JoelThe following article is put together by Marc Forster and Ultimate Aussie Bucketlist.
Marc Forster is Squash Coach and Trainer, an avid Squash Player himself, Marc has produced countless Australian and World Class players in his time. The time had come when the realisation hit that training players could not touch as many lives as he would like so Hiking Buddy was formed to enrich and enhance lives in an exponential way.
You can join Hiking Buddy on Facebook.
Firstly, Identifying Barriers to Hiking
We can all find it difficult to overcome the barriers and obstacles in hiking:
- Finding trails.
- Finding others to hike with.
- Feeling safe while hiking.
- Finding others that walk at a similar pace over differences in terrain.
- Determining the total walk time based on the particular hike.
- Knowing procedures in emergency situations.
- The fear of getting lost.
- Encounters with wild animals.
- Mental and physical fitness levels.
- Face to face with the elements and forces of nature.
Can you identify with any of these? Knowing within yourself what affects you personally is important to actually identifying and overcoming the obstacle. It is worth communicating any of these with a Hiking Buddy or those with substantial experience.
So, What is a Hiking Buddy?
Hiking Buddy is a platform to provide Hiking Hosts for those that don’t wish to hike alone. There are many reasons for this but whatever the reason it’s extremely popular.
For example, Marc Forster runs a group (on Facebook) in Far North Queensland – rightly named “Hiking Buddy.” He, or other experienced hikers, can plan hikes as events. To cater to the variety of hikers’ skills and fitness levels, there is always a variety of hikes ranging from easy to advanced. One of the highlights of our travels is meeting Marc and joining him and others on some amazing adventures!
You’ll find other groups similar to this in different regions of Australia.
Joining a Hiking Buddy event can be an excellent way for you to test yourself in a more controlled environment. Perhaps you’re used to hikes classified as “easy”, but now you feel like it is time to branch into “moderate” hikes. Having a helping hand and someone, or a group, to give assistance or advice can be invaluable.
A group hike provides all the personal comfort and protection from all these things and simply knowing someone else in the group may have the knowledge on any situation.
Hiking Buddy believes there is just not enough choice for one to get out and about the trails and hills of their local area. Not only choice but the key difference of Hiking Buddy is the development of a Hiking Grade which then puts people together of the same level of Hiker. What this does is provide the comfort that all Hikers in the Group are of a similar fitness Level and thus are the same speed. No one then feels uneasy about being too fast or slow and holding the group up.
Once this system is truly out there and amongst the masses it will become trusted and will provide a way for everyone to get out amongst nature in a safe environment and make the Hiker feel at ease and just out to enjoy nature.
The Need for Hiking Buddy
A word from Marc Forster:
Getting people outdoors and taking away the reasons why not: FEAR IN ALL ITS FORMS. What I realised is there are no where near enough hosts – and, of all levels to cater for everyone and that’s my mission. I really want to help those that need this not just want it, to touch some lives but really change others.
The benefits are numerous but our overall aim is to give people access to these benefits and take away all excuses of why not to go out into nature. We consider this to be a movement and its already happening around the world. We of Hiking Buddy would like to do our bit in connecting people from across the world with each other and with nature.
My personal motivation for Hiking Buddy is simply quite selfish… Here are all these natural wonders of the world and when Hiking Buddy hosts a group they get the thanks and credit for exposing the Hiker to all these natural phenomena as though we had something to do with creating it. All Hosts will feel the same way and hence why we feel that hosts of Hikes will be easy to come by.
Benefits of Hiking
The benefits of Hiking are numerous.
- Maintains and strengthens Mental Health
- Improves Creative and reasonable thinking
- Minimizes the risk of Heart Attack
- Lowers the Levels of Rumination
- Reduces Cholesterol and Blood Pressure
- Maintains Body Weight
- Strengthens your immune system
- Minimizes anxiety and Stress
- Increases bone density
- Strengthens Relationships
- Strengthens and Tones leg Muscles
- Improves navigational skills
- Improves outdoor skills and knowledge
- Close contact with amazing flora and fauna in its natural environment
- See the incredible wonders of the world like mountains, caves and waterfalls
- It provides an atmosphere for clear thinking – it can be conducive to deep self-reflection
- Can create an opportunity for socialising
Where Do You Begin?
Whether you get in contact with a Hiking Buddy through social media, word of mouth or a Bushwalking Club – that’s the first step.
It is amazing the extra motivation one can gain from being a part of a group with an attainable goal. This may be the initial steps toward embracing the hiking life – eventually you may be in a position to help others.
