If you hike regularly, you will no doubt come across at least one decent hill in your time out on the trail.
Some hikers love them, while others absolutely hate them. Especially the hills that seem like they go on forever.
For a long time, I used to dread them.
The thought of staring up at a long, steep hill was something I didn’t look forward to but was something I obviously had to conquer if I was to continue hiking.
And conquer hills I did with a simple little trick.
It was during a hike with my nephew out in the RJ Hamer Arboretum in Olinda that I came up with the idea.
Chances are others do it as well, so it’s probably not all that special.
Anyway, for those of you who are familiar with the Arboretum, there is a fairly steep hill on Mathias Road that leads you back up to Woolrich Lookout.
I don’t believe the track has a name but it’s fairly well-formed as it is a fairly direct way to get back to the main car park.
So, my nephew and I were struggling big time because we were trying to do the hill all in one effort.
After having an extended break, I looked up, picked out a tree nearby, and said ‘right, let’s go to that tree there and stop for a minute, and then pick out another tree a bit further along and do the same thing again’.
Funnily enough, it worked!
Instead of trying to smash out the whole thing in one go, we broke it down into small sections so it was much easier to manage mentally.
It didn’t seem that hard when we looked at it that way and we were able to make it back to the car without feeling mentally exhausted.
So, from now on, whenever you come to a ridiculously steep hill you have to ascend, pick out a tree, hike to it, and stop for a rest.
Trust me – it makes it so much easier!
But that’s my way on how to conquer hills. If you have your way of tackling them, I would love to hear all about it in the comments section below.
