I moved to Arizona in 2016. At that time, I wasn’t much of a hiker but I was blown away by the diversity and the beauty of the desert. I started going on a few short hikes with friends and I loved it. Fast forward to right now, hiking is a big part of my life.

In this article I am going to share with you what I love about hiking, how it improved my mental and physical well being and how it will benefit you too.

Why Hiking?

It is a good workout

Hiking is a good cardio workout that engage many muscles (Glutes, calves, inner thighs, abdominals, lowerback..) while burning a considerable amount of calories. It comes with a lot of benefits for your body:

• Prevent high blood pressure
• Lower your risk of chronic heart disease
• Strengthen your core
• Help lose and control weight
• Burn calories (A person who hikes for two hours can burn up to 1,100 calories)
• Help Regulate your sleep

It is cheap

Hiking is a very cheap activity if not free except for when you have to pay for park’s entrance fee, which is still a reasonable price for the most part. Compared to some other activities, hiking will certainly not break the bank.

It is therapeutic

Hiking is as good for your soul and brain as it is for your body. It has a lot of mental benefits from fighting stress and depression to improving memory and cognitive ability. It is also a sort of meditation if you were to soak in the majestic beauty of nature to fill your heart with quietude and calm.

Hiking helped me big time to overcome stress and homesickness as I explained it in a previous post

How to deal with Homesickness abroad

It is rewarding

The feeling of achievement and fulfillment that comes from hiking is incredible. This will change the way you think, the way you learn things, the way you work and the way you tackle all kind of problems in life. It had instilled in me an urge  to conquer any inviting summit and to face all kind of challenges with grace.

People who hike are awesome

Hikers are the best people out there and here is why:

• They are friendly
• Reliable
• Very flexible
• Wise
• Healthy

Don’t we all want to be surrounded by this type of people? At least I do and honestly the best friendships I have are with friends who hike (I hope my other friends don’t stumble upon this post)

How do I get started?

It might be a tad intimidating at the beginning, but the key is to start small and build up to it.

• Find easy hikes near you: I use All Trails mobile App to locate trails near my area. I have not tried it internationally yet, but I will once in Peru and share my thoughts with you (stay tuned). The mobile app provides you with plenty of details from how to get to the trail head? how long is the hike and what the difficulty rate is.
• Invest in good hiking shoes : It is a good idea to invest in good hiking shoes, but if you can’t afford them, then you can get away with running shoes as long as they have good grip
• Make friends who hike: In the beginning try to avoid going alone and find friends who can accompany you at least till you feel more confident
• Join Hiking groups : Use facebook, meetups and other social platforms to find groups who organize hiking events and join them
• Come up with a list of easy trails in your area and check them out one at a time
• Be Safe:  It is sad but true that some countries are safer than others, make sure you hike at a reasonable time (Example: Avoid very early mornings and late evening hikes, take pepper spray or anything else that you can use to defend yourself)

Hiking essentials?

While hiking in desert is different than hiking in snow, there is a list of essentials that you need to keep in mind no matter what type of hike you are going for:

• Water, water and water: I can’t stress enough on how important it is to stay hydrated. Water is your best friend in every single hike, drink as much as you can.
• Hiking shoes
• Sun hat
• Sun screen
• Appropriate clothing
• Camelback
• Emergency kit
• Hiking mobile app/ Map

In the upcoming posts I will be talking in details about what to look for when you plan on buying your hiking gear but till then I hope you have enough information to get started. If this post inspired you to go on a hike, share your photos with us!