Keep this in mind when hiking uphill:
- Many slow small steps will get you to the top of a hill without winding you. Small steps also keep you from straining your muscles.
- Never look up ahead of yourself. The sight of the slope still to be climbed may disillusion you or cause you to walk faster than you should in an effort to reach the top more quickly.
- If you must look, stop and turn around to see what you have gone past.
- Use a walking stick as a third leg. Put it forward and use it to pull you up. The trick is to surprise gravity: Let it pull you down onto the next higher level. That way it thinks it has won.
- Drink water as you need it. It is better to drink water when you start up a hill than to save it as a reward for when you reach the top.
- Keep your eyes open for wildlife, tracks, vistas, and flowers. You’re not here to run a marathon: you’re here to be with nature.
