Hiking and trekking refers to an outdoor activity where the main means of completing the journey from the starting point to the endpoint within a hiking area is by walking. It may involve crossing various terrains such as mountains, jungles, deserts, snowfields, streams, and canyons. This activity requires a high level of comprehensive field skills, integrating mountaineering, rock climbing, rafting, stream tracing, and wilderness survival. Trekkers must possess good physical fitness, stable psychological quality, and moral standards, as well as a team spirit that is willing to help others. For a successful trek, it is essential to carefully plan the route in advance, understand the area to be traversed—including weather conditions during the trek, terrain, difficulty level, risk factors, required gear, food, medications, and more.
Due to its exploratory, knowledge-seeking, and unpredictable nature, trekkers must master relevant wilderness survival knowledge and skills to cope with ever-changing field conditions.
Hiking and trekking include many types such as mountain-jungle treks, desert-wilderness treks, snowfield-glacier treks, canyon treks, plain treks, mountain ridge treks, Great Wall treks, ancient path treks, grassland treks, lakeside loop treks, and river treks.
A healthy body and good physical endurance are among the most important prerequisites for hiking and trekking. There are no shortcuts—trekkers must develop a personalized physical training plan to gradually improve endurance, strength, and load-bearing walking abilities. Endurance training can be achieved through swimming, hiking, long-distance running, and cycling, while strength training can be done by consistently performing push-ups, weightlifting, sit-ups, and pull-ups every day.
Basic Principles and Techniques of Hiking:
Hiking is not just a leg exercise but a full-body activity. Pay attention to using arm swings to balance your body and adjust your pace. Control your rhythm—the best walking speed is one where you can walk without gasping for breath, keeping your pulse below 120 beats per minute. Keep your shoulders relaxed and back straight, breathe deeply using your diaphragm, land on the entire sole of your foot, and shift your weight from heel to toe. Always maintain your own walking rhythm—avoid alternating between fast and slow, or running and stopping. Try to keep a consistent pace.
When you first start hiking, slow down a bit to allow every part of your body to warm up and adapt. After 5–10 minutes, you can then increase your pace. For safety, maintain a reasonable distance of about 2–3 meters between team members. This prevents interference if someone needs to pause—for example, to tie shoelaces, take off a jacket, or drink water. Typically, those who pause should stay to the right, while advancing members pass on the left. When encountering other oncoming teams, also follow the rule of “my right, their left,” yielding politely. The safe distance between resting members and the group should generally not exceed ten minutes or 200 meters during the day, and five minutes or 20 meters at night. While walking, develop the habit of staying focused—avoid laughing, playing around, or singing loudly, as these not only distract others but also waste unnecessary energy.
When walking uphill, your center of gravity should be at the front of your feet, with your upper body slightly leaning forward. When going downhill, place your center of gravity on the back of your feet and lower it, allowing your body to hang slightly downward. For steep slopes, whether ascending or descending, use a zigzag pattern to avoid going straight up or down, as this is a relatively safer method. When moving on slopes, always test rocks, branches, or vines with your hands before pulling or grabbing onto them to ensure they can support your weight. Many hikers have suffered falls and injuries due to grabbing rotten or brittle branches or vines.
Resting during a hike also requires proper technique—it’s generally best to combine short and long breaks, with more short breaks and fewer long ones. Short breaks during the journey should be limited to 5 minutes and ideally done without removing your backpack or gear, mainly standing and focusing on regulating your breathing. Long breaks are best taken every 60–90 minutes for about 15–20 minutes. During longer rests, remove all heavy gear, stand and regulate your breathing for 2–3 minutes before sitting. Don’t sit down immediately after stopping, as this adds extra burden to your heart. You or your teammates can massage the leg, waist, and shoulder muscles, or you can lie down and elevate your legs to help blood return to your heart. Remember: rest should be active and purposeful, not simply lying down. When I hiked 100 kilometers with a small team including Native and Jingzhongyue, we adopted proactive rest principles, relaxing at regular intervals, and everyone successfully completed the 100-kilometer trek.
When hiking, carry enough drinking water—about 3 liters per person per day, adjusting based on weather conditions, but always better to carry more than less. If you come across streams, ponds, ditches, or rivers for water replenishment, first observe for signs of pollution: check if there has been any human or animal activity nearby, if there are animal carcasses nearby, feces, or caterpillar contamination, or if the water looks black and smells foul. Based on your observations, treat the water by methods such as sedimentation, filtration, or purification before drinking. In general, it's best to first dab a little water on your lips and wait 3–5 minutes—if there is no numbness, itchiness, odor, or bad taste, it’s safer to drink. Ideally, boil collected water for five minutes before drinking. Drink water in small amounts but frequently—don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink reactively. Taking two or three small sips at a time is ideal. If very thirsty, you can shorten the interval between drinks and increase frequency—but drinking too much at once not only wastes precious water your body can't absorb, but also burdens your heart. For general hiking and outdoor activities, the optimal hydration method is about 250CC every 15 minutes. During normal hiking periods, urination should occur roughly every four hours—you can monitor urine color to assess your body’s dehydration level. Dark yellow urine with slight thirst and normal pulse indicates mild dehydration; dark amber urine with dry mouth membranes, thirst, increased but weak pulse signals moderate dehydration; severe dehydration is marked by no urination, pale complexion, rapid breathing, extreme thirst, drowsiness, and a fast, weak pulse.