Hiking Travel Tips
I’ve been traveling Europe for just shy of 3 weeks now, and I’ve been absorbing information about my body and my experience in the body that I have.
It has been mostly smooth sailing, besides a couple of pesky blisters! I wanted to take the time to share my tips if you are living in a bigger body or maybe you’d just like my insights into traveling.
Pack light, especially for hiking the Camino, I thought I’d need more clothes than I actually did. And when you do pack something, make sure it will work in various situations. I especially loved my Suku PJs, but I wish I’d brought the whole set, and not just the bottoms as I could have worn that as an outfit. The pants were light and flowy and were so comfortable after wearing bike shorts all day.
Getting used to carrying a bag all day, I trained a fair bit for walking long distances, however, I did not anticipate how often I’d be walking with all my possessions on my back. I’ve found myself feeling it in my legs and ankles and have been very tired. This comes back to my ‘pack light’ tip. You’ll be grateful for a lighter pack.
Take some snacks with you from home, I would have loved to bring tamari almonds and tuna, and if I was hiking longer, I’d bring the Radix Nutrition freeze-dried meals, you can add boiling water and they are a complete nutritional meal. Especially traveling in places where some foods are less available.
That being said, it is so important to try new foods, don’t let your home lifestyle impact your travels! I tried new seafood I’d never had before, and some meats, especially processed meats, which I tend to shy away from, but in the birthplace of Jamon and incredible prosciutto, I love trying foods from the region. Food freedom is all about that exact thing. Trying foods!
DON’T COMPARE your experience with others, you’ll come across people who might be doing longer distances and hiking at a faster pace, which it can be easy to compare yourself to, and to sound cliche for a moment, it’s not about the destination, it is about the journey! We took it slowly, arrived in beautiful towns with plenty of energy, and got to explore. Others we met, were so tired from their big days that they slept most of the afternoon, going out just to eat dinner. So there are benefits to everything!