If you are a true hiker by heart and if you can not just bear the same experience every time you go for a trip than it is the high time that you plan something fun and interesting for your backpacking trip the next time you go. It always demands a bit of extra planning, patience, and preparation when you have new bees to join you on a backpacking trip. There is no doubt that introducing your experience and adventure to new people can be just as exciting as the adventure itself. Backpacking can indeed seem frightening to some people who has not spent much time camping or doing outdoor activities before.
Have you ever tried to get family or your friends out for a hike and found them to be a little less than excited? As devotees of the outdoors hiking, almost many of us are keen to introduce others to the joy that we have already experienced in out trip, but to do it in the right way, we need to take a step back to think of what actually brought us to it in the first place. For most of us, an introduction to hiking does not only include a 10-mile trek into the backcountry. More likely, we were introduced to it by somebody else who loved getting outside as us and found creative ways to make it fun for you.
So, to pass along your passion for getting outdoors, all you need is a positive attitude, a few basic pieces of equipment that you might already have with you and a lot of ideas for fun activities to keep things fun.
Here are some basic yet so fun ideas to make hiking more than just a trip for beginners.
1. Fishing can be a lot of fun if you believe
Your family and friends may get tired of just walking and hiking all day long in the name of best experience, but what better can you do to them than to introducing them to fishing. Fishing is one of the best activities that can bring life back to the hike.
Coincidentally, most of the hiking destinations are honored with lakes and rivers that are really appropriate for fishing activities. People can team up to compete for the best catch.
Not just that fishing gives you immense pleasure and fun at the hike you will have you that night’s dinner ready for you at the dinner as well. Isn’t that sounds fun as well as yummy? You’ll need to carry portable fishing rods but can never go wrong when including fishing as part of your outing.
2. Geocaching can be the best option
Geocaching is also one of the fashionable activities that is done to search for mysterious objects by the use of GPS coordinates. It is also a really best activity to keep everyone involved in the hike. In this activity, your partners can simply grab their smartphone, get latitude and longitude directions right and voila! they are good to go.
Geocaching is similar to a modern-day scavenger hunt. Everyone enjoys discovering hidden treasures and you will not be getting bores in this activity at all unless you have better options which I doubt.
3. Foraging for Berries
Another great activity that you may be performing to make your hiking objective even more interesting and fun, you may introduce your mates to hunt for wild berries, yes, that is called foraging for berries. But keep in mind that before you do this, you need to make sure you do your research properly and know which of the fruits are edible and which are toxic or wild.
This is to keep in mind that discovering and picking berries is not only great to blow off some steam, but it is also very fun and yummy treat for those who would like to eat them right away on the spot. Consider hiking during autumn to get the best harvest. There is a dense lush of berries waiting for you to pick out there.
4. Photography
This might be the first priority and choice for many of us as in this modern and advanced age we do not even think about eating our food without taking a picture so how can we hike and not make our memories forever? Do you really want to come back from your hike with nothing to show to your other friends? Make sure you take a lot of photos.
Everyone that loves nature can have a lot of fun capturing nature, each other, and the amazing landscape as you go. You can pose in all those funky sites that can make your Instagram feed such fun to view for the people. Make lasting memories with great photos.
5. Do not forget swimming
Not every water is that deep that you cannot take a dip in, you might come across water that begs you to take a dip and make a lot of memories. This often happens during hiking trips. Why not answer the call of the water, and take a dip in rivers or smaller lakes that you meet? This particular activity can be great to relax after all that tiring hike and walk.
You need to make sure that you bring a swimsuit and an extra pair of clothes with you during the hike session. Your pals are almost guaranteed to ask to hit the trail with you again if you manage to find that perfect swimming hole.
It is really very important to make sure you research potential swimming spots before you head out to be sure if they are safe for swimming, and if the swimming is allowed in those rivers or not because you do not want to be in trouble later on.
6. Give everyone a responsibility
If you play with the human psyche, you will know that it is a fact that everyone loves feeling like they are in charge of something. For that purpose, you would have to give your family and friends responsibilities before, during and after the hike.
Some responsibilities such as include leading the group, taking pictures, instructing others, and giving direction, among others. Giving responsibilities to other people makes them feel like they are part and parcel of the whole journey. When the group is engaged, the trip becomes nothing but fun.
In short words
You can not just spend your life and precious days in a boring and dull routine, you have to make the most out of it and have fun whenever you can. You must start a family tradition of going to hikings and backpacking one or more times in a month. Most of the kids love the sense of adventure and doing something new. There is a large range of trails, terrain, and sights for children to behold. With all the kids spending a good chunk of their time indoors during the week, hiking on the weekend can be a perfect way to get them outside as well be it an urban park or wilderness area trail.
