What Are The Pros And Cons Of Hiking

Hiking is my absolute favorite thing to do whenever I get a chance. Leaving my house and getting into nature has helped me manage many life challenges. The benefits of hiking are tremendous. But hiking does have some negatives. There are some pros and cons to hiking that everyone needs to know.

The pros of hiking are the positive effects on mental and physical health. It is relatively easy and creates environmental awareness and appreciation. However, the cons are the risk of injury, the adverse effects on the environment, and it can become expensive.

Strap up your hiking boots, grab that walking stick and let’s explore the world of hiking!

What Are The Pros Of Hiking?

Hiking is beneficial in many ways, such as assisting with mental and physical health. Let’s unpack these pros together.

Hiking And Physical Health

One of the greatest pro of hiking is the positive effect on your physical health. The list of ways that hiking can benefit you physically is endless!

Firstly, hiking is good for the heart. Did I say good? I meant amazing! Hiking is a great cardiovascular workout that can provide your body with all sorts of benefits, such as decreasing the risk of heart disease, improving blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol.

However, as if that’s not enough, there’s more! Additional benefits of hiking on the body:

• Helps with weight loss and weight control
• Improves balance
• Increased bone density
• Builds muscle – hiking engages many muscles such as the hamstrings, glutes, quadriceps, calves, core muscles, etc.

Hiking And Mental Health

There is no denying that hiking can improve your mood and headspace tremendously. There have been many times where I have woken up feeling down and decided that a hike was the only way to fix this.

Studies have shown that hiking has excellent effects on reducing stress. It also helps reduce anxiety and depression.

The way hiking assist with all these issues is by removing a person from reality and life for a little while. Leaving the house and going into nature can calm the mind and allow it to drift off elsewhere.

In meditation classes, how often do you hear the instructor telling everyone to think of a field of flowers or something like that? It’s because nature has a powerful way of calming people.

Furthermore, hiking allows people with chronic anxiety, depression, or stress to take a step back and gain some perspective. These mental health issues often lead to rumination, which is getting stuck in a perpetual cycle of thinking about the same problem. Hiking can remove a person from that space and break that rumination.

Other mental health benefits aside from reducing anxiety, stress, and depression include:

• Boosting self-confidence
• Building resilience
• Reduce insomnia

Hiking Is Easy!

Another pro of hiking is that it can be done whenever and does not require a booking or an expensive trip to access it. Many other sports or hobbies require a lot of preparation.

Hiking can be something you decide to do on the day. Naturally, the more intense the hike, the more preparation you would have to do, but this is not always necessary for shorter and easier hikes.

Many avid hikers prefer the lighter and easier hikes as they can do them daily with very little preparation.

Finally, anyone can hike! It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done it before. Anyone can jump on the bandwagon and start hiking. You don’t need to pay for a trainer but instead can learn through experienced friends.

Hiking Creates Environmental Awareness

Hiking has the fantastic ability to create environmental awareness and appreciation.

I have noticed a tremendous difference in people before and after hiking. It is incredible how exposing oneself to nature can show you how beautiful it is.

Hiking allows people to see the beauty of nature and learn to appreciate it. This exposure positively affects people’s attitudes towards the climate and can promote sustainable living practices to reduce our effect on the earth.

What Are The Cons Of Hiking?

While hiking has many benefits, but there are a few cons that need to be considered.

Hiking And Injuries

There is no denying that hiking can lead to injury. Sometimes minor and sometimes major.

Hiking is not something that should be done too lightly, especially on challenging hiking trails. It is vital that hikers always stay vigilant and aware of their surroundings.

Sudden weather shifts can turn a lovely hike into a risky one. These unpredictable weather changes are why experienced hikers pack in extra protective layers and gear in case of a weather change.

Furthermore, loose rocks and slippery ground are not always obvious when hiking. One wrong move on these can lead to injury.

Hikers need to stay awake and vigilant to reduce the chances of injury!

Hiking Can Be Expensive!

While hiking can be considered a cost-effective sport, it can become quite expensive. For the beginners, expensive gear is not needed as most of the hikes they will be doing are simple and don’t require specific equipment.

As you progress and enjoy hiking more, the trails become more complex. This is where hiking can become expensive. Hiking gear such as shoes, pants, jackets, hats, backpacks, and such are costly when you put it all together.

Avid hikers are also required to replace particular gear after some time due to wear and tear, making hiking expensive in the long run.

Hiking And Negative Environmental Effects

Yes, hiking can create environmental awareness, but hiking can adversely affect the environment.

Firstly, there is no denying that hikers create litter. Most hikers appreciate nature and will not litter, but you get the spare few who do.

Plastic water bottles, protein bar packets, and other waste are either intentionally chucked into the bush or dropped accidentally. The litter can pollute the environment, affect wildlife, and contaminate water.

Secondly, staying on the designated path is essential. But some people veer off the path to get a better photo or explore a new area. This can lead to the damage of the natural vegetation.

Lastly, some individuals take it upon themselves to try and attract wildlife with food. This can lead to wild animals becoming a little too comfortable with humans, and inexperienced people could get injured by these animals. Also, animals should not consume human food as this can upset the animal’s digestive system.

The best thing about all of this is that it is preventable. Educating hikers about their environmental impact and how to reduce it can prevent most of these issues!

Summary

In conclusion, hiking can be a great sport that has been associated with increased mental and physical health. It is easy and can be great for environmental awareness and appreciation. There are some cons to hiking, such as the risk of injuries, negative environmental impact, and expensive gear. But when done correctly, the pros hiking can vastly outweigh those cons.