Let’s get started…

First step is to figure out a general idea of where you want to hike and how long of an adventure you want. Plan out how long you actually want the total adventure to be, from driving to the trailhead, hiking, to driving home.

For example: If you only have 8 hours to spend on the adventure, 2 hours of that is driving, that leaves 6 hours for hiking. If you only have a 10 minute drive to the trail head, that leaves almost all 8 hours to hike.

Hikes require looking at several aspects to determine how long they will take: distance, elevation gain, trail conditions, and your physical fitness. Googling the hike will usually help tell you all of those things but you have to estimate how healthy you are for the hike. If you aren’t sure…start with a one- or two-mile gentle hike and see how that goes.