Adventures in Scotland

What keeps you going while out hiking?

The thing with hiking is that you have lots of time with your own thoughts. You can solve the problems of the world, to the satisfaction of your own mind, while out hiking. You can discuss all kinds of problems without coming to blows.

Here are some of the things we’ve been told our hikers have dreamt of to keep themselves going:

• The summit goal

Lots of people have a target when they set out on their walk.

• For some it is the chance to “tick” a Munro.
• Others like to claim the highest peak in the area they are visiting.
• For some it is the opportunity to be the first to do a route.
• Then again it could be something else. The point is that many have a target and they don’t just hike aimlessly. They set a plan before they go. The hard part of the plan though is the return section. Always bear in mind that the day is not over until you’re home again.

• Packed lunch treats

– everyone has different top treats to keep them going while they’re out on the trail hiking, biking or running. We like to keep our treats varied and home-baked alongside our trailmix. You’ll find some examples of the treats we include in the packed lunches on our recipe blog from gingerbread to raspberry pine nut bars or vanilla streusel squares

Blueberry cupcakes decorated with the fruits of our labours after hiking through the Caledonian pine forests in the Cairngorms National Park

• What’s for dinner tonight?

I’m always tossing up whether it’s a good idea to tell people what is planned for dinner or to leave it as a surprise. Sometimes people take the decision out of my hands and ask; other times people some of their time out trying to guess. More often than not we manage to hit on someone’s favourite during the course of the week.

Chanterelles and courgette noodles

• Where’s my pint?

Unsurprisingly a great number of our guests are keen to hit the pub/off-licence when they finish a day’s hike. For some, this is mirage which keeps them going in the tough bit at the end of the day. Amazing how much faster you can finish the route if it allows you time to have a beer before dinner. Andy is often keen to highlight those walks which will finish with a trip right past the front door of one of his favourite watering holes.

Enjoying a pint outside Britain’s most remote pub in Inverie, Knoydart on the Wild Knoydart guided walking holiday

• Hot shower

– highly rejuvenating after being out hiking (or a long day at work for that matter). Some people will even forfeit tea and cake in favour of dashing to the shower when they get back.

• Open fire

– if you’ve been out hiking; a walk in winter; a windy walk etc, you’ll really appreciate coming in to the warmth of the house, but it will be so much more relaxing if that warmth is generated by an open fire.

Relax by the fire (whisky optional)

• Pint of tea

– how British are you?

• Cake

– always high on the list of motivators and indeed one of the reasons for continuing when out hiking is that you’ll still be able to eat guilt-free cake as you’ll have worked off the calories during the day – you only have to check your fitbit/smart watch to know that! Low calorie cakes and biscuits are not high on the list of requests for our guests.

Plenty of imaginative cake options at the Mountain Cafe. This particular cake is one of ours but the Mountain Cafe has spectacular offerings too.

Conclusion:

You’ll notice that all these motivators are related to our primitive needs: food, shelter and warmth – but then hiking is a very basic activity. It’s amazing how simple life can become if you spend a great deal of time out walking.

Don’t forget

If you decide to come hiking in Scotland, we offer a wide range of hiking vacations and walking holidays both based in the Cairngorms and across the Highlands of Scotland. Please contact us for full details.