How to start hiking

This story was originally titled "Your Boots Are Made For Walking" in the September 2008 issue. Subscribe to Canadian Living today and never miss an issue!

On a warm August evening in 2000, a walk in the woods turned into a life-changing experience for Jeff Gray. The 40-year-old banker from Fredericton – a pack-a-day smoker at the time – was 15 minutes into a hike up a steep road in Fundy National Park with his wife when, weary, winded and sweating profusely, he had to stop to catch his breath. As he sat on the summit of the hill, the former high school star athlete wondered if he was having a heart attack. "My head was pounding, my heart was pounding, I was out of breath," he says. "I honestly did not know if I would be coming back down that hill."

The episode scared Jeff into overhauling his lifestyle. After more than two decades of smoking, he ditched the cigarettes, and before long he was doing a 10-kilometre walk every morning before work. Now, at 48, he's a seasoned outdoorsman who backpacks several times a year, takes frequent day hikes and has his own hiking website. "I'm more capable now than I was at 35," says Jeff, who adds that he has especially improved his leg and arm strength and believes, "I can become more capable every year."

Canada is a 9.9-million-square-kilometre hiker's fantasyland, with trails ranging from hour-long pleasure walks to multiday wilderness excursions. This year, thousands of nature-loving, health-conscious Canucks will head out to gaze at seabird colonies in Newfoundland, find rainbows at spectacular waterfalls in Ontario and cling to cliffs in the Rockies. In most cases, their bodies – and their rejuvenated psyches – will thank them. "You're going to get improved cardiovascular fitness levels and the health benefits that go with that," says Kyle Turcotte, a kinesiology instructor at the University of Manitoba. "So, decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, decreased risk of diabetes, etc."

With the hurried pace of life these days, not everyone has time to pull a Grizzly Adams and spend half the summer communing with the trees and birds. Canadian hiking experts are seeing a trend toward shorter hikes closer to home.

"People are under significant time pressure, yet they're not wanting to give up their love of the outdoors and the pleasure that comes just from hiking a trail. That's the case for me," says Tim Southam, the public affairs manager for Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), a Vancouver-based cooperative that sells outdoor gear and clothing. "I don't have the opportunity to go on extended trips very often anymore, but I live in a place where trails are close by. So I can spend a couple of hours just getting the enjoyment and renewal that comes from hiking."

Regardless of the length and location of your hike, it can be a dangerous mistake to think you can get by with flip-flops, a fanny pack and a couple of chocolate bars. The health benefits of hiking come with the risk of everything from blisters to dehydration to bear encounters, and your great escape needs planning. The Scouts and Girl Guides have it right: Be prepared.

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