The Hiking is an outdoor leisure activity which consists of walking in a natural environment. It is both a hobby of discovery and a form of physical exercise. Hiking can take many forms ranging from a one-day round trip to a multi-day long hike.
Preperation
What to take for a week of hiking and the tips for a hike
Techniques
Difficulty levels
The difficulty of a hike lies in its length (or development), its difference in level, its altitude, the complexity of the route (which will be more or less easy to follow) and in the difficulty of the terrain it traverses.
Various rating systems exist to indicate the difficulty of the terrain, such as the one developed by the Swiss Alpine Club:
T1 - Trek
Well marked trail. Flat or gently sloping ground, no risk of falling.
Requirements: None, also suitable for sneakers. Orientation is not a problem, usually possible even without a map.
T2 - Mountain hiking
Path with uninterrupted route. The ground is sometimes steep, risk of falling not excluded.
Requirements: Have a fairly secure footing. Trekking shoes recommended. Basic orientation skills.
T3 - Challenging mountain hike
Trail not necessarily visible everywhere. Exposed passages can be fitted with ropes or chains. Possibly, hand support necessary for balance. Some exposed passages with risk of falling, scree, slopes mixed with rocks without trace. You need a very sure foot, good trekking shoes and average orientation skills. Basic mountain experience desirable.
T4 - Alpine hiking
Sometimes missing traces. The help of the hands is sometimes necessary for the progression. Terrain already quite exposed, delicate grassy slopes, slopes mixed with rocks, easy snowfields and passages on glaciers not covered with snow. You must be familiar with the exposed terrain, have rigid trekking shoes and some ability to assess the terrain and good orientation skills. Alpine experience. In the event of bad weather the retreat can be difficult.
T5 - Challenging alpine hike
Often without traces. Some easy climbing passages. Exposed, demanding terrain, steep slopes mixed with rocks. Glaciers and snowfields presenting a risk of slipping. You need mountain boots, a safe assessment of the terrain and very good orientation skills. Good experience of the high mountains and basic knowledge of the handling of the ice ax and the useful rope.
T6 - Difficult alpine hike
Most of the time without traces, climbing passages up to II. Usually unmarked. Often very exposed. Slopes mixed with delicate rocks. Glaciers with increased risk of slipping. You need excellent orientation skills, proven alpine experience and familiarity with the use of technical mountaineering equipment.
Orientation
Hiking generally requires knowing how to navigate in nature.
Markup
Many associations are responsible for marking out trails to allow hikers to follow routes. Thousands of kilometers of trails have been developed with markers painted or inscribed on signs, offering routes ranging from a few kilometers to more than 10 000 km for the European trail E4.
For example in France, the Vosges Club uses nine geometric signs and four colors to mark out the trails it maintains. The GR long-distance hiking trails (white rectangle on red rectangle) and GRP (yellow rectangle on red rectangle) as well as the PR (yellow rectangle) are marked with the French hiking federation.
In Belgium, the non-profit organization "Long-distance hiking trails" uses the same markup and detailed information can be found on www.grsentiers.org
In Swiss, the Swiss Federation of Pedestrian Tourism has endeavored to create a unified signage for hiking trails for the whole of Switzerland. More than 60,000 kilometers of hiking trails are marked.
In the same way, there are specific markings for the trails of horseback riding (orange in France) or mountain bike (in France a triangle and two circles).
Map
Large-scale maps (typically 1: 25,000 or 1: 50,000) describing the reliefs and the nature of the terrain make it possible to measure distances and elevations (difference in altitude between the starting and ending points) at the 'using dimension points and contour lines.
A good practice of map reading allows you to anticipate the difficulty of the journey, and to plan your hike. In the field, it is important for getting your bearings, and can be carried in a card holder, a sort of transparent pocket that protects it from the elements and allows you to handle only the necessary part.
These maps are published in Belgium by the Belgian IGN, in France by the French IGN, or in Swiss by Swisstopo.
Guides called topo-guides are also published to describe a region or a route.
Orientation accessories
- The compass is a tool designating the magnetic North Pole of the Earth. It allows you to orient the map in the same direction as the real terrain. In Europe, the terrain details generally allow the use of a map without a compass. However, the latter remains an appreciable safety in the forest or in foggy weather for example.
- There are GPS dedicated to hiking offering tracking and orientation features.
- Binoculars allow you to orient yourself more efficiently, as well as to enjoy the landscape and the wildlife.
- In the mountains, an altimeter is useful for locating on a map which contour line the hiker is on.
Backpack
The backpack allows you to easily transport all the equipment necessary for a good hike. It should be light and comfortable. Some models dedicated to hiking offer an integrated waterproof protective cover to keep the contents dry in the event of rain, and a device to hang trekking poles or an ice ax for hikes at altitude or involving snow crossings. .
The content differs depending on the climate and the length of the hike, and preparing your backpack is a compromise between the desire to have a maximum available, and the weight to be carried which should not be too high (ideally limited to 20% of the wearer's weight "Ultralight walking" refers to a form of hiking where the weight of the backpack is minimized as much as possible.
To see what to take for a week of hiking
As wild boar hunts are very common in certain regions of France, on weekends as well as on weekdays, a fluorescent vest can be usefully placed in the bag in order to guarantee the visibility of the hiker in the areas crossed.
In general, the hiker must have in his bag, including for a day trip, a set of effects allowing to improvise a night on the ground, called "bag bottom" in order to face bad weather. in the event of immobilization (injury, loss, discomfort, etc.): warm clothing, waterproof clothing, a hat, a pair of gloves, etc.
Effort and nutrition
Average progression values are generally 4 to 5 kilometers per hour, with 300 to 350 m of vertical drop per hour uphill, and 400 to 450 m vertical drop per hour downhill. These values should be adjusted according to people, difficulties and weather conditions.
If the duration of the hike is less than three hours, water will suffice, possibly sweetened at 5% if the effort is particularly intense. Otherwise it is necessary to provide a solid diet to provide energy, for example dried fruits or fruit jellies.
In the case of a long hike in autonomy, power management is crucial. It is necessary at the same time to take care to provide a satisfactory nutritional contribution, to preserve the gustatory pleasure, to avoid the health problems, while taking care to limit the weight of the food reserves and the problems of cooking. It will therefore be necessary to look for products that can be stored at room temperature and have a high energy content, in particular dehydrated foods.
As hiking is an endurance sport, the needs will mainly be an energy supply. The nutritional composition may therefore be less rich in animal or plant proteins than during usual meals and include 60% carbohydrates, 14% proteins and 20% lipids. A ration of 3,000 to 3,300 kcal per day, sufficient to cover energy needs by drawing on fat reserves.
It is necessary to increase the quantity of drink, while being wary of mountain streams which may have been soiled upstream, pastures, refuges). On return, rehydration (soups, drink, tea) and energy recovery (pasta, rice) will be promoted by limiting meat intake to avoid cramps.
Breathing is a central element in the management of the effort in hiking. The main metabolism involved being the aerobic metabolism, it is advisable to consider its breathing as one considers its food and its drink.
The Afghan walk allows you to control your breath to better manage the effort.
Clothing and footwear
The choice of shoes is essential, especially if the walk is long and the terrain is rugged. Using your walking shoes a few days before departure improves their comfort and reduces the risk of blisters. Choose the right size, look at the sturdiness of the shoes: they must support the ankle in the event of a fall. If they are made of leather, they should be washed in order to remove the mud after each day of walking, to keep them in good condition.
The major brands of hiking equipment offer several types of shoes depending on the practice: shoes with a high upper for hiking at altitude, "mid" shoes that are lighter and less high for medium mountains and "low" shoes ( low) for less alpine routes and walks in a natural environment. They are to be distinguished from trail shoes reserved for mountain running use.
If the lacing of the upper of the shoes must be moderately tight on the way up in order to allow movement of the ankle, it must be firmly tightened on the way down to ensure rigidity of the shoe-ankle assembly which protects the latter from twists generated by rough terrain (or by simple stones sometimes of modest size but sufficient to cause trauma).
Choosing the right clothes is crucial when going on a hike. Clothing retains the heat produced by the human body. They protect against sun burns, cold, and prevent insect and plant bites.
The choice of clothing depends on the hiking region. In a temperate climate, the meteorological difficulties are rain and wind. Indeed, they carry away the heat retained even by several layers of clothing. The risk of hypothermia is then high in windy conditions. In cold weather, it is essential to stack layers: under-sweater, shirt, sweater, parka to protect the trunk and a cap to protect the head. The trunk and the head are vital organs, there is a lot of blood and this is where the heat loss and the most important in case of cold. If it is raining, possibly think about waterproof clothing, such as a poncho. The latter also helps protect your backpack from the rain and thus keep your belongings dry. Be careful with perspiration, which may soak your clothes, especially during stops. Then remove layers, and provide changes.
In hot weather, the compromise between comfort and practicality is difficult to find. Wearing thick clothing and exerting physical effort increase the risk of hyperthermia. This is why it is better to travel with little clothing, avoiding waterproof fabrics. During a break, don't hesitate to put on warm clothing if the air cools down. Desert clothing should be very loose and light, allowing good ventilation.
The emergence of synthetic textiles has allowed a great advance in terms of compromise between comfort and practicality. Gore-Tex is a breathable textile that keeps the body warm and dry with good ventilation, but its capabilities are diminished when it is dirty.
The polar fur garment is very practical and more efficient than the cotton ones. Choose one that is windproof if possible. This type of clothing can be worn under a raincoat in wet weather.
In natural fibers, wool is excellent for retaining heat, but poorly withstands humidity because it risks becoming heavier and deformed, and therefore prohibited for socks. Cotton, on the other hand, attracts all moisture, so it is to be avoided in cold and humid regions, but useful in the tropics.
The major brands of hiking equipment now offer a whole range of modular clothing: "softshell", clothing presenting at the same time the characteristics of a fleece jacket, a rain garment and a windbreaker. "hardshell" has a greater windproof thickness than softshell without a fleece lining, the advantage being that you can wear a classic fleece jacket under the hardshell. Quick-drying "first layer" clothes associated with these hybrid garments allow great modularity in clothing depending on the season and are suitable for several sports disciplines (hiking, skiing).
The hike, then referred to as a "hike", is sometimes practiced without clothing.
Use of sticks
Many hikers use trekking poles to increase efficiency in climbing slopes, and to relieve some of the weight carried by the legs on the arms.
The use of poles in the practice of hiking dates back to the 1970s: at this stage of research, it would seem that the military were pioneers in this field as part of their physical training. skiing on the occasion of "alpine jogging", a term designating a physical activity, namely running in sportswear, mountain boots and poles on alpine circuits in the immediate vicinity of their garrison.
Incidentally, the sticks make it possible, in particular, to make splints as part of first aid procedures. They are also used for the erection of tents or tarps.
Spend the night
During a hike of several days, several solutions are possible to spend the night:
- the bivouac;
- stopover lodges;
- mountain refuges.
Security
Hiking is a relatively low-risk sporting activity, nevertheless the isolation can make problematic an incident which usually may seem trivial, especially if it is difficult to notify the emergency services or to indicate precisely the place where the We are. Night and difficult climatic conditions can suspend mountain rescue, if they pose a risk to rescuers.
Walking in a natural environment can typically cause strains, blisters, falls, hypothermia, hyperthermia or bites of sometimes poisonous animals or insects.
Prevention
The risks vary according to the regions, the security measures are therefore very variable: Some animals can be poisonous, or aggressive. It may be recommended to protect yourself against ticks (which can transmit spring-summer meningoencephalitis or Lyme disease), or mosquito bites (which may carry malaria or chikungunya).
However, some precautions are quite common:
- Prepare your hike by establishing an itinerary adapted to the level of hikers;
- Bring the equipment, shoes and clothing adapted to the terrain and climatic conditions;
- Learn about the weather to avoid being surprised. In the mountains, for example, the weather can change very quickly, and can be different from one slope to another;
- avoid leaving alone, or at least inform a loved one of the route and the approximate time of arrival;
- know the first aid measures.
Safety equipment
Depending on the difficulty of the terrain, the isolation and the climatic conditions, it is sometimes recommended to take:
- A first aid kit, primarily for hiking, an anti-inflammatory product to relieve ankle sprains and injuries due to physical activity and accidents with swelling and inflammation. Products to stop and disinfect bleeding, as well as drugs (such as paracetamol or ibuprofen) against fever, headaches, and pain;
- The mobile phone can be used to notify emergency services in the event of an accident, ask for help with orientation, or find out the latest weather data. It is nevertheless dependent on the network and the signal, sometimes absent in some regions. The difficulty of recharging the battery also limits its use.
- A survival blanket is used to protect an injured person from cold, heat and humidity.
- A whistle, in case of immobilization, to inform the rescuers of the place where you are.
- A rope for certain difficult and dangerous passages.
Itineraries
By country
- Hiking in Belgium
- Hiking in Canada
- Hiking in France
- Hiking in the UK
- Hiking in Slovakia
- Hiking in Switzerland
- Hiking in Nepal
By type of route
See as well
- List of walks and races which lists the supervised events organized around walking.
