absolutely commonsense hiking advice

I don't know why it never occurred to me to look up "distance walking" on YouTube before now, but I just did that, and right away, I found this dude, who gives some of the best, most down-to-earth, commonsense hiking advice he could give:


If you've watched the video, and you're now sitting back and going, "Huh. There was nothing earth-shattering in there," well, yeah—that's kinda the point! I'd like to think that my own distance-walking experience has taught me most or all of the five points the guy covers in his video, but (1) I know I still have a lot to learn, and (2) those five points are pretty basic to all distance walking/hiking, so they require constant mindfulness, even from veterans.

When I used to walk up Namsan, I often blogged that "the mountain doesn't bullshit you." The mountain doesn't judge you, either; it's just there, and its trails beckon. You either make it up the mountain, or you don't. You're either in shape to do the hike, or you're not. This is true for any trail of any significant distance as well. Go in with the wrong mindset and poor preparation, and you're only going to have yourself to blame when problems start to arise.

Meantime, hats off to this guy. He knows what he's talking about.