Welcome

Hi, my name is James Warner. I would like to welcome you to the first official blog of the Ultimate Hiking Guide.

http://www.ultimatehikingguide.com 

I recently put up a really basic website to promote an ebook which I had written over the course of 12 years.

I am an avid outdoorsman, distance hiker and kayaker.  I have written articles and spoken publicly on outdoor subjects for years.  I believe that the more of an active, outdoor lifestyle one leads… the happier and healthier they tend to be.

Since the focus of the website is hiking and backpacking for beginners,   I endeavor to share skills, tips, techniques and thoughts that I hope will not only inspire involvement in these activities, but improve the quality of the outdoor experience and perhaps your quality of life in the process.

The latest posts start below.  Over time, posts will be deleted from the blog and filed under general category tabs which you will find above for your convenience.

Negotiating the Trail

 

Each trail is unique. There are so many different types of terrain. Some trails are flat and narrow with rolling hills; some are wide and rocky with steep climbs.

I’ve led beginner hikes where participants will be concentrating on the trail to the point that they can walk right by a whitetail deer without noticing it.  Eventually, you will develop the confidence you need to handle the trail while developing a keen awareness of your surrounding environment.

There are times of the year where conditions may prevent you from hiking in certain areas.  One example of this is the spring thaw. There are some months where conditions are so muddy or icy that they are unsafe. Some Parks will not permit hiking certain trails in such conditions.

Call ahead and speak with a park ranger as part of your trip planning process. They can be a real valuable source of information, getting you up to speed on the character of the trail if you’ve never been there and it’s current condition so that you may anticipate them, make informed decisions and prepare accordingly.

Make Camp with Daylight

A common backpacking mistake, is arriving late to a shelter or campsite.  Many things can delay your arrival, so build some additional time into your plans. 

Recently, my partner and I accompanied a friend on hiking a 12 mile section of the Appalachian Trail.  We thought that we’d camp out the night before making a great little escape.

We underestimated driving time to the trailhead. By the time we hiked in to the campsite, it was already dark.

Scouting around with our headlamps, we identified what we thought was a suitable spot for out tent.  We could tell that the spot had been well used.

Come daylight, we discovered that there were several, more well defined tent sites with gravel pads around us.  If we had chosen one of those pads, we may have minimized our impact within the campsite.

Other reasons for getting to your site early include seeing what you’re doing while assemling your tent.  Mingling with other hikers and campers who share your site and having time to cook a good meal while there’s still light.

It’s also quite annoying when someone shows up late and noisily sets up on a bunk in the shelter or tries to put a tent together in a neighboring campsite.  Especially when you’ve put in a physical day of hiking and need some deep recooperative sleep.