Welcome, beginner hiker! As couch potatoes ourselves, we want to reassure you: hiking is easy and fun, you can do it at your own pace, and it can be a cheap outdoors activity. Our hiking tips for beginners will help you prepare for easy and successful hikes: you will enjoy the peaceful nature and its gorgeous sceneries, rejuvenate your mind and body, with very little discomfort or pain.
Find below or hiking tips for couch potatoes, and let us know in the comments if you find them useful!
Beginner hikers, let’s get to know each other
Couch potatoes, unite! We are people who:
- Live in cities with few opportunities to hike in the woods, mountains or countryside
- Enjoy Netflix and videogames more than exercising
- Don’t do much physical activity and are breathless after 2 flights of stairs
- Don’t own any hiking shoes or clothes or gear, just some kinda-sportsy stuff
- Usually travel to cities and enjoy discovering urban areas, learn about a culture etc
- Enjoy watching YouTube videos and Instagram pictures about hikes to natural wonders – but we think we will never make it there
- Still, from time to time, wish for some time away from the crowd and the city, or even travel to areas with lots of things to do outdoors.
I’m not here to train you to be a pro hiker. I’m here to show you that you can be a couch potato, and yet enjoy hiking as a beginner!
There are so many benefits of hiking: waking up all your body and feeling your muscles active, cleaning your lungs, refreshing your mind with natural sights and smells; detaching from the city life, and surviving without your phone in your hands for a while. Hiking stimulates your body and your mind: you could come back with fresh ideas, or you could have a meaningful conversation that would have never happened on the sofa.
As a beginner hiker, it is fundamental to be safe. Get ready with our tips below.
Are you a couch potato? So are we! Nonetheless, when we do manage to get up from our lovely sofa, we enjoy spending time outdoors. We share our super-easy hikes, stories and adventures on our series “Hiking for couch potatoes“. If we can do it, you can do it too!
How to choose a hike: safety tips
The very first and most important rule is don’t overestimate yourself. Plan, research, learn about the trail you want to hike: consider that it will probably take you longer than the guide books say, and you will be really tired at the end.
For example, avoid 8-hour hikes if you are not trained at all. You will be exhausted half-ways, your muscles may be sore and you could have blisters on your feet. How are you going to make it to the end? Better choose a shorter version first. For example, when we travelled to Poland, we went on a short hike in Zakopane to Hala Kondratowa hut: walk, lunch, and walk back!
One thing that is very easy to underestimate is the trail itself: it’s hard to imagine how steep it is from Google Maps or other apps, and from guides or website descriptions! For example, some parts of this trail to Croda da Lago lake in Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy) was steeper than I expected.
Do your homework: if you don’t know the area, ask your hotel reception, or the info point in the town. Consider also investing in a paper map: they are usually very detailed and more accurate than Google Maps and other apps, which may not even reach remote places.
Furthermore, never hike alone: you never know what could happen and you may need assistance. If you really want to hike alone, inform someone of your destination – a family member, a friend, even your hotel receptionist.
Be efficient: charge all your devices the night before a hike, and turn off all unneccessary apps and connections on your phone. Devote all your battery on pictures 🙂
Hiking trails for beginners: how hikes work
Whether you decide to use an app or a paper map, make sure you note and learn the number of the trail you are hiking on. Usually, the trail number is marked on trees and rocks along the way, and of course on signs at crossroads.
Extremely important: stick to the trail! It’s the best way to stay safe, avoid bites from bugs and snakes, prevent injuries. It can be very easy to lose focus and get lost!
Be efficient: during your hike, take pictures of signs while pointing at the direction you are going to take. Mark the spot on the app you are using or on the paper map. This will help you remember the trail and make sure you took all the right turns.
Best times for hikes
It is very important to research how long a hike takes, and consequently what time to start.
Calculate extra time for everything: to park at the starting point, to put sunscreen on, to stop and wear a plaster, to take pictures, to take a break. After all, this hike is supposed to be enjoyable! Don’t rush.
Even though some spots may have wonderful sunset views, avoid hiking in the evening and in the darkness. A flashlight may not be enough to save you from tripping and injuring yourself.
Can I go hiking in the rain?
No. Try to avoid bad weather, which will increase the risk of injury.
Check the weather in advance, but don’t trust the forecast too much: the weather in the mountains changes really quickly and it’s hard to foresee it well.
Ask locals (receptionists, waiters, shopkeepers) for the trends, such as usual showers in afternoons, or better weather in the mornings.
Special hiking gear and equipment
While preparing for your hike, research if special equipment is needed, like helmet and harness, or walking sticks. Usually you can rent hiking or climbing gear from local shops.
You will certainly need helmet and harness if you do a via ferrata, a trail carved on the side of the mountain with a metal cable on the side: you will latch your harness to the cable with a carabiner. These trails can be dangerous, but they can also be exciting and rewarding: check out the Fanes Waterfalls hike in the Italian Dolomites. If I survived, you should survive too 🙂
If you start to wonder if you really need this equipment… Research how much it costs to get rescued, if you get stuck! You may find yourself with a huge bill to pay, much higher than the rental fee of the hiking gear. Yes, accidents happen, but they happen more rarely if hikers are prepared.
Be efficient: save on your phone the number for emergencies. You never know if you will need it!
Hiking gear for beginners: the best hiking shoes
We already established that you should do short and easy hikes. Hopefully, you will not find yourself in tricky situations.
On such easy hikes, with little climbing and rocky paths, you probably don’t need hiking shoes that protect your ankle. Good-quality sports shoes with a thick sole should be enough, like the ones Darek is wearing.
Very important: make sure they are just a little larger than your foot, as you need some space to walk uphill and downhill. Otherwise, it will be very painful!
Hiking gear for beginners: the best backpack
Let me tell you a secret: the best backpack for beginner hikers is… The lightest backpack you already own!
If you plan to go hiking once a year, it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of money on a high-tech backpack. You’re going to do a very easy hike anyway!
We highly recommend using a very lightweight backpack because it will feel heavier and heavier as you go on.
What to bring and what to wear on a hike
You already know that everything you carry feels light at the start of the hike, and terribly heavy at the end.
So, bring only what is strictly necessary!
On a half-day hike, we only bring:
- Small snacks, like bars with chocolates or nuts
- Water, maybe a half liter, in a reusable bottle
- Paper tissues for sweat and sneezing
- Plasters for blisters that would hurt and slow us down
- Phone+keys+some money
That’s it! If we go on a 1-2 hour hike, we don’t bring anything at all, just phone+keys+money: for example, to Lake Pianozes or Pian de ra Spines in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
After all, we are hiking on an easy trail, in good weather, for a short time: we shouldn’t need anything else!
What about hiking clothing? We do not own trekking clothes: we wear comfortable sports clothing that we already own and know won’t make us sweat.
However, there is one important rule about what to wear on a hike: dress in layers. If will probably be warm in the sun, chilly in the shadow, windy in the open… be prepared with clothes that you can take off and put back on, and are not heavy to carry!
Tips for responsible hiking
One more tip that will make you feel more in sync with nature, with your soul and with the universe: bring a plastic bag and collect the trash you see.
Sometimes trash may blow away from a bin, or fall from a pocket; also, some hikers are just disrespectful and don’t take care of the environment.
Collecting trash is the perfect chance to make a small effort with a big impact!
The most important hiking tip nobody will tell you
Drumroll…
Cut your toenails really really short!
I swear to you, your muscles may take a couple of days to recover after a long hike; but if your toenails keep hitting the inside of your shoe for hours, they will hurt at every step, turn blue, and take months to recover.
I thought the nail on my big toe was short enough, but no: they should have been cut to the skin! We did two hikes in two days, with long stretches downhill: my toenails were purple for 6 months.
Learn from my mistakes!
Final thoughts on hiking for beginners
As couch potatoes, we love watching Netflix and playing video games. But we also love to spend time in nature and to admire mountains and forests, without sweating too much or making too much effort.
This is our best advice, from couch potato to couch potato! We do not aim to become better hikers, nor to do hard and demanding hikes. I’m sure you understand us 🙂
Do you feel inspired tor more hikes? Check out these awesome places to hike in Europe!
Let us know in the comments if you find it useful, and what else is fundamental to share between us beginner hikers 🙂
Great tips!
Glad you find them useful!
This is such a great list! Love the emphasis on the snacks 😁😁😁😁
Snacks are absolutely necessary 🙂