungles. There are many types of shrubs and they are relatively low. Generally, the soil is slippery and soft, and there may be swamps, which is more dangerous. Artificial shrubs are mainly distributed on foothill slopes with a drier climate and are artificially planted. It is used to prevent wind and solidify the soil. The soil in the location is generally dry and contains a lot of sand. It seems to be hard but is actually slippery when stepped on. There is quicksand in some areas.

Walking experience: When walking in the bushes, you must wear glasses, a hat, and zip up your jacket. Team members must maintain a distance of at least 1.5 meters to prevent fallen branches brought by teammates in front of them from bouncing back and injuring themselves. . Always remind teammates behind you that it is easy to get lost if the distance is too far! When hiking through natural bushes, it is best to have auxiliary equipment and an experienced leader or local guide to explore the path first. Be aware that bushes often have short thorns and are full of mosquitoes. It is recommended to wear Wear high-top non-slip soles and jungle boots with large textures and deep ridges. Wear long sleeves and trousers, and pay attention to protecting your face. Artificial bushes are taller and more prickly than natural bushes. It is recommended to prepare gloves (preferably leather), long-sleeved, high-collared anti-scratch clothing and hiking shoes with good non-slip grip. Try to walk on earth when hiking in such bushes. On a non-slip, wide road, it is best to hold on to live branches with fresh branches that can support your hand strength. The handholding should be firm and the footing should be steady but slow.