Hiking Tips

So today I decided instead of running errands and doing laundry I would go out and explore nature. While laundry and errands are a great source of fun, I don’t think I can handle 2 weekends of that, unless you want to find me dead from boredom on my couch with a pile of half folded clothes in my lap.

I woke up early this morning and set off to find the San Jose paddling club. I’ve wanted to join since leaving Hawaii and finally found one close to where I am. The only drawback is that they practice 5 days a week, 15 hours a week. So right now I’m debating on if I want to commit to that much time and not have much time for anything else…so the drama continues.

After debating on to canoe or not to canoe I headed down to Big Basin Redwoods State Park. I drove up a curvy road that seemed to never end all while going behind someone going 15 miles an hour. No wonder it took me so long to get there…even though it’s only 29 miles away. Once I arrived I put on my hiking boots, zipped up my jacket, and hoisted my backpack on and off I went. The park was pretty full of campers, hikers, and giant redwood trees. I went to find the map of trails only to realize the map pretty much sucked and so I just started walking on the closest trail. The makers were not easy to find but I eventually found a moderate hike that took me to a “waterfall”. I was thinking I would see a big waterfall since it was a major trail. Not so much the case. If you want a visual just take a sip of water and then spit it out over the floor…that is what it was. Now go clean up your mess.

While the falls weren’t what I was hoping for the scenery was beautiful. The weather was perfect and the redwoods were amazing. On average reaching 250 feet if not more. A little factoid for you fact people. Along the trail there were quite a few people and A LOT of kids. So as I was hiking I came up with a few hiking rules/etiquette tips:

1. Do NOT give kids under the age of 13 a stick! They may say they need a walking stick like their parents, however these “twigs” are not walking sticks and instead are used as weapons as they whack you in the thigh as they’re running down the trail.

2. If you are walking in front of someone and are taking in the scenery or have kids and need to help them get over logs and are basically going as slow as humanly possible….MOVE OVER AND LET PEOPLE PASS! This is just as annoying as if you were driving 15 miles an hour all the way to the park. There is no where to pass unless you pull over! Your kid is cute and the scenery is nice however I don’t want to hear you talk about every leaf and twig you see to your cute kid who is whining that they can’t step over the rock that’s in their way.

3. When you are standing in a parking lot waiting for your group…especially if you’re a large group…DON’T all stand in the middle of the parking lot blocking the way for every car to get out. And especially don’t just stare at the cars as they’re trying to go around you…move over!

4. Wear proper hiking attire. This would include boots or tennis shoes, pants or shorts, t-shirt and a coat or sweatshirt. I don’t know if maybe I missed something but I didn’t realize it was the in thing to wear a mini skirt, flip flops, and a tube top while hiking uphill. Although maybe I’ll try it next time and see if it works better.

5. Finally, don’t make out like you’re on your honeymoon while there are people trying to get passed you to see the “falls”. I understand this may be a romantic area where you are outdoors and the scenery takes your breath away, but really…I don’t need that much nature.

There you go…tips from your friendly hiker. I hope you all had a good weekend!