Tips for Hiking in the Rain

When Hiking in the Rain, try to avoid standing in open meadows and empty fields, since if there is lightning it is more likely to strike the highest object in it's path

Useful Tips to Stay Dry and Comfortable While Hiking in the Rain

If you are a hiking lover, you must have experienced this at one time or another, especially if you live in the UK as we do. You are out in the hills on a perfect hike enjoying the spectacular views, suddenly and unexpectedly, the dark clouds start rolling in and you think that it’s the end of your adventure. It looks like your hike is going to get abandoned due to Rain. Read more...

 

Why take a Hat on a Hike?

When you wear a hat on a hike it not only provides you with a high degree of shade to your forehead and eyes but it also keep your ears, nose, and neck out of the direct, and sometimes powerful sunlight.

Why you should always take a Hat on a Hike

We all love to be outdoors and take in the eye catching panoramic views, the fresh air, the exercise and getting away from the stress an strain of our busy lives. These are the reasons most of us love to go hiking in the beautiful outdoors.

One essential piece of hiking kit that is often overlooked when we are throwing together some kit for a hike, is the humble hiking hat. However, if you love hiking, and you are getting prepared for a day of hitting the trails, you should not forget to take along a hat of some description. Read more...

 

The Best Food to Take when Day Hiking

Here are 10 suggestions of food to take when day hiking to keep you energised, satisfied and hydrated

Do you know what Food to Take when Day Hiking?

Day Hiking is an excellent activity that is not only good for your health but also brings you face to face with the beauty of nature. However, when you are walking and hiking it is always important to remember to stay hydrated and keep snacking, this will help you to keep your energy levels high and to avoid cramp.

If you are planning to go for a day hike, the food that you take along should be tasty, nutritious, lightweight, pre prepared and should provide you the energy that you need during your hike.

Here are a few suggestions of ideal Food to Take when Day Hiking. Read more...

 

6 Benefits of Training Outdoors

So according to our research and my family's personal experience, there are countless benefits of training outdoors compared to training indoors. These benefits encompass many areas such as physical, mental, psychological, social and financial, but all the benefits appear to be positive and worth pursuing.

What are the main Benefits of Training Outdoors?

Did you know that there are numerous positive benefits of training outdoors over training in the gym or a fitness studio? Well there are several, and we’ve compiled a list of the main benefits of training outdoors below.

Read More...

 

What makes a Better Walking Workout?

If your hikes are too familiar and boring, it's time to plan a better walking workout and spice things up, check out the useful tips below...

How to Plan a Better Walking Workout

If you’re looking to get something more from your time spent hiking, walking or rambling for leisure and exercise, then you have come to the right place. There are several ways to design a better walking workout so that you can get the maximum benefit from your limited walking time. After all, variety is the spice of life, so why not spice things up a bit with a change in tactics.

During this recent horrific time enduring Covid 19, Walking has saved the sanity of many a person who has been caged within the 4 walls of their home come prison. Just because the Plague that has been Covid 19 seems to be on the decline is no reason to stop walking to get away from it all. Walking is a proven tonic for mental health, stress relief and health, so why drop it? Read more...

 

Why Do I Get Sore Muscles After Hiking?

Sore Muscles after Hiking? Most people who don't hike or are new to hiking, grossly underestimate what a good workout hiking is. When you are walking up an incline, no matter how shallow it is, you are going to be stretching and contracting your Hamstrings

Sore Muscles after Hiking – DOMS Explained

Many hikers complain that they experience sore muscles after hiking, generally the next day. So why do we get it, and are there ways to prevent it? These questions and more will be answered in the next few short paragraphs, so read on.

More often than not, Hiking, Hill Walking or Rambling is a sedentary, low impact period of exercise. So why do so many hikers experience sore muscles after hiking? The answer, is that we are experiencing Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS. DOMS is normally experienced after overloading and overworking our muscles, by doing something like a few hours of heavy Deadlifts in the gym of heavily weighted Squats. All we have been doing is walking around the hills, stepping over a few rocks and clambering up a bit of shale. Surely that isn’t the equivalent of the Gym Torture we mentioned earlier? Actually, most people are really surprised when they find out what a tough, all round workout Hiking really is. Read more...

 

10 Reasons to Always Carry a Knife on Hikes

When you carry a knife on hikes, you don't kneed to carry a big scary Bowie Knife in order to get all the available benefits. Something foldable to about 3-4 inches long is ideal to fit in your pocket and not be a hinderance

Why You Should Always Carry a Knife on Hikes

Choosing to carry a knife on hikes is one of the most intelligent things you can do. Hiking is an ideal outdoor activity that numerous adventurous people and groups love to do. However, once we get out into the outdoors we can quickly find that the natural world is a place of many hidden dangers as well as delights. You can rather rapidly come across situations you never expected to encounter, and that you are totally unprepared for. These can be the times that we are most relieved that we carry a knife on hikes. Read more...

 

Planning for Your First Overnight Hike

If you are Wild Camping on your first overnight hike, there may not be any facilities to use when you need them. If this is the case, you will have to go in the wild.

How to Plan Your First Overnight Hike

Are you planning for your first overnight hike? Let’s face it, the thought of staying out overnight away from home for the very first time can be quite an exciting and a daunting experience. Your first overnight hike will be a totally different experience than going on the short day hikes that you are used to.

Firstly but not necessarily, you could be carrying far greater loads in your backpack, so that you can camp out in the outdoors for the night, either at a campsite of wild camping. Read More...

 

The 6 Best Ways to Build Hiking Stamina

When you are trying to Build Hiking Stamina, if you don't have enough time to exercise during the week, you could squeeze in some short, high-intensity quality workouts by including hill running intervals or other high-intensity interval training (HIIT)

What are the Best Ways to Build Hiking Stamina?

Hiking is an incredibly enjoyable and healthy leisure activity that gives you, your family and friends the chance to get out into the fresh air and beautiful scenery of mother nature. However, a pleasant trip out can quickly turn into a day of torture dependant on your physical and mental preparation, or lack of it. The key to enjoying hiking is to build hiking stamina, which goes above and beyond the couch-fitness of those who hike once in a blue moon. Read more...

 

10 Tips for Hiking with a Toddler

When Hiking with a Toddler remember that kids are great explorers. Whenever you let them walk on the trails, they are going to want to pick up rocks and smell flowers and basically get involved with nature the way that only toddlers do...

Hiking with a Toddler

Most of the people I know love to get outside and explore the outdoors, especially in the nice summer months. The warmer weather and longer days make you want to spend time in the fresh air and sweet smells of nature. So, this is the perfect time of the year for families go on group hiking adventures. However, when there are toddlers involved, you need to be a little more diligent while planning your excursions. Although your child, if he or she is a toddler will be out of the period where frequent diaper changes, naps, and feeds are required, there are still tasks that will have to be considered and planned for. The following tips should be enough to make your hiking with a toddler more enjoyable and successful. Read More...

 

Tips for Hiking in Hot Weather

When hiking in hot weather, if you use some common sense and plan accordingly, you don’t need to let the summer heat keep you away from hiking. Head out for your hike using the above mentioned tips and enjoy the outdoors even on hot summer days

Tips for Hiking in Hot Weather

In most people’s opinion, Summer is the best season for hiking. The snow has melted and gone, the flowers and trees are blooming and the blue skies are something to behold that every hiker loves to have framing the horizon. However, as unfortunately as it seems, hiking in hot weather also brings with it the threat of sunburn from intense sunlight, lots of sweat and dehydration, and the challenge of operating in extremely high temperatures. Believe me, a trail that is a pleasant hike in the cooler Spring or Autumn months can become a beast of a trail during the hot summer weather. So, should you avoid hiking in the summer? The short and simple answer is No! But, you do need to be a bit more prepared for and informed of what to do if things go wrong. There are some useful tips below on how to go hiking in hot weather and still make it enjoyable and safe. Read more...

 

7 Thoughtful Hiking Gifts for Friends

When choosing hiking gifts for friends, get to know and learn your friend’s needs and preferences by casually chatting about their hikes, and give them the most thoughtful gift that you can in order to help them be more comfortable and keep them safe in the outdoors.

What are the Best Hiking Gifts for Friends?

Every hiking trip in the outdoors or when you are going up the mountains involves a certain degree of planning and equipment selection. It especially demands a certain amount of consideration while selecting the appropriate hiking gear and safety essentials for the elements and terrain about to be tackled.

The items that any hiker carries should be durable, high-quality, and long-lasting. We don’t want our stuff falling apart when we most need it because it is of poor quality. Read more...

 

Kettlebell Training for Hikers

The benefits of kettlebell training for hikers include increased endurance, strength gains, and everyone's favourite benefit, weight loss...

Kettlebell Training for Hikers

Hiking is an excellent activity that exercises the whole body, lowers blood pressure, increases lung capacity and improves your stamina, and also gives you a chance to get away from the office or sitting on the sofa in front of the TV and allows you to get up close with nature. However, if you want to get the most of it, try some Hiking Training by adding some vigorous exercise to your regime. This will improve your endurance and strength allowing you to take on longer, tougher hikes. Training with a kettlebell is a great way to enhance your hiking experience while reducing injury and fatigue.

Kettlebell training for hikers can enhance your hiking experience in multiple ways. Due to the unique balance and shape of a kettlebell, if used correctly and safely they can be a complete fitness option in a single package. Read More...

 

How to go Hiking on a Tight Budget

Anybody can go hiking on a tight budget. The key is to make frugal choices and pick up the equipment that that is going to make life more comfortable and safe...

Hiking on a Tight Budget

If you like spending time outdoors, you will likely have been hiking before. With the beautiful scenery, fresh air, and wide-open spaces, what’s not to like? You can enjoy all of these benefits and much more for free once you are out on the trails. If, due to the current economic climate, you find yourself hiking on a tight budget, all you need to invest in are a few basic items of hiking gear, which if you are smart, can be sourced on the cheap, and once you have them, away you go.

If you are planning on doing something more adventurous such as high-altitude hiking, rock climbing, mountaineering or other more advanced forms of hiking, then you will need to spend money on some more specialised gear, however, you won’t need to spend that much if you are planning to hike manageable trails under fair weather conditions. Try using some of these helpful tips for hiking on a tight budget if you are just starting out, and get into to this amazing hobby without spending your next generation’s inheritance on hiking gear. Read more...

 

What are the Best Energy Bars for Hiking?

The best energy bars for Hiking are the ones that take time to digest and gradually increase your blood sugar levels. Go for the ones that have whole foods in them if you can...

The Best Energy Bars for Hiking

Whether you are going for a day hike or a multi-day backpacking trip, you need to stay energized in order to keep going and get the most out of your adventure. However, while you are out on an outdoor excursion, it’s not practically possible to take lunch or dinner breaks every now and then. So, packing some energy bars for hiking could be a good idea to keep you fuelled up. However, finding the best type of bars for your needs is not that easy a task nowadays.

The market is flooded with energy bars. Some are good for you, some are bad for you, some will have you bursting with energy and unfortunately some will not. Specialised Energy Bars for hiking come in different textures, types, sizes and tastes. While taste is probably going to be one of the most crucial factors you would look into, you also need to give attention to the other aspects of the bar’s make up as well, including: The purpose of the bar, the amount of nutrition it provides and the quality of the ingredients. Here is an energy bar buying guide that will help you to find the best energy bars for hiking. Read More...

 

How to Make Trail Mix?

We at Teal Gecko believe it is healthier to make your own Trail Mix at home. The benefits of homemade Trail Mix are numerous, and are as follows...

How to Make Trail Mix?

If you have been hiking for any great length of time, you are almost certain to have been offered Trail Mix by someone out on the trails. It is a fantastic, energy packed snack that can be easily kept in a bag at room temperature, and lasts for several days even if you are going on a multi-day hike. Trail Mix is not only good for hiking, but you can also keep a jar of it in your home to have a smart, energy filled snack whenever you feel in need of a boost. Obviously, a handful of nuts and dried fruits would be much better for you than snacking on a packet of potato chips (Crisps). Read More...

 

Tips for Hiking with Dogs

While you are out hiking with dogs, and they start barking or acting frisky, it could be because they are sensing a potential threat, or the primal urge to hunt that we jus aren't aware of...

Tips for Hiking with Dogs

Hiking with dogs is an excellent way to explore places and build a stronger bond with your pet, while enjoying your break from the constant grind of your busy life. Taking your dog to the trail can add a lot to your and their entire Hiking experience, as it not only gives your pet some exercise and you time, but it also allows him to see and smell sights and scents that he can’t appreciate at home. When hiking with dogs you also get a chance to meet new people when you are out and about in the countryside. Your dog also makes a great hiking companion to share the trails with, and watching him forage around in the sounds, smells, and sights of nature is uplifting to say the least.

However, if you are planning on hiking with dogs, you can’t just grab your hiking boots and head out. There are certain considerations and preparations you need to take into account for the sake of you both, and other trail users. Take notice of the following top tips to ensure a memorable experience while hiking for everyone.

Read More...

 

Tips for Hiking with Kids

Remember, when hiking with Kids, they love taking charge of things. If you are hiking with more than one kid, make one kid the leader of the group and keep rotating turns to avoid arguments and to give each one a feeling of authority over the group

Tips for Hiking with Kids

Hikers love to get onto the trail, let the sun warm their skin, and explore nature. But when they have kids, they become unsure about how they can still enjoy their passion. If you are one of them, don’t be put off, as here is a comprehensive guide to hiking with your kids, so that you can feel confident and have a kid-friendly adventure for the entire family.

Read more...

Yoga for Hikers

 

oga for Hikers

Try these Yoga for hikers poses before and after the hike to strengthen your muscles and release any achy and stiff areas

Yoga for Hikers

Yoga is an ancient physical practice of moving in and out of postures and poses that many people proudly make a part of their lifestyle. Some people practice it to exercise, some want to relieve pain with yoga, while others get a spiritual experience by following the strictly performed flowing streams of carefully choreographed poses.

If practiced regularly, you too can achieve all the benefits associated with yoga and possibly more. Physically practicing Yoga makes people more conscious about their health, as it promotes balance, flexibility, strength, and mindfulness of their own body, their breathing, and their muscular strength. Read more...

 

How Much Water to Take on a Hike?

Each person’s water requirements are different, and you will need to learn how much water to take on a hike from experience and carry different quantities accordingly

How Much Water to Take on a Hike?

Learning how much water to take on a hike is a vitally important skill to learn because the body of a fully developed adult is in the region of 60% water. This percentage of water can get depleted pretty rapidly even with some light to moderate exercise. When our water percentage drops it can severely deteriorate our physical and mental performance. So, if you are planning on going for an arduous hike, it is vitally important to stay hydrated if you want to remain at a high functioning level.

Read more...

 

5 Safety Tips for Women who Hike Alone

Women who hike alone need to be confident that they have planned properly, researched the correct information, packed the appropriate gear and have sufficient drive and determination to get through any situation

5 Safety Tips for Women who Hike Alone

Hiking with family and friends provides a peaceful environment in which you can spend some quality time with each other and understand your loved one’s strengths and weaknesses a bit better. However, for women who hike alone venturing out into the outdoors solo offers its own benefits.

Read more...

 

Where to Pee when Hiking?

If you've ever wondered Where to Pee when Hiking, read on...

Where to Pee when Hiking?

More people than ever are getting attracted to hiking, thanks to its growing popularity and significant physical and psychological benefits. While it is wonderful to discover the joy of nature, a few inconveniences are also a part of hiking. One such inconvenience is a general lack of toilet facilities in the outdoors. Where to pee when hiking is a genuine concern, and a subject that is rarely addressed. While many trails have regularly cleaned and serviced bathrooms for general use at the start and finish points, usually in the car parks or provided at a local restaurant or café, some trails do not have any at all. Read more...

 

Buying Hiking Clothes on a Budget

The only hiking clothes I won't buy used is footwear. Other potential backpacking clothes are worth checking out whenever I find them at a Car Boot Sale sale or in a Charity Shop

Hiking Clothes and other associated Backpacking and Camping wear are usually made in a more complex and scientific way to your everyday wear, it is also made according to the specialist requirements and demands of their usage.

Read more....

Want to Spend More Time Outdoors? Then Read On

 

How to Spend More Time Outdoors

How to Spend more time Outdoors. Last week I asked the question on our Facebook Page: “What’s the biggest thing holding you back from more Outdoors time“? Here are the top 6 answers you gave.....Read More

Good Sleep is Essential when Camping

 

Why Good Sleep is Essential when Camping

The importance of sleep cannot be overlooked during a Camping Trip, Adventurous Journey or indeed any Outdoor Adventure.

Good Sleep is Essential when Camping for our body's well being. When you can't get to sleep, it's torture and it is doing you harm. When insomnia rears it's ugly head, or you're just tired, wet, hungry and uncomfortable most people would give anything just to nod off. Click the link above to read more...

 

The 9 Main Groups of Equipment for Outdoor Adventures

Ever wondered what Equipment for Outdoor Adventures take with you? Don't worry, here's an Essential Guide to get you Started.....

What Equipment for Outdoor Adventures Do I Need To Take?

There are nine main groups of Equipment for Outdoor Adventures, we’ll break them down into more detail, but here they are in general:

• Shelter
• Bedding
• Cooking and Eating
• Clothing
• Personal Hygiene
• First Aid
• Navigation
• Backpacks
• General Comfort/Everything Else

How you choose to do your adventure is totally down to the individual and can range from Minimalist almost Survivalist packing to Inspector Gadget and taking the kitchen sink. Your choice will probably be based on your experience of the outdoors, and your tolerance to discomfort. Always remember though, the more Equipment for Outdoor Adventures you take, the more you will have to carry. Read More...