r/Hiking

I finally got a new pair of trail runners, which I thought would give me confidence on more difficult terrain. I got some Lone Peaks on sale and they're super comfy, etc. I took them out for a test yesterday and found a cool trail that went down by a waterfall and went over a lot of uneven terrain - mostly up and down rocks and tree roots. The trail was packed with a lot of people of all ages and seemed pretty popular.

At one point there's a set of rock steps that leads up to a large flat rock face. I should note that it had been raining for the past few days so the trail and the rocks were damp. After carefully navigating the trail, I took one small step onto this rock and my foot slid. My whole leg twisted out from under me leading to a scraped arm, a couple big bruises, and a pulled muscle. I had to hobble back to the car on the main road that was thankfully near the spot I ate shit.

While I am glad this was not a super serious injury, I can't get over how such a small move messed me up so much. I still don't know quite how I managed it but my shoes may have had wet dirt in the treads or something. I also read lone peaks are apparently not great on, you guessed it, damp rocks. Lovely!

I want to try this trail again but I am honestly kind of scared. Should I give up on the lone peaks or ONLY wear them on dry trails? They are super comfortable but the track record is currently 0-1.

I've been planning this hike for months now. Bought the map. Spent hours reading trip reports. Planned the route. Made my checklist. Bought new gear just for this. You know, getting ready is half the fun. I was really really excited for it. 8 days and 120 km in the wild.

Then a few days ago I broke my ankle in the bouldering gym. I'll have surgery sometime next week. The doctor told me I'd be in a cast for 6 weeks, then another 6 weeks of wearing the boot + physiotherapy, so a total of 3 months.

It took quite a mental toll on me. I was in the best physical form I ever was when the accident happened. I had tons of energy, felt very good and strong, was making great progress at bouldering, had a bunch of plans for the summer, including this hike. Now I can't wash myself without my girlfriend's help.

The hike was planned for early September, almost 4 months away, so technically, I'll be recovered by then. But, realistically, I know that it's completely stupid to even think about doing this. I can't just suddenly walk ~20km day after day wearing a 15kg pack when I haven't used one of my legs for 3 months before.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to do with this post. I guess I'm mostly just ranting. But at the same time, a small part of me still hasn't let this go, I need some experienced people telling me that I'm right to cancel this hike, and that I should not mess with my recovery and give it time to heal completely.

EDIT: thanks everyone for the kind words, encouragement, and sharing your story. It really helps. I wish everyone here a speedy recovery!

I was in tick city, Pennsylvania and my buddy and I forgot to check each other after running through a field of flowers (looking back this was a bad idea, especially without spray). I've actually never had a tick to my knowledge and am happy I didn't crash the car when I found a giant deer tick attacked to my chest. I freaked out and flung it somewhere, but it got me. There's a mark.

Considering how bad lyme disease is here, should I go to an urgent care to get...something for it, if they can? My friend saw it and it was definitely a deer tick. We also found many others crawling on us, even after checking, and I do fear my own car a bit now and am not sure what to do there. What are the odds me getting lyme from this too? It wasn't attached long, but it did get me.

Hi! It's my first time posting here, I don't really hike but my friends do. We are planning a summer trip, about a week long. We want to go hiking and camping through mountains in Europe. We had originally hoped for the Dolomites but currently we're considering Pyrenees or French Alps since they're closer by. We live in Barcelona.

However, we are 8 girls, all 19-20 and can't really get a car for all of us. None of us have a big enough car, and renting a bigger one is not within our budget since we've had our license for very little.

Therefore we are hoping for a 5-7 day route which we could do by feet or bus! Without a car :p. I am totally foreign to hiking so I thought I'd come here for advice on possibilities, I don't know if it's common to do these kinds of trips without a car. We'd still consider anywhere in Europe as long as we wouldn't need a car once there.

I'm about to go on my first long hiking trip in a hot area, and I want to wear clothes that keep me as cool as possible. I'll be in south texas, so very hot and dry. I've heard about people wearing cotton undershirt, like a wife beater, to keep their sweat against their skin to keep cool. Would this work in a dry, sunny region? I appreciate any advice!

Hey everyone! We took a hike yesterday, and stupidly started walking through what looked like tons of poison ivy, noticing half way through. I of course washed my legs with Dawn and Zanfel, but what was really stupid was that I wasn’t thinking, and walked right through my apartment with my hiking boots still on. My apartment is a mix of carpet and tile. Obviously it would be pretty tough to find exactly where I walked through without superhuman memory, but is there any chance of the oil transferring to the carpet? I’d rather not have a situation where I get poison ivy rash on my feet from simply walking through my apartment. Any answers/help would be awesome. Thank you!

My spouse on one of the local trails on the western side of Phoenix. Taken just before sunrise.

Hi everyone!

Pyrenean girl here. I am looking into my summer plans and would love to do a 2 or 3 week hike in Europe, any ideas? I am an experienced hiker and can handle long/strenous days as well as walking on glaciars etc. The routes I have found are always about a week long and I'll love to do something longer.

So far, I have been considering the Dolomites (but Alta via 1 or 2?) or the trek from Chamonix to Zermatt.

If you have any other suggestions please feel free :)

My partner and I are visiting Dolomites in early June and want to do the usual Tre Cime Di Lavaredo and Cadini Di Misurina hikes. We have a car. The toll road apparently opens in end of May.

Question - what is the state of the trails in early June? Do we need crampons / snowshoes? I understand this will differ every year, but wanted to get some thoughts.

Thanks!