What You Need to Know to Stay Safe While Hiking

If you love the outdoors, hiking is one of the best things you can do to explore the outdoors. Hiking through forests allows you to see things that you can't see from a car; you can even see wildlife up close. The key to hiking, like any type of outdoor recreation, is staying safe.

The first thing that you need to know about staying safe while hiking is making sure that you have the right type of shoe. If you plan to go hiking you will want to wear a quality-hiking boot, it should also fit your foot. You want good hiking boots because they will offer your safety and comfort. No matter how good your boot is though you will want to break it in before you wear them hiking. The best way to break them in is to wear them around the house for about a half hour each day, for 3 or 4 days.

Not only is your boot important for your safety and comfort on a hiking trip, but so is the rest of your footwear. For the best protection you will want to wear two pairs of socks, one pair will not protect your feet as well, the extra pair of socks provides you with more cushion. You also do not want to wear socks that are made from cotton because they will soak up any sweat, which means your socks will be damp all day. Damp socks can cause blisters, but your feet will also stink when you are done.

While hiking you want to carry a backpack. Inside the backpack you want to have a small first aid kit, comes in handy if somebody ends up with a blister. You should also carry food and water in your backpack. When it comes to food, you want to bring along high-energy food, such as protein bars and dried fruits. Snack often as you are hiking because you will be burning a lot more calories than you are used to. With food and water, it is best to carry more than what you think you will need, each person should carry extra food and water, so that the weight is not all with one person.

When you plan on going out hiking, you want to make sure that you tell at least one person where you are going and when you will be back. Make sure you tell them your emergency plans as well, this way if something goes wrong they know where to send help.

Ray Hanley is an author and publisher. Please visit our web site at http://CheapATVWinches.com which helps people find the best Cheap ATV Winches for your off-road ATV.

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