Hiking Tips and Tricks

You should bring plenty of water, food, a map or GPS, a phone, a hiking stick, a first aid kit, bug spray,and appropriate clothing and footwear for the weather and terrain.

This is so cool! Use your phone to take a picture of it. Then go to your main google site where you type in questions. To the right side of the question box is a camera icon. Click on that then on search. Your phone will compare the picture to other pictures like it and tell you what it is, or give you a small selection of possible matches to choose what it looks most like. Then tap on your selection and find out all about it or google it now that you know what it's called. You can do this with trees, mushrooms, bugs. and flowers etc. Now you can be an expert on everything !

Yes, dogs are allowed on most of the hiking trails, but be sure to check the trail regulations for any restrictions. Also always keep your dog on a leash. You don't want your dog chasing something and getting lost or hurt, and if your on a trail that allows bikes or horses you defiantly need to be able to get your dog out of the way quickly. Also a word about cleaning up after your dog. If the dog does his business it's best to "pick it and flick it"  or use a stick and push it under a bush off the trail. If you use a plastic bag not only are you responsible for carrying it to a trash can but dog poop will disintegrate in a couple of days. However  the bag you put it in makes that a couple of hundred years to disintegrate. Help the planet and save yourself a hassle at the same time!  Just be considerate and make sure it's not in the trail where someone will step in it.

In all the years I've been hiking I've never seen a bear, a racoon, wolf, or other big animals except deer and an armadillo. Usually all I encounter are squirrels, chipmunks and birds and butterfly  or the occasional  turtle. My friends who go out camping for weeks sometimes see  predator  animals, but as a rule they are  as glad to avoid an encounter with us as we are to avoid one with them. I think this is why people can just  yell at them and try to look a little scary  and the predators just walk away.  I have on rare occasions come across a snake, but they also  are glad to go away without having to deal with the  humans.  At any rate I've never had a bit of trouble with anything but bugs. Spiders are the worst that's one reason you need a walking stick, so you can brush away webs without using your hands.