5 Reasons Why You Should Never Hike

5 Reasons Why You Should Never Hike

1. There’s really nothing to see…it’s all trees!

You know that Bill Bryson book A Walk in the Woods?  Well, yeah, that’s basically all hiking is, so why waste your time setting out on some crazy adventure just to see more trees?  You’ll spend countless hours in the woods just to get a glimpse of some random scenic viewpoint.  Don’t waste your time…you can just drive to a magnificent view like Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park or Dante’s View in Death Valley National Park.

2. You’ll get lost

Typically, GPS does not work well and, let’s be honest, nobody really knows how to use a map and compass.  Trails are hard to follow (especially in the fall when leaves cover the trail) and trail junctions are often confusing, so think twice before setting out this weekend! If you must go out to hike, don’t hike so far in that you lose cell reception, which is a great segue…

3. No cell reception

As mentioned above, you will definitely get lost at some point when hiking and you won’t be able to call for help or use Siri to help you down to your car because you will lose cell reception in the woods. 

You can use your phone camera to take pictures of all those trees and even get a cool selfie with the trees, but you won’t be able to do anything with it – on the trail there’s no Instagram, no Snapchat, no Facebook…nothing!  What good is it to set out on a hike if you can’t even share it with your friends?  Sure, you can post/share it later, but why would you ever want to post something after the fact…doesn’t that defeat the purpose of social media?

Pro trip – use hashtags like #wanderlust #adventure #authentic #blessed #goodvibes #YOLO #like4likes

4. Dangerous animals

Where do I even start?  First of all, there are tiny critters just waiting to wreak havoc on your life – annoying bugs, ticks with Lyme disease, mosquitos with Zika, poisonous spiders and other even tinier critters like parasites, waterborne pathogens, and viruses that will hit you without ever seeing them! 

On top of those small critters, you get into some serious dangers from larger animals like bears, mountain lions, cougars, coyotes, wolves, and snakes…animals that will actually eat you!  These angry animals are lurking behind random boulders, waiting at switchbacks and probably hiding in those trees you came to walk amongst.  These animals are most active at dawn and dusk, so you should only hike in the middle of the day.

Pro tip – ticks are attracted to the scent of Starbucks coffee, so if you go to Starbucks you probably should never hike or just avoid that trip before you head out to the trees. 

5. Weather never cooperates

No matter what, it’ll either be too hot, too cold, too cloudy, too sunny, too windy, too humid, or too wet and, often, it can be all the above in the same hike.  That just sounds miserable, right?  Unless you have $1,000+ to drop on the top gear at your local REI, it will be miserable because you will not be prepared for the rapid climate changes you’re likely to face.  It’s not just about being comfortable…all of these different conditions can have drastic affects to your health – too hot and it’s heat exhaustion; too cold and it’s hypothermia.  These are serious concerns for every hiker…why would you want to raise your risk for such conditions?

Pro tip – flannel shirts are best all-around for enduring any type of weather condition.  It’s warm enough in cold weather, blocks out the wind and serves as a great sweat towel if it’s hot and humid.

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In case you haven’t noticed yet, these warnings are meant to be satirical.  Hiking is our favorite hobby and we’d love for others to get exposed to hiking and all the rewards it provides. We've shared a TON of hiking trip reports and tips here but stay tuned for much more!

As always, follow the Leave No Trace Principles.

6 Tips for Outdoor Enthusiasts to Help Keep Invasive Pests from Spreading

Scott here! I've been behind the scenes lately, because I've been busy at work buried under mountains of spreadsheets, charts and numbers. Whitney has been handling the recipes and workouts, while I try to help her catch up on sharing all of our hiking trips. I'm taking a break from that to talk about something else important that directly relates to hiking and the great outdoors. We're HUGE advocates of "Leave No Trace" and with the increase in people enjoying the outdoors, mainly National and State Parks, we've seen more trash than ever. We can help solve the problem by adhering to the Leave No Trace principles and taking an extra bag outdoors to pick up trash that others have left behind. With that said, there's another big problem lurking in the woods that many people tend to overlook – the spread of invasive pests. Although we're well aware of the problems posed by spreading invasive pests, I was ill-informed as to the large role humans actually play in this issue.

Invasive pests are foreign species that wreak havoc on the environment, displace native species and can even impact public health. While they might not all be as obvious as a rhino in a coconut tree, knowing what to look for and being aware of the problem will definitely help prevent these pests from further spreading.

*Photo from Hungry Pests' Facebook Page

Each year, invasive pests cost the U.S. billions of dollars in damages. Hungry Pests are 19 invasive species identified by USDA-APHIS (U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) that are particularly destructive to America's trees, plants, and agricultural crops. These pests tend to arrive in our country via commercial trade, but once here, the biggest way they spread is in the things people pack and move. Because of this, people are also the main solution in helping to keep these pests from spreading. Increased outdoor activity comes with a greater risk of spreading these dangerous pests.

As you know, one of our main goals is to visit all of the National Parks. We take a few trips each year and enjoy day hiking and sometimes overnight camping. Even though it is a goal of ours to visit all our National Parks, there are plenty of other amazing hiking and camping destinations that we love, like Roan Mountain (pictured above).

If you've ever camped, you've probably noticed that there are signs posted to not move firewood. While at first it may seem like a silly rule, there is a reason! Moving firewood is a surefire way to spread pests that may be hiding inside. That's just one example of something that you may have seen before, but there are several other actions that we may not think much about like leaving plants, flowers, etc. where they belong instead of bringing them back with us.

The USDA-APHIS has six simple tips for outdoor enthusiasts to follow, which will help keep invasive pests from spreading:

• Before leaving for and returning from a camping trip, remove any mud and dirt, which may carry insects and their eggs, from cars and recreational vehicles (RVs) to help prevent transporting invasive pests to new areas. Be especially attentive to clean debris from tires and wheel wells. Also, clean tires on mountain or other bikes you may use.
  
• Likewise, clean mud and dirt from shoes, boots, backpacks and other gear before leaving your local area to hike or enjoy time in nature.
  
• Although it may be tempting, don't bring back flowers, plants, leaves or other natural souvenirs discovered in the wild, as they could have invasive pests attached to them. Leave nature in nature.
  
• Planning to enjoy an outdoor campfire? Don't move firewood. This is the easiest way to avoid spreading invasive species, such as the Asian longhorned beetle and emerald ash borer, which can be hidden inside.
  
• Buy firewood where you plan to burn it. Only use wood that already has been responsibly harvested near the place you plan to burn it. Or buy and use wood that has been heat-treated or certified as safe to use. Many national and regional parks no longer allow people to bring in firewood from the outside. By doing so, not only could you face a hefty fine, but you could bring in pests that destroy the beautiful wild spaces you love.
  
• For those living in the northeast quarter of our country, look for insect egg masses attached to outdoor items, such as furniture you bring on your camping trip. Even items stored in your garage could hide them. They could be the destructive gypsy moth, which eats more than 300 species of trees and shrubs. Carefully remove and immerse gypsy moth egg masses in soapy water. And report findings outside of quarantined areas to federal or state agricultural officials, since early detection is key to controlling these pests.

As with any other type of trip, packing and unpacking for an outdoor adventure can take up a lot of time. It's easy to want to cut corners, but taking the time to clean as much as you can before you leave for your camping trip and then again before you go home will help protect these lands that we love. We always thoroughly clean everything we use, including our clothes, tent, boots, bags, etc. and quickly put them away.

Finally, these invasive pests do not just apply to our favorite hiking or camping spots, they can also affect our food supply. One that applies to our state, Georgia, along with California, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas and the U.S. Virgin Islands is citrus greening. Once a tree is infected there is no cure. I definitely don't want any green oranges!

*Photo from Hungry Pests' Facebook Page

Connect to learn more about invasive Hungry Pests and how to stop them from spreading:

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The website includes photos and descriptions of the 19 Hungry Pests, which ones threaten each state, an online tracker of federal quarantines, and phone numbers to report signs of these invasive pests.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of United States Department of Agriculture - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The opinions and text are all mine.

Hiking Blood Mountain - Being KIND to Ourselves + the World

We are often asked about healthy snacks for "on the go" and one of our favorites is KIND bars. We take them when we travel, when we go hiking, and I always have at least one in my purse in case hunger strikes. There are many bars on the market but many of them are basically candy bars with a little bit of added protein. We are pretty particular about the bars that we consume, especially when hiking. We look for something that will give us the energy we need but without all the junk. We fell in love with the STRONG & KIND line of bars a few years ago once we spotted the honey mustard flavor. We've since turned many people onto the bars! My favorite is the Honey Mustard and Scott's favorite is Jalapeno.

We can't just stop at putting good food into our bodies, it's also important to be KIND to our bodies through exercise and KIND to our communities and world around us. We are KIND to our bodies through exercise. As we've mentioned before, we don't live in the gym. Any chance we get we are on a trail somewhere! We love our weight training routine but also love getting out into fresh air! Not only is hiking exercise for us but it's also a way to escape the daily grind and rejuvenate at the same time.

A few weekends ago we hiked Blood Mountain (which is on the Appalachian Trail) with some friends. We always take a plastic bag to pick up trash as we hike and we were pleasantly surprised to have only found about four pieces of trash on our six mile hike. Maybe the cold weather scared some people off (the trail was even still icy!) or people are being more conscience about their actions.

Once we reached the summit of Blood Mountain we took a short break (short because it was so windy and cold that we didn't want to stop long!) to fuel up with KIND bars before the hike back down.

After getting off the trail we ate lunch at a restaurant in Dahlonega, GA. Although, the fried foods and desserts looked great we opted for a salad with grilled chicken on top. It was SO good! It also had cranberries, apples, and blue cheese. Nourishing your body with quality foods after exercise is an important factor in recovery! We do indulge in our treats but we usually make those ourselves at home or enjoy some dark chocolate, like we did when we got home after the hike.

After our hike we started thinking more about being KIND to our communities, Scott and I decided we would spend a little bit of time the next day picking up trash along the road in front of our neighborhood. There's been a HUGE box on the side of the road for weeks that I have wanted to pick up. We decided to get it and also take some extra trash bags to pick up the litter around it. Only covering 1/8 of a mile we filled the entire empty box that was already out there and another large trash bag! We've decided that we are going to spend a few minutes each weekend and pick up trash around our community.

How do you plan to "Live KIND. every day™"? What will you do to be KIND to your body, taste buds, and world? Check out the kindsnacks.com blog to get some ideas from the KIND team to see how they Live KIND. every day™.

P.S. You must try the Blueberry Vanilla & Cashew KIND bar! It tastes like a blueberry muffin!

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This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of KIND.