On the basic day hike one will likely want to bring along a few essential items. While hiking boots are not absolutely required, they are very helpful and provide good support over uncertain terrain. Your feet are your most important asset any time you’re on the trail so you’ll want to take care of them. Wool socks are also a nice addition to help wick away sweat from your feet and help prevent blisters. You may have done some research prior to going out for the hike but a map is a very good idea as things can get tricky in the woods at times. A compass or a handheld GPS device are also...

My magic hike happened many, many years ago. I grew up in a boarding school for fatherless boys, and by the summer before we would be high school seniors, all the boys in my class had lived, fought, played and studied together every day for ten years. We weren’t just schoolmates. We were brothers. Many of us spent June and July of that last summer working as junior counselors for the younger boys, who spent two summer weeks away from the city in the beautiful Pocono Mountains of Pennsyvlania. We older guys had the usual duties of supervising assemblies, sports and other camp activities,...

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Las Vegas offers a wide range of hiking trails for many different levels. They range in ability and all have different scenes. Anyone can enjoy themselves just by looking at the scenes that the trails offer. First up is the Red Rock Canyon. This trail is thirteen miles long and will cost you five dollars to enter. There is great landscape to enjoy and is very close to the Red Rock Resort and Casino. There is a great visitor’s center where you will be able to go to the restroom and purchase drinks for your hike, jog, or skating trip. You may climb on the red rocks but be careful this trail can be...

In Alaska, if you want to have fun in the summer, it means that you are probably hiking to it. Most every incredible area involves some form of a hike or backpacking trip in order to get to it. You could take off road vehicles, but even then, you generally have to hike a great deal of the way. But if you are going to do it, you have to make sure that you are doing it right or it could potentially cause you or someone else their life. The most important thing to remember about light hiking is that if you are doing it, you aren’t meant to go a long distance. If you are planning on traveling...

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Washington State is teeming with day hike opportunities for enthusiasts of all levels. Washington’s hikes are so good in fact they attract people from around the country and abroad as well to sample a thin slice of the beauty waiting to be discovered as well as the opportunity to get that heart rate up and reap the benefits of better health. Not a bad combination if you ask me. What follows is a brief overview of some of the best day hikes in Washington ranked in no particular order. Sourdough Gap on the Pacific Coast Trail in Enumclaw, Washington is a favorite day hike on the lists of almost...

Alabama offers day hiking opportunities as beloved as state icon Bear Bryant himself. Okay it’s a close call, but that just means the hiking here is phenomenal with more opportunies and trails available than you could take in during a calendar year, even if you doubled up and tried to squeeze in some extra ones here and there. While it is tough to pick just a few of the many great day hikes available as the best, what follows is an overview of the absolute can’t miss day hike in the great state of Alabama. The Pinhoti Trail in Cheaha State Park tops the list hands down according to most...