Hiking 101 for Beginners – The Complete Guide

This article will take you through everything that you need to know about hiking to have a comfortable and safe hiking experience. Hiking 101 for Beginners includes, but not limited to:

• Getting started with hiking
• Things to carry
• Choosing the right gear
• Finding the best trails and navigation
• Safety measures on trails
• Leave No Trace principles

While all of this may seem intimidating, hiking is pretty similar to walking. Except that you are on a trail, surrounded by beautiful nature, wildlife, silence, insane views and you get to spend a lot of quality and mindful time alone with yourself and with your loved ones. Hiking is my favorite thing in the world, so I am going to share everything that I wish I knew when I started hiking.

Getting started with hiking

The first process in Hiking 101 is the “why” behind it. Hiking can be life-changing for your physical, mental and emotional well-being. I want to introduce you to some of the excellent benefits of hiking.

• Starting with mental health which is the backbone of all health. Hiking can combat depression, boredom, burnout and stress. Being outdoors in the summer also means more sun – more of Vitamin D which is necessary for improved energy levels.
• Hiking can help improve and maintain physical fitness. By varying the length and elevation of trails, you can challenge yourself in different ways. Want to improve strength, bone density, weight and cardiovascular fitness? Take a hike.
• Hiking allows you to disconnect from the busyness and monotony of daily life and enables less screen time.
• Hiking helps develop an appreciation for nature, wildlife etc. which in turn can inspire and spark conversations on responsible recreation and environmental conservation.
• You might get to see insanely epic views that are not accessible by road.

Have I convinced you to take a hike? If so, keep reading.

Things to carry

Here are the absolute essential things to carry on day hikes. We will mostly focus on day hikes since this post is all about Hiking 101 for beginners.

1. Water – the amount of water depends on the length and difficulty of the hike. You can carry a water bottle or a reservoir. But make sure to always clean the reservoir well before next use.
2. Food – all the good stuff such as energy bars, fruits, trail mix, nut butter packets etc.
3. Sunscreen – many trails are exposed so sun screen is a must.
4. Small first aid kit – should have essentials such as bandaids, disinfectant wipes etc.
5. Day hiking backpack – Small, simple and functional backpack for day hikes. You may not need this for super short hikes but you definitely need a good day pack once you start hiking longer trails.

Here are a few other items to carry based on the location and trail conditions.

• Hand sanitizer – hiking can be messy business sometimes so it’s always a good idea to carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer.
• Sunhat and sunglasses – preferably wide brimmed hats for sun cover.
• Bug spray – summer brings in more bugs, so carry one for saving yourself from being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
• Extra pair of socks or sandals – this is for your comfort after hiking.
• Extra water bottle – leave this in the car in case you need more after the hike.
• Hiking poles – really help with reducing the load on your knees especially during downhill hiking.
• Extra set of clothes – in case you want to change into fresh clothes after a hike.

Choosing the right gear

There are a few things that can make your hikes so comfortable. These come in handy especially if you hike regularly or go on longer hikes. Here are some Hiking 101 essentials.

1. Hiking footwear

There are two clubs of people. Those who prefer to hike in lightweight trail running or hiking shoes and those that love hiking boots. Let us go over both of these.

Hiking shoes

I personally do most of our hikes in a pair of light weight hiking shoes in Bay Area. I absolutely love them. My husband goes one step further and prefers wearing barefoot shoes, he loves them. I even hiked Half Dome in my hiking shoes. I use a pair of Altra Lone Peak trail running shoes for my hikes. Here are some pros and cons of hiking shoes.

Pros	Cons
Lightweight and agile Softer on the feet Very flexible No need to break in Great for hot weather	Might not be suitable for rocky terrain Unless it is waterproof, it might not be suitable for cold weather or rainy hikes

Hiking boots

Pros	Cons
Works great for rain or snow Less fatigue on rocky or unmaintained terrains	Heavy on the feet Flexibility depends on the boots Not too great for hot weather hikes (check the breathability before buying) Takes time to break in

A lot of blogs and posts usually talk about boots offering more ankle support. Unless it is super sturdy without much movement for the ankles, you can roll them even in regular hiking boots. The more reliable and long term solution is to strengthen the ankles to prevent rolling them in the first place. I have, however heard a lot of great things about the Merrell Moab Hiking shoes. The Salamon Quest is also a pretty good one!

2. Hiking backpack for day hikes

For most day hikes, a simple backpack should suffice. Here are a few key points to remember.

• The backpack should be able to hold two wide mouthed bottles comfortably on both sides. It can have extra space for a hydration pack but this is not necessary. It’s great for people who use those for water.
• It should have a hip belt and chest belt to distribute the load evenly.
• It should fit your torso size. That’s why it is important to try these on before buying them at the store.
• The shoulder strap should be well cushioned and breathable. This plays a big role in not irritating your skin.
• A couple of straps at the bottom of the backpack for hiking poles would be great, but not necessary.
• Something between 10 – 25L backpacks would work great for day hikes.

An example is this top rated backpack from REI. I will talk about backpacks for backpacking trips in another blog post and stick to day hiking 101 essentials in this one.

3. Hiking poles

As you hike more, you will notice yourself getting into steep and rocky terrains which can take a toll on your knees because downhill hiking can put almost 8x your weight on the knees. That’s where hiking poles come in to give you extra support, take some load off of your knees, help you move quicker and also save your knees for long-term hiking. They are also amazing tools if you get injured on a hike to get back down with lesser pain. Here are a couple of recommendations.

• Black Diamond Distance Z Trekking Poles.
• More affordable and the one that I personally use – Trekology Trek-Z Collapsible Hiking & Trekking Poles.

4. Hiking clothes

In my personal opinion, you can hike in whatever active wear clothes that you have. As you hike more and build your hiking wardrobe over time, pick clothes that are

• Light weight
• Moisture wicking
• Feel soft on the skin
• Has sun protection

I use clothing from Patagonia, REI, Decathlon (India) and sometimes basics from Amazon for hiking and I love them. I have recently been a fan of the yoga pants from HealthYoga. I am also looking into more sustainable clothing options going into the future.

I specifically love the ones that can convert from pants to shorts and vice versa since I can use them all year round.

Finding the best trails and navigation

I love AllTrails app for finding trails as well as for navigation. You can get more for a membership of $2.99 per month for a year with the first week off. Here are the different features that you get for free vs on a membership.

I also find a lot of inspiration from other hikers on Instagram because there are 1000s of trails to sift through on AllTrails. If you want to find cool hiking trails in Bay Area, California and beyond, follow me on Instagram @explorewithswetha.

Safety measures on trails

Hiking involves being out in nature, facing all its elements. This does not have to be scary and can be done safely. Remember the following Hiking 101 tips and enjoy adventuring into the wilderness.

• Inform someone about your hike and tell them when they can expect a message from you.
• Download offline maps for the area and trail that you are going to since many trails do not have good cellphone connectivity.
• Research about the park and trail before going. For example: Bears are common in some parks, some parks may have Mountain Lions or Coyotes later in the day, some trails are especially tough with mosquitoes, bugs or ticks so you may require bug spray etc. Read the latest reviews for a trail to get an idea on what to expect.
• It is also important to mentally practice what you will do when you encounter wildlife so that you don’t panic and fail to act accordingly.
• Do some research on the weather and pack your layers accordingly. Same goes for having enough water and food on the trail.
• One of the most important things to do on a trail is to be present. Avoid listening to music or being distracted unless it is a well-trafficked trail.
• Carry a small first aid pack with you as well as a pair of hiking poles. The poles can be very useful if you get injured and can double up as a tool.
• Know your limits. Don’t push yourself beyond what you might be capable of since fatigue also causes hikers to be careless leading to injuries.

Leave No Trace principles

The outdoors is not just our place to enjoy but it is home to many other plants and animals. So it is our responsibility to minimize the impact we have on our surrounding environment. Here are the 7 principles of Leave No Trace!

1. Plan ahead and prepare
2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces
3. Dispose of waste properly – pack it in, pack it out
4. Leave what you find – no rock stacking!
5. Minimize campfire impacts
6. Respect Wildlife – keep your distance
7. Be considerate of other visitors

You can read about these principles in detail at Leave No Trace.

Hope you enjoyed this Hiking 101 for beginners guide and feel confident enough to get out and go on some amazing hikes. Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them in the comments! Have a lovely day.