Take a Hike Day

What the day is

Take a Hike Day is observed on November 17. The date looks unpromising and is not: mid-November is among the better hiking windows in much of the northern hemisphere.

Insects are finished, summer crowds are gone, the air is cold enough to walk hard without overheating, and bare trees open sightlines that are closed from May to October.

Origin and background

The origin of the observance is not documented.

The phrase take a hike acquired its dismissive sense in early twentieth-century American slang, which gives the day a mild joke at its own expense.

The health evidence for walking in natural settings is reasonably strong, and more interesting than generic exercise advice. Comparisons of walking in green space against equivalent walking in urban environments have found additional benefits to mood and to measures of rumination, and the effect does not appear to be explained by exercise alone. The research base is uneven in quality, but the direction is consistent.

The practical risks in November are specific and predictable. Daylight is short and ends abruptly, temperatures drop sharply once the sun is off the slope, wet leaves make rock and root genuinely treacherous, and conditions at elevation are frequently far worse than at the trailhead. Most late-season incidents involve people who set out too late and were caught by darkness rather than by anything dramatic.

How to take part

• Start early and work backward from sunset, not forward from breakfast.
• Carry a headlamp even on a short walk. This is the single most useful item in November.
• Dress in layers and avoid cotton next to the skin; it holds sweat and chills you at every stop.
• Tell someone your route and expected return time.
• Take more water than seems necessary. Cold weather suppresses thirst and dehydration is common.
• Check conditions at elevation rather than in the valley, and turn back earlier than you want to.