Getting lost is among the top potential problems for beginning hikers.
It's easy to step into the forest a few yards and lose your bearings. You may step a few more yards in the direction you think you came and get still farther away from your trail. Or, you may misread a map and wind up on a trail very different from the one you had planned.
Either way, you're lost because you don't know where you are, or how to get where you want to go. Here are a few bits of advice about how to...

Outdoors

People who live in urban environments sometimes seem to forget why they came to a wilderness area to hike: peace and quiet, and great scenery. To enjoy that themselves, and to allow others to, hikers generally adopt a few common sense guidelines.
'Pack it in, pack it out' is a long-standing rule among fair-minded hikers. In order to leave the area much as you found it, for the sake of others and your own future enjoyment, you should not leave what you brought. That includes water bottles,...

Outdoors

Ouch! You've been on the trail for a few hours and you're on your way back. Unfortunately, you still have a few miles to go and you just noticed you've got blisters. That turns a pleasant hike back into torture.
Blisters are caused by friction between your skin and your sock, and hence from the wall of your hiking boot. Even the best socks and boots will still allow some slippage of your foot inside. That leaves open the possibility of painful friction.
But that problem can be minimized...

Outdoors

One of the best investments a hiker can ever make is in the selection of good boots. From the negative side, nothing (short of a catastrophic accident) can make a hike go bad as easily as a bad pair of boots. On the positive side, good boots give you the support, comfort and traction you need to conquer any hike.
A long hike puts enormous stress on your feet and ankles. That stress is transmitted upward to the legs and has an effect on your back and entire body. It isn't just a matter of...

Outdoors

Hiking isn't typically dangerous. Much more often it's a great pleasure, even an adventure. But you're outside, sometimes far from 'civilization' and you can get injured or worse. It pays to heed some common sense safety tips.
Tip #1 - Don't travel alone
Like any rule, there are exceptions. If you're just going for a stroll in a nearby, well-traveled area you're as safe there as anywhere. But if you travel through heavily forested areas, with steep canyons and winding trails, you can...

Outdoors