How To Prepare For Your First Hike In Kenya
Kenya has a variety of hiking destinations to offer. The hiking trail varies from novice to experienced level. Our hiking trails range from the lush savannah to the Indigenous forests, bamboo forest, hearth, moorland, volcanic mountains, and hills. There are also semi-arid hiking destinations with acacia trees, cacti, and lush grass. The views while hiking are beautified by the green landscapes and terrains.
Hiking is a great outdoor activity that not only benefits the physical body but also the mind. Hiking rejuvenates, bringing a sense of peace and fulfillment. Hiking may sound like an easy outdoor activity, but it is not. For beginners without the right preparation and gear, it can be difficult and overwhelming. Without the right preparation and the right choice of a beginner-friendly trail, you will not wish to go back again.
With the right skills, gear, essentials, safety tips, and knowledge, hiking is the best outdoor activity with much to see and learn. It comes with exposure and with time addiction to explore more and visit more places. Hiking spirit is key in this activity and is an essential that drives many even on difficult trails.
Hiking Fitness Tips
Body fitness is a key requirement in hiking. Being physically fit as a beginner will give you an easy time while hiking.
Importance of physical fitness before hiking
- 1. Physical fitness builds stronger muscles and bones.
- 2. It improves your sense of balance, which is essential while climbing steep slopes.
- 3. It improves your heart health and its ability to pump blood.
- 4. It decreases the chances of you having respiratory problems.
- 5. It gives you not only physical benefits but also emotional and mental benefits.
Physical Fitness Tips
- 1. Cardiovascular conditioning for endurance
It is a way of estimating a person’s physical fitness. It can be improved by adding aerobic activities and increasing the difficulty level of the exercises. Cardiovascular endurance is how well your heart and lungs supply the oxygen you need while exercising and the intensity of the exercises. Enough oxygen supply in your body is essential while hiking to prevent headaches and muscle pulls after the hike.
Cardiovascular endurance activities
Exercises you can engage in to build your cardiovascular endurance are cycling, swimming, jogging or running, climbing stairs, jumping rope, and dancing. They are called aerobic exercises because they help you exercise the lungs. For beginners, you can start with 10-15 minutes per day and add until you can do 150 minutes per week.
- 2. Training for hiking-related muscles
These are exercises that focus on the legs, core, and upper body. Some of the exercises are:
Squats
It involves lowering your hips and standing up as many times as you can.
Lunges
It is an exercise for the knees, and it is essential while climbing steep rocky trails. The steep trail put pressure on the knees.
Step-ups
It involves stepping on a high platform and down as many times as possible; they help you with ascending and descending without struggle.
Planks and Russian twists
PLANKS
RUSSIAN TWIST
They help with core strength and stability, which are vital for maintaining proper trail posture and balance.
Push-ups and pull-ups
These are exercises for the upper body. They come in handy to give you the stamina to carry your bag with your essentials as you hike.
As a beginner, you should start exercising one or two months before your hiking day to build your fitness and stamina. You should practice with easy trails like the Karura Forest trail and the Arboretum hiking trail.
Hiking Gear And Equipment
Essential hiking gear is key while hiking. A flexible shoe with the right grip is vital to give your feet an easy time as you trek. There is nothing as bad as having bruises and numb feet while hiking due to bad shoes; it is a nightmare.
Other essentials are a trekking pole to enable you to climb steep slopes and give stability on slippery trails. Hydration is important during hiking. One week before the hiking day, you should increase your water intake. This will help you to be well-hydrated for the hike. Good hydration prevents headaches and your chest filling up while hiking. Water is medicine when it comes to hiking. Carry enough water.
If you are going to hike in a hot area, carry sunscreen, sunglasses, a beach cap, and wear a light long-sleeved top. These essentials will help to protect you from sunburns and your skin from tanning.
Carry insect repellent gel to protect you from insect bites in the forest. No matter the season, carry a raincoat or dress in waterproof clothes. The weather may surprise you while hiking. Ignorance does not have a chance while hiking; proper preparation is essential.
Packing The Basics For Hiking
How you dress for hiking is important. To know how to dress, you should research the weather of your hiking destination.
 When going hiking, we dress in layers so that we can add or subtract our clothing depending on the weather conditions of the area. The layering basics are the base layer, mid-layer, insulating layer, and shell layer.
Make sure your attire is a non-cotton material. The cotton material traps moisture, which in turn pulls away the heat in your body. Also, when the cotton material gets wet, it stays wet, making you cold.
The right material is synthetic materials like nylon, polyester, rayon wool, and silk. These materials are easy to dry and light.
Remove your layers before sweating or reducing your pace.
Carry a first aid kit so that you know what is inside and how to use the tools inside. A first-aid kit helps to take care of small accidents that happen while hiking, like being stung by a stinging nettle. Snacks are essential to help you re-energize.Â
You can carry snacks like meat sticks, energy bars, dehydrated fruits, nuts, chocolate, cheese, energy drinks, and crackers. You can bring a hard copy map because gadgets fail in remote areas.
Safety Tips For Hiking In Kenya
If you are a foreigner or have not been to your hiking destination before, hire a tour guide or book with a traveling company for safety reasons. Most hiking trails in Kenya are through the forest, and trails are not visible.
Going hiking alone is not advisable. You need people to help you in case of an emergency and also to encourage each other to achieve the goal of reaching the summit or the agreed point.
Going as a group helps you to make friends, bond with people, and create memories.
Before you go hiking, research the destination’s terrain, topography, and surroundings. Mark your trails clearly as you hike so that is easy to get back to your starting point.
If your hiking destinations are like Mount Longonot, where while hiking across the savannah you see wild animals grazing, give the animals their space. Do not feed or get close to them without permission. Leave the forests, hills, and mountains as you found them to tamper with the environment or litter.
Best Time To Hike In Kenya
Kenya is an all-year hiking destination. Seasons for hiking depend on your hiking destination and the weather conditions there. Most people love going to hike during the dry season. The dry season ranges from January to March, which is very hot depending on the hiking destination, and July to October, which has mild temperatures.
If your hiking destination is in a semi-arid area, you can hike any season, but the best season is during the short rains from November to December. During this time the landscape has a beautiful green vegetation cover and the sun is not hot, therefore you will have an easy time hiking.
There are hiking destinations that receive rain throughout the year, like the Aberdare Ranges and Mount Kenya. Here there is thick, dense, and green forest cover.
Environment And Cultural Respect
There are hiking destinations that are taken care of and managed by the local community. For example, Mount Ole Sekut and Mount Suswa are managed and taken care of by the Maasai Community. When visiting these destinations, make sure you respect their culture and their personal space unless invited.
Communities living near tourist attraction sites showcase their culture and customs to visitors, some for free and others for a fee. Do not tamper with the environment of your hiking area or litter the area. Some of these destinations have wild animals that should be taken care of and protected from pollution.
Conclusion
With the right physical preparation, skills, essentials, and gear, your hiking experience will be memorable. You will be in the same group chat with the hiking addicts. Hiking is fun and gives you wholesome exercise from the physical body to the mind.
Domestic tourism is on the rise as more people join the hiking community. Do not be left behind. Book with us and let us usher you into the beautiful world of hiking with fun, affordable, and safe adventures.
