Hiking is a great way to get some exercise and enjoy the outdoors, but it can also be a great way to spend time with friends. Here’s my list of benefits of hiking with friends.
Why You Should Gather Friends For A Hike
1) You’ll Get Fit Together
Looking to lose some weight, get toned or just improve your health in general. Hiking is a great way to do it. And getting your rough and rowdy Sunday walking crew to join you will help everyone switch things up and boost their physical fitness.
2) You Can Catch Up
Hiking is the perfect opportunity to catch up with your friends. You can chat while you walk and enjoy each other’s company.
Maybe you set a weekend every summer to get out and hike a couple days. Make it a thing. I got a buddy who organizes a three or four day section hike on the Appalachian Trail with a few other buddies. Although I see that buddy a few more times throughout the year, I never see the rest of the group.
My old room-mate joins up with some of his old college buddies every couple months. They actually just went to Mount Katahdin earlier this month. Said it was amazing trip!
3) You’ll Explore New Places
Hiking with friends is a great way to explore new places. There are often hiking trails that you didn’t even know about that they might recommend or be interested in.
Plus maybe you were worried about doing that 14 mile overnight loop by yourself, and hiking with others helps you feel better about doing the hike.
Use an website or app like AllTrails to help.
4) You’ll Have A Navigation Buddy
Those little dirt path backroads leading to a trailhead that you’ve never been too, can be pretty challenging. Especially if it’s dark. Can be pretty stressful.
But by having someone in that passenger seat, they’ll be able to help with directions to get y’all there more effiently.
Also, if navigating trails or trail signage isn’t your strong suit, maybe a friend is better with it…..Or at least, between the two/three of you, you can piece it all together.
5) It’s Safer
There’s safety in numbers. Especially out hiking. Overall, hiking is a pretty safe hobby, but you never know who might be lurking on the trails or nearby the trailhead and what their intentions might be. Hiking in a group can help lessen the possibility of something bad going down.
Same goes with wild animals. Besides simply having someone else nearby to provide aid in case of a bite or attack, a big group of people is more likely to scare off wild animals. Especially black bears.
Also a simple mis-step can lead to twisting your ankle and drastically slowing you down or worse. Having someone else with you can go get help, carry some/all of your gear, or help prop you up as you limp back to the car.
6) Spread Gear Around
This allows you to possibly spread gear around. Instead of carrying that two or three man tent all by yourself, hand off the tent body, you keep the poles and rainfly, or vice versa. Can do the same with food.
If for whatever reason, whether injury, sickness, heat exhaustion, etc, one hiker isn’t able to able to carry their backpack anymore. It can be off loaded and split among the group. Or if there’s one beast mode hiker with you, they can simply chest carry the other pack. Not recommended, but I’ve seen it done so it could happen.
7) Less Chance Of Boredom
If you’re out on the trail for a couple days or even longer, another one of the great benefits of hiking with friends is that it’ll help prevent boredom.
Long hikes by yourself can be a little boring and/or depressing. Music can only do so much.
Have friends come along with you, or even meeting them along the way can greatly help things stay entertaining.