Maybe your typical hiking location is the desert, or maybe it’s the exact opposite (like me). If so, here are my few tips/things I learned while hiking in the desert.
Don’t wear open toed shoes.
This was probably the biggest thing I learned. A lot of the trails are rocky, gravely, and overall sandy. My choice of Chacos was not the brightest, I would recommend at the very least a tennis shoe if not a hiking boot.
Do bring lots of water.
Okay, an obvious one. And I was very prepared for this. However, even though I just went on short day hikes I probably could have brought more. I went in early March with temperatures in the high 60’s low 70’s, very breezy and sunny. I was still gulping down water with the dry air around.
Do wear layers.
Another obvious one but you may think all you need is shorts and t-shirt since it’ll be hot, but when the breeze picked up more and it got later in the day my light jacket felt nice.
Don’t assume 3 miles here is the same as 3 miles where you usually hike.
In Michigan, there typically isn’t much elevation change during a hike and a 3 mile hike takes me about a hour. However, where we were in Arizona many of the hikes had elevation changes from 200ft – 600ft. That, coupled with the very rocky terrain added about 20 minutes onto my usual pace for hiking.
Do use the AllTrails app.
This was so helpful as some trails weren’t marked the best and you could have ended up looping a few times. The AllTrails app was great at showing my exact GPS location on the trail and worked even in limited cell service areas.
Comment below or on Instagram any other tips you have about hiking in the desert!