CHAPTER THREE: Day Hiking
Hikers’ food and drink
For day hiking in most urban areas: You can usually purchase food and drink
from stores or restaurants along the way with little need to pack anything but
a little money.
Day hiking in parks and forests for walks of four hours or less, hikers do not
usually need to pack food. Even on all‑day outings, those hikers who eat
an adequate breakfast before hiking and have dinner afterwards have little need
to pack a lunch. However, if you feel that carrying lunch on a day hike
is necessary, make it a box lunch of sandwiches, granola bars, fresh or dried
fruit or cookies that you can carry in a day pack. Select food that you
can eat right out of the package and requires almost no preparation or cleaning
up. Because digesting food draws water from the body’s reserve, you
should not eat food without drinking water. In places where drinking
water may not be available, carry water in a canteen. When planning your
all day hike, plan to pack at least a half gallon of water per person.
Remember to drink additional water before and after the hike.
Walking Pace
A slow, steady, even pace is the most efficient for long distance walking on
most hiking trails. Use the same pace when walking upgrade, as well as
when walking downgrade. Walkers who are used to sidewalks and paved park
paths may find that on walking rough, unpaved hiking trails takes more effort
and time. A person who easily walks three miles an hour on a paved path
is often only able to cover one and half or two miles in the same time period
on a rough surfaced hiking trail. This is especially true on a typical
rock and tree root-covered, forest trail. Because of the danger of
tripping, you have to watch where you place your feet. Each step you take
may be of a different length from the one before it. This makes it
difficult to achieve a striding gait, resulting in a slower pace. Hilly
terrain also increases walking time. Consequently, take into account
trail surface texture as well as its elevation changes and distances when
planning your hikes.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.”
‑ Robert Frost who lived from 1873 to 1963 was a U.S. poet, author of “The Road
not Taken”.
Trails come in two basic configurations.
First, loop trails, like garden paths, may start and end at the same
place. Many day hiking trails and almost all nature trails are loop
trails.
Second, many walkers love linear trails, sometimes called point-to-point
trails. Good examples of this type of trail are the very popular paved
bike paths often built upon abandoned railroad corridors or canal
towpaths. You may see more of the country while walking on these trails,
but you must either retrace your steps or get transportation back to your
starting point.
From these two configurations, a wide variety of trail systems can be
formed. An example might be a main loop trail with spur ‑ linear trails
leading off to picnic areas, remote campsites, or places of special interest.
Another example might be a linear trail with loop trails that are connected to
it, like a string of pearls.
One other type of walking experience is the labyrinth. First developed
during the Middle Ages, they built and enjoyed cathedral and city park
labyrinths as meditation tools, and experienced symbolic journeys. The
best-known examples of these labyrinths are the ones at the Reims Cathedral and
at Chartres Cathedral.
Mazes, made of pruned hedges or colorfully painted plywood also give walkers
another distinctive way to enjoy the sport of walking. Attempting to
navigate successfully a complex maze can be an amusing way to spend an
afternoon. Nevertheless, as our editor noted, locating mazes is often
difficult without some research.
Starting Out
“Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.”
‑
Steven Wright, comedian
Trail systems sometimes change over time. New trails are opened, while old
trails are closed or rerouted due to weather conditions or human
activity. Local agency offices, such as National Forest district ranger
stations, attempt to keep up to date on the current conditions of the trails
within their jurisdiction. When contacting agency offices, please tell
the trail managers what type of trail experience you are looking for.
They are often able to advise which of their trails may be best suited to your
particular needs.
Day Hikes
“I am a
slow walker, but I never walk backwards.”
‑
Abraham Lincoln (1809‑1865) Sixteenth President of the United States
We can enjoy day hikes anywhere; on city sidewalks, in local parks, through shopping
malls, in skywalk systems, on forest or park trails, along abandoned canal
towpaths, on paved over former railroad grades, or even while bushwhacking in
remote wilderness areas.
For urban walking experiences of less than four hours, all you need is a pair
of comfortable walking shoes, a street map and some money to buy drinks, food,
postcards, and fare for public transportation. When urban walking, there
is really little need to carry any gear.
“Every walk is a sort of crusade preached by some Peter the Hermit in us.”
‑ Henry David Thoreau who lived from 1817‑1862 was a naturalist and author.
For longer rural day hikes on designated park or forest trails, you may want to
bring a map of the trail system, something to drink, and a jacket or raincoat
in case there is a turn in the weather. However, when off trail day
hiking in remote wilderness areas where getting lost and spending at least one
night in the open would be a possibility, we advise hikers to carry a survival
pack including a sleeping bag.
Signs
While hiking on any trail, pay attention to all posted signs. Trail signs
are there to inform users of the trail’s direction and important locations as
well as hazards and points of interest. Some trail signs have “You Are
Here maps” that show your location on the map to give you an idea of how far
you are along the trail and how far you have left to go. This is helpful
as you estimate your rate of travel speed and how long it will take you to
reach your destination.
If you are going to assist in creating signs along a temporary route of an
organized walk, be careful how you word your signs. While on a Duluth
Volksmarch, a mother and her young daughter miss-read a route sign marking a
detour. They were walking on an abandoned railroad grade that has become
the Willard Munger State Trail when they came upon a big red sign. The
old railroad grade they were walking on has no rails or timber ties, just
crushed rock ballast. The sign read “Go around the clay pit, and back to
the inactive railroad grade.” (A fifty-foot section of the railroad
corridor was dugout as a clay pit and not filled in at that time.) These
two walkers assumed that the abandoned railroad grade they were walking on was
a road, and that a nearby functioning railroad track was the “inactive railroad
grade.”
As a result, they walked down the active railroad grade and then found
themselves lost at the site of an abandoned steel mill named the Duluth
Works. A telephone call to the Volksmarch headquarters brought a
Volkssport club worker down to retrieve them with his pickup truck. I
hate to think what would have happened if a train had been on that track.
Looking back at this unfortunate incident, it appears they might have avoided
the problem if the trail committee used enough strips of bright colored plastic
tape to mark the route. The words “inactive railroad grade” was confusing
to the two walkers. Nevertheless, almost anyone can follow a flagged
route of plastic tape. After the event, always be careful to remove all
plastic tape markers from the route as they become litter or later cause
confusion to other trail users. Moreover, colored chalk on the ground can
also be used with or instead of plastic tape. The cleanup is easy as
chalk disappears with the next rainstorm.
On the other hand, most permanent designated trails in parks and forests have
signs that in addition to being informational also serve as trail markers,
sometimes called reassurance markers. These sometimes have directional
arrows pointing the way of the trail. Trail markers are made of wood,
metal, or plastic and are usually mounted on posts that designate different
sections of a trail system. Without these directional markers missing a
turn or getting on the wrong trail might be possible. Therefore, you must
pay close attention to signs and trail markers that form important parts of any
designated trail system.
Volkssports
Volkssports, a German term meaning “sport of the people,” Volkssports consists
of four noncompetitive sports events: walking/running, biking, cross
country skiing, and swimming. Volkssports enthusiasts started these
exercise clubs inside the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) by the
International Federation of Popular Sports (IVV) in the early 1960's.
Volkssports organizations are now active in many nations. Volkssports
were brought to the United States by returning American military service
personnel, as well as tourists, who formed the American Volkssports Association
(AVA) which now has chapters in many states.
Volksmarching
Volksmarches are the walking/running part of Volkssports. These events
are leisurely and self‑paced on marked trails passing through scenic and/or
historic areas. Along these routes are a number of checkpoints where
water is available.
The walk is noncompetitive and participants can walk, jog, or run according to
their own pace. This type of organized walking event is an excellent
family activity.
Volksmarching is a free activity, with no age restrictions. However,
those who complete the course are eligible to purchase a medal and have their
distance and event cards stamped upon payment of the registration fee.
When the distance and event cards have enough stamps, you can send them to AVA
headquarters for a pin, patch, and certificate.
Many types of clubs sponsor Volkssports, including the YWCA, the YMCA, the Boy
Scouts, Girl Scouts, along with city and state park departments. Any
nonprofit organization that would like to sponsor Volkssport events is eligible
for regular membership in the American Volkssport Association (AVA) by applying
for and paying a $50.00 charter fee. These organizations are able to make
money at the event by selling food and drinks.
The American Wanderer is the AVA’s newspaper, promoting Volkssports in the
United States and is published bimonthly. The articles and photos for TAW
are submitted from clubs and members across the country to promote their
non-competitive walking, biking, skiing, and other events sponsored by their
local clubs. The paper is only available as a benefit to Associate Membership
in the AVA. The American Wanderer is also available electronically via email to
Lifetime Members and Associate Members as a Portable Document Format (PDF) in
addition to their paper copy.
Age rated lifetime memberships are also available.
1 to 29
$500.00
30‑39:
$450.00
40‑49:
$400.00
50‑59:
$350.00
60‑69:
$300.00
70 and over: $250.00
A spouse, regardless of age, can have a lifetime membership for an additional
fifty dollars.
For additional information, call or write:
AVA National Office
1001
Pat Booker Road, Suite 101
Universal City, Texas 78148
(210) 659‑2112
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