Looking For Exercise Alternatives. Try Hiking!
Posted by Dorrie on May 21, 2009 under Camping | 
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Do you want to get more exercise, but find fitness clubs occasionally a bit boring, repetitive, competitive, or fluorescently lit for your motivational needs? Perhaps you could use a little more fresh air and sunshine while climbing the virtual hills on your stair climber? It is likely that hiking is just the activity to motivate your mind rejuvenate your body.
Hiking is a truly wonderful way to get some really good exercise in a healthy environment while enjoying the unique wonders that nature has to offer. There is nothing in an indoor fitness club that really compares to the refreshing air, the smell of flowers and trees, and the warm feeling of the sunshine on your skin producing some nice vitamin D to nourish your body. If the weather is right then now is the time to recoup any missed opportunities at natural bliss.
Hiking often seems, due to popular media and so forth, to conjure up images of people with huge mountain boots and potentially gigantic backpacks to carry on their potentially rigorous adventure through the wilderness. Taken to the extreme they may be carrying a pair of hiking poles and maybe even a knife to cut through any vegetation which may be in the way of their expedition into the vast unknown. This conceptual image of human against nature is a great misnomer and likely the reason that more people are sitting at home watching a rerun of a sitcom rather than out enjoying a refreshing hike through nature right now. Modern towns and cities can often be so void of natural vegetation that one can even forget what it is like to smell the dazzling myriad of refreshingly vibrant flora that abounds in natural environments. A patch of grass in the forest, no bigger than the size of a human, can potentially be more entertaining than any show on television. Looking closer and closer, one can see further and further mindboggling layers of the organic wonderland.
All you really need for a good hike is a pair of shoes that are comfortable to walk in. You don?t even need them, if you are hiking in a nice area and the weather is nice. We aren?t talking about trekking in the wilderness on a six-month expedition, just an hour or a few enjoying an invigorating walk through nature. It is advisable to bring a bottle of water or juice if you are hiking for more than an hour, as it is obviously wise to stay hydrated. It?s best to carry it in a small backpack or just use a small hydration backpack.
Finding a good spot to enjoy should be easy with the advent of the internet. You can likely even view the location with Google Maps or other such services. Once you have a good idea of the location, either check the forecast or be spontaneous and go on days when the weather inspires you most.
Once you start enjoying exercise in nature, it is likely that it will enhance much more than just your bodily fitness. You may even realize that you have found an even healthier health club that is free and has always been available to you.
As we enter into a new camping season in North America I’m sure a lot campers and would-be campers and starting to think about the new camping season. So, I wanted to offer The Camping Guy readers a little Q&A capability to answer any questions that you have as you embark on your next camping trip.