A long, vigorous walk in the countryside is known as hiking. It may not seem like an adventure activity; however, the popularity of hiking has changed the conventional idea by changing the walk in the plain countryside to walk up the rugged paths to mountains and canyons.
Adrenaline junkies prefer taking up extreme paths to make it more fun and adventurous.
The following are some incredible destinations in the United States for hiking lovers:
- Yosemite National Park
- Sedona
- Grand Canyon
- Big Sur
- Banff
If you haven’t been to them, then the weekend is not very far! Plan a getaway right away!
Your Hiking Wardrobe
When you are planning to get lost in the beautiful nature, then you need to understand the significance of wearing the right clothes and footwear because not only the weather can be uncertain but also the path can be full of surprises. The following suggestions will help you build a perfect hiking wardrobe to ensure the best experience possible:
What to wear?
There are endless things that you can wear on a hiking expedition, such as:
- Innerwear: underwear, vest, and sports bra
- Jackets
- Sturdy pants and shoes
- Brimmed hats or woolen beanies
- T-shirts and shirts
Preferred fabric material
- Polyester and nylon: windproof and waterproof
- Fleece: keeps your body warm
- Merino wool: breathable, wicking and soft
What not to wear?
You will be surprised to know what all are not advisable for a hiking expedition. Check out the following apparels that one should not prefer:
- Tight and thin attire: yoga pants and denim jeans
- Long and loose clothes: t-shirts and shirts
- Traditional apparels: Shorts and old woolen jackets
Fabric material to avoid
- Cotton: inefficient wicking and drying
- Traditional wool: itchy
- Silk: not rugged and odor resistant
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
How to plan your wardrobe strategically?
Do you know what kind of apparels and footwear you should purchase for your hiking expedition? It is not about buying everything from the store; rather, spend wisely to make sure you don’t buy or pack irrelevant stuff and unnecessarily increase your luggage. It is advisable to embrace layering if the weather is too cold for you because it will make sure that you have enough padding to protect yourself from cold as well as scratches. The following are some suggestions to style your hiking wardrobe strategically:
- Insulating
Your apparel and footwear should keep you warm in the chilly climate. If it is efficiently insulating, then it will hold the body heat as well. It is better to have clothes that support insulation than to pack jackets and increase the weight of your backpack.
- Waterproof
The worst situation that can happen is getting drenched due to heavy rainfall. Your backpack, clothes, and footwear need to be waterproof to not only protect you from the harsh climate but also protect your valuables from getting damaged.
- Windproof
You may experience extreme wind conditions at your hiking destinations, which is why hikers prefer their clothes to be not just waterproof, but windproof as well. Not all jackets and ponchos are windproof, so make sure that you purchase the ones that are. It is essential to protect your valuables from water or wind damage.
- Sun Protection
Sunlight can be pretty damaging, right? The UV rays can cause severe skin conditions like skin burns and skin cancer. Your clothes should have a UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) to ensure utmost skin protection against sun’s UV rays.
- Breathable
Your clothes can get sticky with sweat if the layers of your clothes are not breathable. It needs to pass air efficiently to support wicking and help your skin breathe.
- Wicking
A fabric’s ability to pull moisture from your body surface and move it to the outer surface of the fabric is known as wicking. The sweat can dry much quicker on the outer surface as compared to the inner one. This lets you sweat without getting chilled or sticky.
Expert Tip: Just like you keep a camping knife by your side on a camping trip, there is no harm in keeping one on your hiking expeditions as well because you never know when you may need to use it to hunt, to cut off the branches in your path or to dice vegetables before cooking.
It is never too late to plan a hiking getaway. So, call up your best buds, and get going!
You Need Mountains; Long Staircases Don’t Make Good Hikers.
- Amit Kalantri
Jennie Trotter has been sharing her hiking experiences for many years. After she observed many people wearing the wrong attire and facing problems on their hiking trips, she planned to help her readers and fellow hikers by informing them about the right wardrobe choices.