With roughly 20% of the world’s population in Lockdown, Long-distance hiking is only something we can look forward to, or reminisce. It can be tough to keep the adventurous spirit alive. Especially, when you can only walk around your house/apartment, with the occasional outdoor excursion to the supermarket/grocery store.
But there is light. And it is important to keep the fire lit inside us all that makes us want to pack a bag, plan a route and explore the world outside our front door. The question is – How do we keep the fire lit?
Well here are 5 things you can do to keep the spirit alive and look forward to a time with less restrictions and more connection with nature.
5. Stay Active
Yes, you can only travel a small distance from your house. But you can still get out and get active in this short distance. Long-distance hiking requires endurance, try and do a light jog over a long duration.
You could also go hardcore hike training and pack a bag with weights and do some loops around your area. Obviously, you must follow your public health advice and practice social distancing.
If you can, consider going for a cycle. A much lighter impact on your legs and knees.
4. Practice Yoga
Yoga is a personal favorite. Starting the day with a light – medium intensity yoga session can do wonders for your flexibility (great for the hips and legs on those big hiking days). It also has enormous benefits for your stability and balance. We all know that feeling of imbalance when fatigue sets-in on a long day.
There are many free youtube yoga classes you can take that will help you from complete beginner, right up to more advanced levels. I have been following the 30 day “HOME” session by Yoga with Adrienne. This has also helped me maintain a routine each day.
3. Watch a Hiking documentary
Go to youtube and you’ll find hundreds (if not thousands) of hiking documentaries with stunning camera work and production quality that will make your soul rise! There are some very talented film makers out there. Here are some of my favourites:
- Elina Osbourne – It is the people – A Documentary about the Pacific crest trail
- Tough Soles – Hiking 4000km around Ireland – Featuring Ireland’s best hiking trails
- Abbie Barnes – Alive – A documentary about solo-hiking the TMB
- Kraig Adams – Pretty much anything this guy does!
There are certainly a lot more to watch, but once you go down this rabbit hole, you’ll find your flavour!
Couldn’t go without mentioning our own mini-documentary that we did with our friend and Irish adventurer, Derek Cullen. Check it out!
2. Meditate
Meditation is not just for those that sit on the side of a cliff and get their friends to take a picture of them.. It’s also not something you can only do if you are “Zen”. Meditation can be as simple as sitting upright on your couch and breathing slowly with your eyes closed.
The purpose of meditation is to bring some stillness into your mind and help focus on more important matters. Mindfulness is something we all need and most of us do it on a daily basis without even noticing!
We’re no experts on this, but we have met a few. And none have taught me more than Mr. Dermot Whelan.
1. Plan your adventure
The main thing to remember is that this is only temporary. We don’t know exactly when we get back to normality, but that shouldn’t stop us from setting an intention on our next journey. With Hiiker, you can do just this.
Trails featured on HiikerUse Hiiker to find a trail that suits you. Our growing database of trails from all over the world will give you inspiration for your post-lockdown excursion. Right now, we have 930 long-distance trails from all over the world, so you are sure to find something to light that fire!
