How to hike responsibly- 10 responsible hiking tips

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, this is about respecting nature. You would be surprised how few times you need to walk through the same area to make a path. This will harm the nature a lot although it seems so harmless, but think of it this way: what if a thousand people did the same after you?

Secondly, this is about safety. Especially if you’re hiking a difficult road, it’s safer to remain on the path so you don’t suddenly end up at the edge of a cliff.

This should be obvious, but unfortunately it is not. If you had the energy to carry the food wrappings there full of food, you also have the energy to carry them out from there. If you see a lot of trash laying around in nature, you can collect it because as we know it: it may not be your trash but it’s your globe as well. Ps. you can check the trash walk challenge by Népra on Instagram and join it by tagging @wearnepra or #nepragoesplogging. Always pack a spare trash bag with you to gather your own litter and the mess that other less-mindful hikers might have left.

And no, a plastic bottle doesn’t decompose; or it would take around 450 years.

Another perspective to this: you don’t either need to take anything with you, especially if you’re hiking in a national park. I mean do you really need that rock with you as a souvenir? Personally I love to capture and save moments with photography.

When hiking in the forest, it’s important to give enough peace for the animals as well. Don’t scream and shout on your way,as it may scare the animals. Secondly, if you’re hiking with a dog, you need to keep your dog leashed during the birds’ nesting time.

Secondly, it’s very important to keep yourself safe.

Make sure you don’t leave smelly food outside of your tent because you might get some hungry visitors of the animal kingdom.

Secondly, figure out beforehand how to behave if you encounter animals like bear, wild boar or wolf. With bears it’s important to remain calm

If you encounter a bear:

(Source:riista.fi)

If you encounter a wolf:

This situation would be exceptional though, as wolves have not attacked a human since the 17th century in Finland.

(Source:suurpedot.fi)

If you encounter a wild boar:

(Source:gov.sg)

If you’re out for a longer hike for the first time, you might be surprised how much water is needed, especially if you’re going on sunny weather. Good basic rule of thumb is to drink half a liter of water every hour of moderate activity. You may need to increase it based on the intensity of the hike and temperature.

If you’re planning to take water on the way, acknowledge how much you actually need to carry. Better option is to check the water points beforehand where you can refill and preferably get a water filter with you. You can read more expert advice on proper hydration in rei.com.

Make sure you have good enough equipment. You definitely don’t need to have the fanciest equipment, but you do want to have better shoes than some canvas shoes that slip and make blisters in no time. The old saying goes ”Poor people can’t afford to buy cheap”. This means that it’s better to buy good quality equipment that lasts for long and take good care of it, instead of replacing it way too often. Nepra active wear is definitely quality and comfort for long-term use: they have awesome jogging pants, leggings, shorts, jackets and shirts and tops that are good material for sweating and moving. And they’re made sustainably. You can discover more on wearnepra.com.

One material that isn’t a great choice as a hiker is cotton, because it won’t insulate you anymore when it gets wet from sweating. Due to this, there’s this hiker phrase: ”cotton kills”.

You don’t always need to go too far to discover something new and wonderful. You can start your adventure even from your front door on foot or by bike. Reaching the paths by feet may not seem like a big saving on emissions, but sometimes it’s the small things that matter.

If you would like to know more about your personal carbon footprint, you can try for instance these three carbon footprint calculators:

Footprintcalculator.org


Carbonfootprint.com


Calculator by WWF

As weird as this may sound, due to Covid-19 many forests got crowded of hikers. Although it’s outdoors, remember to keep your safety distance and take care of hygiene. You’re not in a rush when you’re enjoying nature so you might as well wait a bit to let others pass or wait for your turn to join the fire place. This applies to respecting others in general as well, not only due to Covid distances.

Figure out beforehand the route you’re willing to do. Note that not all areas in forests have internet or phone network, so you may need to be comfortable to orient with map and compass. If you’re using some offline map on your phone, make sure you have enough battery and/or a powerbank with you.