Hiking is a great way to escape the rat race and be one with nature. Alas, your hiking experiences can fade with time. The best way to prevent this is to keep a hiking journal for your trail experiences.

Hiking Journals

Take a minute to give some consideration to your most recent hiking experience. What sticks out in your mind? Now think about the first time you ever went hiking. Undoubtedly, you remember few things about the geography, people you went with, every peaceful moment and spectacular view. The experiences you’ve forgotten are lost to time. If you had kept a hiking journal, this won’t be the case.

There are famous instances of people keeping journals throughout time. Of course, Anne Frank’s Diary is the best example. In her diary, Anne kept a running commentary of the two years her family spent hiding from the Nazis. While your hiking experiences better be more lighthearted, keeping a journal will let you remember them as the years pass.

A good hiking journal combines a number of characteristics. First, it should be compact so you don’t have to take up unnecessary space for other things. Second, it should have a case to protect it from rain, spills and so on. Third, the journal should contain blank areas to write your notes. Fourth, the journal should contain cue spaces to remind you to keep notes on specific things. Cues should include:

1. Who you went hiking with,

2. Where you hiked and if you enjoyed it,

3. Who you met and contact information for them,

4. The geographic and weather conditions, and

5. The special things that happened on the hike.

At the end of the hike, you should be able to get the following from your journal:

1. Contact information for other hikers and people you met,

2. Enough detail to provide you or a friend with a guide if you hike the location a second time.

3. Memories to reflect upon years later, and

4. Something to pass on to your children and grandchildren.

To get the most out of your hiking journal, you should write in it during breaks in your hike or immediately after. Every hike is special, even if you just go down into a local canyon.

Hiking is a great way to commune with nature. Make sure to preserve the experience.