Simple Mountain Hiking Tips

Everything You Need To Know For Your First Mountain Hike

So, let’s imagine someone heading to the mountains for their first overnight hike. What do they need to know, and how should they prepare for the adventure? In this guide, I’ve gathered essential mountain hiking tips for beginners, addressing common questions and insights from experienced hikers, including expert photographer Oleksandr Kalinin.

Before heading to the mountains, is it worth going somewhere out of town with a tent? For example, to a river or lake. What are the pitfalls of doing so for the first time? And what mountain hiking tips can you share?

If you have no camping experience and have never slept in a tent, I recommend starting with a local summer overnight hike. Preferably not far from infrastructure and houses. As strange as it may sound, the first overnight in a tent should be in your garden in the country or near a place where you can hide in case of bad weather. This is usually the best way to test your equipment: learn how to quickly assemble a tent, check the comfort and warmth of the sleeping system if it starts to rain, check the reliability of the tent, the comfort of your clothes and shoes, learn how to cook on a burner, and get an idea of how much food you need for a day of hiking. The next step is to go on a simple hike in the Carpathians. For the first route, easily accessible ridges with many kolybas (shepherd’s houses) are suitable. Specific examples of such places are the Stanimir, Kukul, Lisnivskyi, Kostrych, Khomyakiv meadow, and the low Svydovets spur stretching from Mount Blyznytsia to Rakhiv.

Can you make a list of equipment that you need to take on a hike?

A desirable minimum list of equipment includes the following:

• The basic three are a 40–50 liter backpack, a reliable tent that can withstand an average downpour, and a sleeping system consisting of a sleeping bag and a mat. Proper gear selection is one of the key mountain hiking tips to ensure comfort and safety.
• Kitchen: gas burner, gas cylinder, pot, spoon, mug.
• Electronics: flashlight, power bank, and phone charging cable.
• First aid kit and hygiene products: medicines you take regularly, adhesive plasters, insect repellent, sunscreen, fat cream, and hygienic lipstick.
• I recommend that you also bring an inflatable pillow, trekking poles, sunglasses, earplugs, and a seat.

Should a beginner look at ultralight equipment? I read somewhere that it is not advisable for beginners to start with it.

I recommend taking into account the weight of the equipment when buying it. If possible, you should choose the lightest equipment. A backpack packed for a hike should be as light as possible but at the same time fully meet your comfort needs. After each hike (especially the first one), one of the most important mountain hiking tips is to analyze how certain items were used. You should consider taking something on your next hike if something is useless.

How do you know if you can handle the weight of your backpack? Are there any norms and correlations with your body weight?

It’s unlikely that such norms exist. You need an individual approach. Similarly, there is no single kit that will suit everyone. Everyone has their own priorities and “luxury items” without which they will not go hiking. The situation is similar with equipment, food, and many other things (clothes, electronics, etc.). I recommend keeping the backpack’s weight within 6–14 kg for a short hike (2–3 nights) and 8–17 kg for a week-long hike.

What clothing should I bring for a summer hike in the Carpathians? Are sports shoes sufficient, or do you need hiking shoes? What’s your ultimate mountain hiking tip?

The most comfortable and versatile option for summer hiking is three layers. Top: thermal T-shirt, fleece jacket, light down jacket. Underneath: thermal underwear, fleece trousers, trekking trousers. Be sure to bring clothes that protect you from the rain (a raincoat on top and waterproof trousers underneath). A light-down waistcoat is also a great additional warm layer.

Hiking boots are not necessary for a summer hike in the Carpathians. It is better to use lightweight trainers (so-called ‘runners’), which don’t protect against rain and moisture but dry very quickly. As with other mountain hiking tips, choosing the right socks is crucial – trekking socks help prevent blisters and dropsy, whereas cotton socks retain moisture and cause discomfort.

What about navigation and mobile communication? How to avoid getting lost? What maps should I use?

In the open countryside, mobile coverage is almost everywhere in the Carpathians. There is no connection everywhere in areas bordering other countries. I recommend using smartphone apps that can perform offline navigation functions for navigation. The most popular is MapsMe. It is quite enough for route planning and basic navigation. It uses a map of trails from the OSM website (a map-based analog of Wikipedia).

When preparing, don’t forget to download maps of the areas you will visit in advance. Along with other mountain hiking tips, such as marking key landmarks and knowing emergency routes, this will help you stay on track and avoid getting lost.

What about food and water during the hike?

When planning your route, you should consider the location of sources along the route. It is best to find out in advance about the state of water sources from people who have recently completed the route you are interested in. You can ask in telegram groups where tourists communicate (for example, TravelBook). Towards autumn, some weak springs dry up. Hiking food is usually as dry and high-calorie as possible. Cereals (couscous, buckwheat, semolina, oatmeal, lentils), canned food, dried fruit. For a snack, I advise you to choose natural high-calorie foods with a lot of vegetable fat (nuts, peanuts). Sweets, although they give you a feeling of satiety faster, but it passes very quickly. Depending on the seasonality, the diet can vary by picking blue, black, and cowberries. In autumn, mushrooms can be used for dishes, but it is better to do this with extreme caution and use only mushrooms that are familiar to you. Keeping these details in mind, along with general mountain hiking tips, will help you plan your nutrition effectively.

Are there any unspoken rules about toilets in the mountains?

Pollution by waste products is a very acute problem in popular Carpathian campsites. The basic rules are at least 200 meters from the campsite, at least 60 meters from the nearest water source, dig a hole at least 15–20 cm deep, cover it with earth, and never leave behind wet napkins (underground and especially on the surface). It is better to warn other hikers, “I’m going to the toilet/to think, I’ll be back in 10 minutes”. It is desirable that they understand in which direction you went.

How to choose a place to spend the night in the mountains?

It is advisable to make a route plan before the hike and find out about the conditions at potential overnight accommodation. You need to find out if there are any springs near the campsites. Often, the choice of a place to spend the night depends on the weather conditions in the mountains. If the forecast promises heavy rain, you should look for a place on a small hill. You should visually assess the terrain, understand where the rainwater will flow, and how to protect your tent from these streams. In the event of strong winds, you should refrain from pitching your tent under trees (especially dry ones).

We collected some basic recommendations on how to find proper accommodation for newbies in this article.

Is it possible to go on a first mountain hike alone or in a group where no one has experience of such hikes?

You can, but I don’t recommend it. If it is impossible to find a “seasoned” tourist in the group, I advise you to thoroughly work out the route and consult someone with experience. This can be done conveniently through social media by writing to experienced hikers. It is advisable to ask for advice providing as much information as possible. Following mountain hiking tips from experienced adventurers will help you prepare better and avoid common mistakes.

How great is the danger of meeting a bear and other predators in the Carpathians?

The probability of meeting wild (especially dangerous) animals in the Carpathians is minimal. You may see a group of roe deer somewhere in the Gorgany, wild boars may visit your Marmarosh campsite at night, or a fox running away from you on the Svydovets spur. These are the most common cases of interaction with Carpathian animals. Although there are bears and wolves in the Carpathians, they are very few in number and rarely come into contact with people. If it happens, it is by accident. To protect yourself from this, you need to move through the forests, making noise. The animals will hear you coming and go deeper into the forest.

You’re caught in a thunderstorm in the mountains, what should you do? How can you protect yourself from lightning?

If it happened in low meadows, you should wait out the storm in a hut or at least get out of an open, high place. When on an open ridge crest, it’s best to try lowering your altitude. The likelihood that you will make a mistake in a hurry and, as a result, be injured is much greater than the likelihood that you will be struck by lightning.

You get lost or injured. What should you do? Are there any emergency numbers?

Almost everyone who goes mountain hiking has a smartphone. It is very difficult to get lost with this device (if you install offline navigation apps in advance). Sometimes, the trails are blocked by trees or flooded with rising streams. In this case, I advise you to look for an alternative route using other marked trails. Often, beginners do not stick to the trails, trying to shorten the route. At best, the group runs into impassable blockages of trees and strawberry thickets and decides to return to the trail. In the worst case, they continue to make their way through the Carpathian jungle, spending a ton of energy and increasing the possibility of injury. Before you go hiking, I recommend finding out which rescue unit is responsible for supporting tourists at the place of your route and writing down the unit’s phone number.

Have you had any extreme incidents while hiking?

The storm arrived unexpectedly and scared me a lot. I found myself in one of the worst possible spots — an empty saddle suddenly filled with wind, horizontal rain, and thick fog. In seconds, it felt like the turbine of a take-off plane was roaring in front of me. The backpack was sailing and turning me to face the storm. I crawled with difficulty to the hut 400 meters away, taking every step and clinging to the ground. I spent the night there. Only when I came down from Marmaros did I see the extent of the destruction caused by the storm. Power lines were cut in many villages, and trees blocked the roads. In Romania, about ten people lost their lives because of it.

Perhaps I did not take into account some nuances. What else would you advise beginners before their first hike?

Enjoy hiking and don’t make grandiose plans that border madness. When planning your first hike, avoid routes with long (15 km or more) transitions. Instead, take your time exploring places at a relaxed pace, camera or sandwich in hand. My second and final piece of advice is mutual support. Always during transitions, the weakest and slowest participant should set the pace. If someone is lagging behind, offer help and support. The last mountain hiking tip is to try to find ways to control feelings of fear, anxiety, and panic. You can’t just stop being afraid; knowing your characteristics can help you tame these feelings. I’ve found that listening to podcasts, singing, or doing a Rubik’s Cube works for me. It helps to distract me. Finally, I would like to remind you that there is no shame in asking for help. If you don’t know something, write to the “experienced”. In most cases, they will be happy to help you. No one will do all the work for you, but you can always find out something.

Credits: Oleksandr Kalinin