Posted on 02/16/2022 12:54:28 PM PST by nickcarraway
Is it best to go hiking with friends, or set off alone? For many of us, getting our hiking boots on the trail is all about unplugging and getting away from it all to enjoy some much-needed peace and quiet. Some of hiking’s best-known pioneers, from Alfred Wainwright to John Muir, were famous for extolling the merits of hiking alone but on the other hand, hiking safety advice is generally to go out with someone else and hiking can be a fun and healthy way to connect with friends. So do you still get all the benefits of hiking when you go out with friends, or is it better to stay brooding and silent on the trail?
Of course, you trade solitude for socialization when you’re hiking with friends, but it can be a terrific adventure to share with others. We’ve already discussed the advantages of solo backpacking, but in this article, we argue the case for sharing the trail and present six great benefits of hiking with friends, plus tips for hiking with friends and in groups.
SNIP
2. You might get more benefit from hiking with friends We already know there are myriad benefits to hiking, from the fresh air to the cardiovascular exercise, but according to the CDC, the benefits of exercise might actually increase when you do it with a partner. Hiking with friends is likely to keep you more motivated, make you more adventurous and be more consistent. So not only will you get out there, you’ll do so more often and perhaps get further into the wild.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Stumble on some rocks, break you ankle or leg -
Option #1: Sit there and wait until some other human being
happens along to go get help.
Option #2: Only hike in locations with very good cell phone coverage.
Option #3: Get comfortable, make your peace with God, and
wait for death by dehydration and/or starvation and/or blood loss
and for the buzzards to pick your dumb dead carcass clean.
“So not only will you get out there, you’ll do so more often and perhaps get further into the wild.”
No, as soon as you add a person, things get twice as complicated, from there the more you add the worse it gets. I mostly hike alone.
I have a .44mag Ruger when hiking and a Marlin 45-70 w/405gr hard cast in camp. We don’t see many Griz in Utah. Mostly Black Bears who aren’t often aggressive. 12ga slugs are also popular in Alaska I hear.
we hike almost every night...me and my tree dogs...wife used to go until i scared her about stalking mountain lions, and coyotes...we can hunt all year long but can only carry a gun during season...BUT you can bet every thing you own.. take a pocket pistol every where we go...
My spousal unit is a hiker. Both of us benefit. Quietist day of the week. ;-)
To her liberal audience this is virtuous and profound revelation. Like Oh Wow, that’s so true!
I prefer to hike and hunt alone most of the time. When I was younger, I used to swim alone, too. Still here.
I covet the 45-70. Perhaps I should spring for my own.
Ruger acquired Marlin’s rights and is building the Mod 1895s again. The traditional quality is back in spades.
“as soon as you add a person, things get twice as complicated”
That is true. Two people changes the dynamic, adding more people changes the dynamic even more.
I have never hiked remotely alone, and as a woman I probably won’t ever do so. That’s the only time I wish I were a man. ;)
#4 Carry other means of communications than a cell phone.
Best hikes (so far):
1) Angel’s Landing- Zion National Park
2) The Narrows- Zion National Park
Both with a friend. Remembering these hikes together is reliving them.
I prefer to hike alone as well. At least the trails I have done I usually run into other hikers, including fellow solo hikers. We trade notes on what is going on, etc etc.
Go way out in the deep ... gun needed.
Hiking companions should be real hikers - people who actually hike. Lowest common denominator theory applies. Not good to want to spend a day hiking and climbing 10 - 15 miles all day long, only having to stop at 4 - 5 miles b/c the other person was worn out and complained constantly after 3 miles. Guess that where Larry’s hiker with benefits comes into consideration that might, just might compensate for the shortened hike?
You don’t have to disable your partner. You just have to be a little faster. ;-D
The Benefits of Hiking With Friends is hailing them out of bush when they fall and their quad tendon totally detaches from their patella.
so you both go under
That sounds like a bad experience.
Blk thanks. ✔
This is some seriously bad writing.
Anyone who hikes, or worse yet, persuades someone else to go hiking, needs to be told how to do anything and probably everything, including his toilette.
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