Basics

Our Favorite Thing: Why Do Hikers Eat So Much Peanut Butter

Last updated: April 19, 2022 by Canberk Koksal

Whenever I am on a hike, I like to carry along a meal or a snack to keep me going. I notice that my fellow hikers do the same, and most of them are making room in their backpacks for some form of peanut butter.

While I love peanut butter as much as the next person, seeing so much of the gooey snack on the trail made me wonder why hikers eat so much peanut butter. Is peanut butter a wonder food? Read on to find out!

Table of Contents

Nutritious

Peanut butter is rich in two very important essentials to a hiker, which are fiber and protein. Just two tablespoons, which is the recommended single serving size, provides 7.7 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber.

Fiber and protein give your stomach something to do and make you feel full longer as well as provide energy to sustain you on a long hike. As far as nutrients go, you cannot find a better combination than that.

Fat vs. Nutrients

You may worry that peanut butter is high in fat, but it actually contains high amounts of mono and polyunsaturated fats and oils, which are good for you. The fat content in peanut butter does make it high in calories, but the good outweighs the bad here.

In addition to our friends fiber and protein, a serving of peanut butter is crammed with vitamins like B3, B6 and E. Not only that, minerals such as potassium, selenium, zinc and magnesium are found in decent amounts in a serving of peanut butter. All of these play an important part of producing energy in the body and metabolizing fat.

Calories

Speaking of calories, when hiking you are going through your body’s store of energy pretty fast. Hikers know that a serving of peanut butter provides 190 calories and 16 grams of fat, which makes it a concentrated source of energy.

Face it; you do not want to carry a bunch of food with you or the means to make a whole meal. Peanut butter is more portable than many sources of energy, and it provides more nutritional benefits.

Choose wisely

Choosing the right peanut butter involves label reading, as you may have guessed. Many commercial peanut butters have high contents of sugar and sodium that cancel out all the health benefits. Order organic, natural or freshly ground peanut butter from your local health food store, grocery store or from Amazon, such as Classic Gluten Free Peanut Butter by Justin's | $9.91. Some brands even offer single-serve options, which are super handy for hiking trips.

Pack smart

If you cannot find single serve peanut butter, try packing it in a plastic bag and then placing it into a storage container. When hiking, snip off the corner of the bag and squeeze your serving of peanut butter into oatmeal, onto noodles or in your hot cocoa. Just squeeze and go for a nutrition packed pick-me-up.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it, the benefits of peanut butter on the trail. This convenient, portable powerhouse of nutrition can stave off hunger while replenishing vitamins and minerals hikers lose during a long trek.

Uphill Hiking: Which Exercises Help?

Last updated: April 19, 2022 by Canberk Koksal

Which Exercises Help Prepare for Uphill Hiking

Ryan Alston · April 2018

Although uphill hiking requires stronger core, upper legs and CNS (central nervous system), the main difference is in calves.

Before you read further...

This post is about uphill hiking and how it is enhanced by calf training.

I want to make it clear that whether you'll be uphill, downhill or flat terrain hiking - benefits of compound exercises (in our case, squats and deadlifts) are always more than any other exercise. Do not sacrifice even 1 rep of any compound exercise to do more of calves. Simply add calf exercises to your routine while still focusing on compound exercise progressive overload the most.

As you'll read in a minute, when you're going to train calves you can forget about your entire lifting schedule and do them anytime without any gear.

Calves are used for feet movement and especially toe movement, which are more active on an incline. When you walk uphill or go upstairs, using your toes you active your calves more to be able to lift the heels that are down below. Things should be considered;

Table of Contents

Muscle Fibers

There are two types of muscle fibers: fast twitch and slow twitch.

Fast twitch fibers

Fast twitch fibers are used for explosive performances (e.g. sprinters). They're very powerful in short period, but get exhausted quickly. That's why they respond better to high intensity, low volume training. When trained and backed up with a decent nutrition, they grow a lot. Usually they aren't involved in our everyday activities and hence unless practiced, our control on them are limited. Examples: Chest, hamstrings.

Slow twitch fibers

Slow twitch fibers are used for endurance (e.g. marathon runners). They're weaker in the short term, but can perform for very long period of time without getting tired. That's why they respond better to low intensity, very high volume training. When trained and even backed up with a decent nutrition, they remain in a slim appearance and don't grow a lot. Usually they're more involved in our everyday activities and hence adapted to regular tension. Examples: Deltoids, abs, calves.

Calves of most people have more slow twitch fibers. They're adapted to regular tension as they're used everyday, all the time.

Genetics

Another important thing you should know about calves is that they're one of the most genetic dependent muscles if not the most.

Generally speaking; the lower the calf (at right), the more fast twitch muscles and usually larger & more muscular appearance.

Their size are highly up to insertions.

This is why you can see a huge bodybuilder with baby calves (high insertions) and a skinny, untrained 18 year old fella walking with twice as big calves (low insertions). It's unlikely to see a similar trend in any other muscle.

Yes, it's true that the lower the calf, the more of fast twitch muscles. However, slow twitch muscles are always superior in number in our calves (soleus & gastrocnemius) [1].

And although they're very highly up to genetics (I'd say, around 90%) and hence tough to strengthen, there are things you can do to bring them up.

Routine

Exercise

Stand on a flat ground with your hip width stance.

Step 1: Slowly lift your heels as high as you can. When I say slowly, I mean it should take 2 full seconds to lift them completely.

Step 2: Squeeze your calves at the top for 2 seconds. No, don't just squeeze them, pretend as if God is pulling your heels from above with all his mighty power and making you stay there for 2 seconds.

Step 3: Lower your heels slowly for 2 seconds. DO NOT touch the ground.

Repeat 100 times.

It's 2 seconds concentric, 2 seconds squeeze and 2 seconds eccentric. 1 rep should last 6 seconds, and 100 reps 600 seconds, 10 minutes.

If you really want to reap the benefits of calf improvements, I recommend this routine everyday for 10 minutes. You don't need shoes, socks, stairs, certain time of the day etc. Just do them.

Cardio

When you're in the gym and will be doing cardio, going for inclined treadmill HIIT cardio will provide the best results for your calves and hence overall uphill hiking performance.

Step 1: Warm up. Walk on flat treadmill for 5 minutes.

Step 2: Up the incline to 15 degrees and walk at ~3.5 mph for 1 minute. Then rest walking at ~2 mph for 1 minute. Do not change the incline. Repeat 5 times.

Step 3: Cool down. Walk on flat treadmill for 3 minutes.

Hike Your Mind: How to Hike Mindfully

Last updated: April 19, 2022 by Canberk Koksal

Ryan Alston · April 2018

Meditation is the practice of training your mind.

You can meditate to improve your emotional positivity, develop concentration, control your thoughts, clear your mind, enjoy the moment without worrying about the future or thinking about the past and for many, many other things.

Mindfulness is one of those areas of your mind that you can develop by meditating.

It's a calm state of mind achieved by being fully aware of your environment and your thoughts, feelings and sensations in a given moment without judgement. You only observe and accept.

As there are numerous disciplines that you can train your mind in, there are also numerous ways to train your mind, during numerous activities and in various environments - hence the many meditation techniques. You can even meditate without meditating (what) anytime during the day.

In this post, I'm going to mention how can you be more mindful during your next hike and improve your overall outdoors experience. If you'd like to take this kind of mindset outside hiking, learn about more mindful ways to live and travel.

Table of Contents

1- Accept your thoughts

5- And obviously... meditate!

Accept your thoughts

During hiking, there will be times that your mind starts to wander and you become unaware of your true environment at that moment.

You might start thinking how to talk to your best friend you argued the last time, what are you going to wear to your sisters birthday party, or how nice was it to spend the whole day near the lake with your family 3 years ago.

This happens to everyone. This is considered normal in today's world.

How to cope with it? Simple.

Stop coping with it.

Don't try "grasping" on to your pleasant memories and "rejecting" the unpleasant.

Once you accept any thought that comes to your mind during hiking (or, during anything else), you'll also slowly start to accept your environment at the moment too, and eventually begin "existing" there.

Use your senses

Listen

To get into a meditative mindset, I realized that using my senses, especially closing my eyes and focusing on each and every sound around me helps me a lot.

Don't close your eyes while hiking, though (duh)...

Just listen. Once you accept the thoughts that come to your mind, gently bring your mind to the sounds around you at that moment. Listen to the wind, forest, sea, animals, other people or any other sound around you.

It works wonders for my awareness.

Touch

Your feet are always in contact with the trail you're hiking on. Try to feel the earth under your feet, whether it's smooth or rough.

See

Don't look. See.

See the marks in tree trunks. How the leaves move with the wind. Observe the trail.

As our minds aren't trained to cherish the everyday details, it might take a little time. But if you're patient enough, you're going to be astonished by the things you see in nature.

Taste

Eating your nuts and drinking water are actually amazing actions. Their taste and satiety feeling are one of the most primitive rewards for us humans. Food and water!

Close your eyes, be quiet and grateful, and eat them mindfully.

Stop the rush

During our day to day lives, we continuously go pleasure after pleasure. When we're stuck in traffic we're mad because we want to optimize our time and have our brains to produce dopamine. When we achieve that one thing we crave, it's not long that we start chasing something else.

And we end up running from one place to the other - like an instant gratification monkey.

This too is considered normal in today's world it's highly likely to be experienced during hiking as well. Impatiently, you're going to want to arrive your destination, rest and eat.

When you catch your mind in this state, simply take at least a minute to stop walking, be quiet, calm down, take a few deep breath and be aware of the environment around you. Forget about time and your destination completely.

No smartphones

This one is self explanatory.

Unless you want your hiking experience to pass by, stop using your phones.

You're doing the exact opposite of being mindful. You're busy with something that's not even there and you're unaware of the nature. That's basically telling your mind to wander and not to be present in the moment.

And obviously... meditate!

"Grasping" and "rejecting" mind states mentioned above are a mental habit. Quitting them completely are impossible, but there are specific meditation techniques to reduce it.

Meditation, especially Vipassana Meditation takes hard work, but it's the most effective tip of all.

Vipassana Meditation is a meditation technique used to gain insight to the true nature of this reality. In other words, it's a meditation technique that trains your mind to be more mindful.

How do you do it? It's simple.

Notice what I'm telling you. It's simple. Not easy.

Especially the first time. No, actually more like first 2-3 months. At least for me it was. A man with a monkey mind that loves jumping from one thought to another, again and again, not experiencing or aware his environment.

We all can predict how this affects hiking.

That's why, I'd recommend starting to meditate around 3-4 weeks prior to hiking to sense noticeable improvements to your overall hiking experience.

Bootcamp: How to Prepare for Hiking

Last updated: April 19, 2022 by Canberk Koksal

Ryan Alston · April 2018

It's April! We all know what that means, my fellow northern hemispherers.

It means the local mountain in your town is saying goodbye to snow and waving at you. You wave back and think how much missed them - the way to escape the city rush and listen to yourself in the calm nature with fresh weather. So you open the group chat with your best friends, text them about how the local mountain invites you and make plans of hiking on next Saturday and camping the same night.

But... you've been living a sedentary life for months now. Or maybe, you have never hiked in your life. Either way, you aren't sure if your body can endure miles of hiking. And you're right not to be sure.

Although most hikers hit the trail without any preparation after a long break, there is a right way to prepare to improve your overall outdoors experience.

Table of Contents

1- Schedule walking

2- Incorporate endurance weight training

3- Pack the right way

4- Adjust calories... and your bodyweight

5- Don't forget a pack with hip belt

6- Stretch

7- Adjust your sleep cycle

Schedule walking

Walking, obviously, is the most effective preparation you can do prior to your hike. Wait, did I say most? Sorry, I meant second most.

Because the most effective preparation is to schedule walking.

I don't care who you are, how fit you "used to be", how good genetics you have, how you "got it" from birth or your confidence.

If you've been living sedentary for more than 6-8 weeks, cardiovascular training WILL improve your hiking experience. For your body AND your mind.

In my experience, for most people it takes around 2-3 weeks to adapt cardiovascular exercises to a degree (and much less to lose). So instead of walking 3 miles 2 days prior to hitting the trail, just start slowly 2 weeks before, and work your way up.

For example:

Day 1	0.5 Miles
Day 2	0.8 Miles
Day 3	Rest
Day 4	1 Mile
Day 5	1.5 Miles
Day 6	Rest
Day 7	1.8 Miles
Day 8	2 Miles
Day 9	Rest
Day 10	Rest
Day 11	2.2 Miles
Day 12	2.5 Miles
Day 13	Rest
Day 14	3 Miles

It's just an example. No-one can tell you what is the BEST for you, you can only figure that yourself with trial and error. The important thing here is to start slow and incorporate progressive overload in time.

Incorporate endurance weight training

Most people think weight and cardiovascular training as two separate things. This isn't necessarily wrong, but also not true.

There are 2 different approaches to weight training; strength training and endurance training.

Most of the time, strength training requires progressive overload with weights. Meaning that if you squat 180 lbs for 3 sets and 8 reps today, to build strength, you must be squatting more weight the next time with the same set and rep range. You're trying to build an exploding power; i.e. strength.

That's why sprinters build strength.

On the other hand, endurance training is centered around the principle of progressive overload with duration. For example, if you squat 180 lbs for 3 sets and 8 reps today, to build endurance, you must be squatting the same weight for more sets and/or reps the next time. You're trying to build power that lasts, i.e. endurance.

That's why long distance runners build endurance.

For hiking, endurance is more important than strength.

You'd benefit building endurance with lunges, squats and deadlifts immensely.

Pack the right way

Although most hikers shove their stuff into their pack with no particular organization, there's a correct way to pack your backpack.

For optimal weight distribution, heaviest items should be carried closer to your body. This should be your primary concern while packing, although not the only one.

Check our post here to learn more about the correct way of packing. Plus, there's a bonus checklist!

Adjust calories... and your bodyweight

I know, I know... None of you want to hear this. Sorry, "see" this. Yes, it's more like a life preparation than hiking, and most of you won't adjust their calories.

But during hiking, it's very beneficial to stand at the weight that you feel comfortable (duh). So I'll leave the simplest tip below so that you know there's something you can do about it.

Most sedentary people are guilty for being fat. But under this heading I'll cover my skinny fellows as well.

Calorie balance is pretty much the only thing that determines whether you gain or lose weight.

If you want to gain weight, you need to be in a calorie surplus.

If you want to lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit.

Careful here

Calorie balance determines weight loss/gain - not fat loss/muscle gain.

For example, let's say Bob is 5'10" and 200 lbs and he calculates his TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) as 2100 kcals. To start losing weight for his first hiking after a long break, he must be in a calorie deficit. To do this, he must either intake less than 2100 kcals - or burn more than 2100 kcals.

In most cases, 10-20% surplus/deficit is recommended to gain/lose weight. How much you eat determines you weight gain or lose, NOT what you eat.

Don't forget a pack with hip belt

Function of backpack hip belts are extremely important.

They convey the weight of backpack from your shoulders to your legs and hips. Legs and hips form the core strength of your body during hiking, and they are the strongest and largest muscles in your body as Library of Congress explained in 2017.

As a result, hip belt provides longer walks with less exhaustion as the study Epstein et al conducted in 2017 concluded.

Stretch

If you're going to be hiking uphill or downhill for some time, especially leg flexibility and stretching becomes particularly important.

Believe me, guys, if you have a sedentary lifestyle, you need this even if you won't be hiking in your life once. You'll feel much better walking and sitting straight. Your lifts will go up inside the gym, too.

You don't have to do all the stuff Alan mentions in this video, although you can.

Adjust your sleep cycle

This is a little bit different than the previous ones.

At least a week before hiking I'd start waking up at 8-9 am at most (and also going to bed equally early). If you keep going to bed after midnight and waking up at 11 am everyday before hiking, you won't be able to sleep early the night before even if you go to bed, and end up feeling lousy.

Getting enough sleep is crucial for your body performance AND cognitive performance. Yes, body performance seems like the primary reason here, and I don't disagree, but after all, we hit the trail for our own enjoyment. For me, my cognitive condition is as important as my body condition to enjoy fully experience the nature.

Plus... There are very few things that feel better than waking up early in the nature, feeling fresh and enjoying the breathtaking sunrise the morning after camping. I wouldn't risk oversleeping and missing it, guys!

Step by Step Guide: How to Pack a Backpack

Last updated: April 19, 2022 by Canberk Koksal

In this post, I laid out ALL the backpacking items you might ever need, whether you're backpacking for traveling purposes or outdoors purposes (or both) - with your hiking backpack or travel backpack.

Since both travel and hiking (or so-called technical) backpacks can be used for both outdoor and travel backpacking purposes, you can (should) ignore outdoor-specific items if you're going to travel and vice-versa (duh).

Also, even though most backpackers throw these items in their backpacks with no organization...

...There is a right way of packing to ultimately be more comfortable and less exhausted along the way with healthier load distribution.

That's why I also explained where to pack these items. This efficient packing will improve your overall outdoors experience especially if you have a budget backpack without superior suspension, padding or frame.

Without further ado, here's your checklist:

See full PDF here: https://outdoorcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/how-to-pack-a-backpack-guide.pdf

Besides years of experience, there are some scientific facts behind the optimal backpack organization.

Weight and moment

Weight distribution inside the bag creates a moment on your body. This moment is the product of the weight of an item and the distance of that item to a body part. The higher the moment, the higher stress applied on subject body part.

So the weights should be placed in such a way that eventually both the total momentum applied to the body is low and the highest moment is accumulated around the strongest muscles (hips and legs) and the lowest moment is accumulated around the spine and shoulders.

Heaviest items should be contained inside the core of the backpack since it's very close to the body, it's very close to legs and hips, and it's not very far from shoulders.

Also, they shouldn't be necessary to access during hike.

This way the shoulders aren't extra-pulled since the heaviest items aren't placed very low and hips and legs are more activated since the frame support is more involved.

Bottom of the backpack should contain the lightest items due to farthest distance to shoulders and spine.

Medium weight items should be carried at the top and front.

With that said...

Frequency of use

Frequently used items should be placed in mesh pockets, traveler organizers, front zippered pockets and other surface compartments.

Light night time supplies should be placed in the sleeping compartment. If sleeping compartment isn't available, they should be placed beneath the heavy load.

Raincover should be easily accessible in case of downpours.

Crush

Fragile items shouldn't be placed directly under the heavy load.

Spilling

Liquids should be placed at the bottom to prevent spilling although I highly recommend storing them inside bags.

Damping

Certain puffy, lightweight items absorb shock and protect the other items from damages when the backpack is dropped or crashed. Usually, they are camping items already at the bottom.

Compactness

Obviously, low-dense compressible items should be carried in flattened, tight pockets while bulky, dense items should be placed inside larger compartments.