A day in the Hike: A simple Guide for newbie before A Major Climb

I always consider myself as a newbie climber, although I reached some of our countries highest peak, I know that theres always something to learn. Hiking in the Phillipines has never been on this height before, with continuos improvement on the technology when it comes to gadget, gears and ways to hike, many people are now jumping to the bandwagon. Some are weekend warriors, wanna-be, some might go and will continue to hike, some will give up if they experience some difficulty on the trail.

In that situation and your consideration I will share something that Im doing before a major climb. If you have 4 weeks before the major event, you might want to consider to do a little extra effort before the climb, other wise you might be a burden to the team and might not enjoy the hike because of injury, cramps, fatigue and tired body.

Dayhikes before the major climb is a good training

Four weeks before the event : If your able to climb some minor peaks we have in batangas and cavite, you just need to do a little conditioning and training. You might want to try to do some body squat and lunges for at least 30 times for 3 sets. You should at least try to run for 30 mins on your first week of training for at least 2-3 times a week. Moreover, You might want to add walking in your neighboorhood for at least 30 mins to an hour. This training will strengthen your legs and condition your knees for the torture it might encounter on the major climb. This is also the time you need to find out more about the mountain you will be climbing so that you can prepare properly. You can check the trail, water sources, length of time going to the campsite, the weather pattern etc.

3 weeks before the event : You might do some little inventory of the gear and supplies that you might need. However, since this will be your first time to do a major climb, you might not have yet a tent, cookset and stove. Those equipment should be part of your investment soon, at this point what you can try was to complete your first line of defense against the environment- your clothes. Most people die on the trail by exposure. You should have at least a warm jacket and at least a poncho if you dont have a waterproof jacket yet, a beanie or bonnet, a good hiking shoes and a reliable backpack. And in this period you should also find the group where you can share the tent, cookset and stove.

2 weeks before the event : Since you already have checked your supplies, its time to test your back if its strong enough to carry your pack. You should load all your equipment with at least 2-3 liters of water ( you can use 1.5 liters of plastic bottle) then walk for at least an hour or two if you still can. This will give you the feeling of walking with all your supplies on. Then if you find your pack to heavy, check again your gears if there is something that you can leave behind without compromising your comfort , to save weight.

1 week before the event : This time your legs are somewhat ready for the long hike, what you can do at this point is this - Monday : 30mins easy run, Tuesday - an hour of slow walk, Wed - You can start carbo loading, Thursday and Friday - electrolyte loading. Since most of the major climb will start at friday night as the travel time to your destination, You can take with you a sport drink to hydrate you all troughout your travel, then just before you hike, hydrate properly with water.

Your first major climb will determined all the other major climb you might want to do in the future. Its either you enjoy it or it might serve as your first and last. As they said, never ever underestimate the mountain.

Good luck and see you on the trail..