Hiking is one of the best outdoor activities that you can do in your free time. It’s a physical activity, so basically you are improving your health while having tons of fun and exploring new areas. You don’t always have to hike to your nearest locations, so instead, you can always explore some new locations when you have the time and will to do it.
One of the most famous places that you can hike to, which also happens to be a major tourist attraction, is the Grand Canyon.
A lot of people want to visit this place, and although we highly encourage you to do so, we also recommend that you get the proper gear set before attempting to do something like this. Safety matters the most, and since we really care about yours, let’s take a look at this list of items that will make your entire hiking experience a lot better, and most importantly, safer.
1. Proper Hiking Boots
I remember the first time I went hiking wearing my regular sneakers, and when I came back home, they were punctured on the bottom and my foot was bleeding because smaller stone pieces managed to cut through my socks and scrap the skin.
So, to avoid this from happening, make sure that you grab a pair of proper hiking boots with a very hard bottom. That’s not the only advantage of these boots, however. With regular sneakers, you are much more likely to slip and fall, and this can result in an injury that can ruin your entire experience.
Hiking boots have a special design on the bottom which prevents you from slipping, and they also have a hard surface on the top, which prevents your toes from getting injured in case a rock falls on top of your foot.
Many professional hiking tours require every single one of the participants to have hiking boots before they can start the journey, so don’t neglect this as one of the most important features.
2. Tent and a Sleeping Bag
You never know if the tour is going to last more than a day, or if something goes wrong and you have to spend the night out in the wilderness before the next morning arrives. To maximize your safety, and add some level of comfort as well, make sure that you bring a tent with you, preferably one that is easily deployable and made out of waterproof material.
If it suddenly starts raining, which is quite common in mountains, you need to quickly deploy your tent and get inside of it, so try to choose a model that doesn’t require too much work around the entire deployment procedure.
A sleeping bag is also pretty mandatory if you need to get warm in case the temperatures suddenly drop, and they also increase your comfort level by a lot, so instead of sleeping on the rocks, you’ll have a soft and cozy surface to rest in.
3. High-Quality Binoculars
Binoculars are a very useful item that every hiker needs to have in their kit. They help you see things easier from a very long distance, and this can sometimes save the life of another hiker. Imagine going on a tour in two groups, and your group has the advantage and is far away from the second one. You soon notice that the second group is not moving anymore, but you can’t understand why because your cellphone has no service, which is quite common in the wilderness.
By using your binoculars, you can quickly see what’s going on, and if someone needs help, you’ll immediately send a few people over to aid the person in need. Another great use is to look for a lost member of the group, which is also not so rare to happen during a hiking tour.
Needless to say, binoculars can be useful and fun to use, and sometimes you don’t even need to be in an emergency to simply want to look at something from a closer distance. For more information, you can visit Targetfrog.com
4. A Whistle
A whistle can help you signal something to the rest of the group, especially if you are separated and there is quite some distance between you and the nearest tour guide. Also, if someone gets lost or injured, they can ask for help by using the whistle, and although it seems like something so small and insignificant, it can really save a life in a certain situation, so make sure to bring one with yourself whenever you go out in the wilderness.
It is easy to carry, not expensive to purchase, and they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, so you’ll be able to find one that looks and feels good for you.
5. Two kinds of flashlight
Just like we mentioned earlier, sometimes the tour can be during the night, or there can be an emergency forcing you to stay over the night. If you don’t have the proper item to light your way, you can easily fall off the road or walk into something that might injure you. It’s just very important to see ahead of you while you are hiking, so bringing a flashlight is an essential thing to do.
Now, the regular flashlight might be more practical and easier to use, because it simply uses a battery and you don’t have to do anything rather than point it at the direction that you want to light up, but you never know for how long you’ll have to keep it on, and the battery might give up sooner or later.
This is where the second type of a flashlight will save your day, the hand-powered model. If you’ve never got the chance to see how one of these looks like, they are just like a regular flashlight, except they have a mechanism that you can press with your hand which will generate some temporary power, allowing you to have some light for a few seconds. You will have to keep doing that for as long as you need light, but your hands can never run out of energy, which is not the case with a battery.
