2. When you first start hiking, slow down a bit to let every part of your body 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 those who pause (e.g., to tie shoelaces, take off clothes, or drink water) from affecting those who are still moving. Typically, those who stop should move to the right side of the path, while those continuing walk past on the left. When encountering oncoming groups, follow the same rule—pass on the right. The safe distance for paused individuals from the main group should generally not exceed ten minutes or 200 meters during the day, and must be within five minutes or 20 meters at night.
3. Develop the habit of staying focused while hiking. Avoid laughing, playing around, or singing loudly while walking—these not only distract other team members but also unnecessarily drain your energy.
4. When walking uphill, keep your center of gravity on the front part of your feet, leaning your body slightly forward. When going downhill, shift your weight to the back of your feet, lower your center of gravity, and let your body hang slightly back. On steep slopes, whether ascending or descending, it’s safer to use a zigzag (switchback) route rather than going straight up or down. Before grabbing rocks, branches, or vines to aid in climbing, always test them by pulling to ensure they can support your weight. Many hikers have suffered falls and injuries due to relying on dead or rotten branches and vines.
5. Resting during a hike also requires proper technique—generally, combine short and long breaks, with more short ones and fewer long ones. Short breaks along the way should last no more than 5 minutes, and you shouldn’t remove your backpack or gear. Standing and resting to regulate your breathing is best. Long breaks are ideal every 60–90 minutes, lasting about 15–20 minutes. During long breaks, unload all heavy gear, stand and adjust your breathing for 2–3 minutes before sitting. Avoid sitting down immediately after stopping, as this adds strain to your heart. You or your teammates can massage leg, waist, and shoulder muscles, or you can lie down with your legs elevated to help blood flow back to your heart. Remember: resting should be active and intentional—not just lying down.
6. Carry enough drinking water during hikes—about 3 liters per person per day, adjusting based on weather conditions. When possible, prioritize having more rather than less. If you come across streams, ponds, ditches, or rivers for water replenishment, always check for signs of pollution first: look for absence of human or animal activity, no animal carcasses nearby, no feces or caterpillar contamination, and no black or foul smells. Based on your observations, treat the water through sedimentation, filtration, or separation methods before drinking. In most cases, it's best to first dab a small amount of water on your lips and wait 3–5 minutes—if there's no numbness, itchiness, odor, or bad taste, it should be safe to drink.
7. Ideally, boil any wild water you collect for five minutes before drinking. Follow the principle of drinking small amounts frequently—stay proactive with hydration rather than waiting until you’re thirsty. Take small sips (two or three at a time). If very thirsty, you can shorten intervals between drinks and increase frequency—but avoid drinking too much at once. Excess water isn't absorbed well, wastes precious resources, and burdens your heart. A good general guideline for water intake during activities like hiking is 250CC every 15 minutes.
8. During normal hiking periods, you should urinate approximately every 4 hours. Observe the color of your urine to gauge your body’s hydration status. Dark yellow urine with slight thirst and a normal pulse indicates mild dehydration. Darker yellow urine, dry mouth membranes, thirst, and a slightly faster yet weak pulse point to moderate dehydration. Severe dehydration shows as no urination, pale complexion, rapid breathing, thirst and drowsiness, along with a fast and feeble pulse.