2023-Hiking is a Thing: 2 Important Tips for Drinking Coffee on the Trails

-

Remember during the pandemic when suddenly everyone was out walking around, as much as possible, for whatever reason? Then suddenly everyone was going on hikes, every day, sometimes multiple times a day?

It was a good time to be a pet dog, for sure.

Turns out this trend started well before 2020. For the past 50 years, hiking popularity has exploded, with more people hitting the trails every year. It is now the 4th most popular outdoor activity in the U.S., after running, biking, and fishing.

Guess what? We have lots of hiking spaces here. There are 200,000 miles of trails nationwide, with 3,000 new trails added each year.

The Benefits of Hiking

Hiking has lots of obvious benefits. With an average hourly 500-calorie burn, vitamin D benefits from the sun, fresh air, immersion in nature’s bounty, and the positive impact of companionship during hiking, this is one wholesome, good-for-you, always interesting activity.

Stats from jerseyislandholidays.com show that almost 50 million people hiked at least once in 2018. We all know that it’s great exercise, but did you know that regular hiking can reduce the risk of mental health problems by 50%. Just 20 minutes of hiking can reduce cortisol levels by 13%.

Why I Drink Coffee While Hiking

I hike 2 to 4 days a week on local trails, always with at least one friend. Often, especially on cold days, I show up with a cup of coffee in a reusable cup. If I’m resistant, even a little, the caffeine helps me reset. Also, the warmth of the coffee helps me acclimate to the outdoors. And if I’m feeling blue, coffee energizes me enough to put on my boots and get out the door. It’s a very practical habit. 



The 2 Tips You Must Know

First: I try to finish up my coffee within the first 10 minutes of the hike, knowing that the terrain will become more challenging. It’s hard to hold a cup of coffee, while grabbing a branch as I balance on slippery rocks to cross a running creek. Once you’re into the hike, you’ll be revved up and won’t need coffee until you get to the end.

Second: Whatever you do, don’t litter. Make sure to bring a small backpack, preferably a drawstring backpack (also known as a cinch bag). It’s lightweight, easy to use, and great for putting not only your coffee cup and phone, but also any cold weather apparel you’re wearing that you take off as you heat up during your hike.

Sadly, litter on trails decreases their use by hikers and bikers by 20%. It makes an experience that should be sublime less pleasant, and it also forces other people to clean up after trash-mongers. Back to coffee. Coffee has a lot of health benefits on its own, so when added to a hike, it’s one big health win. Try it for yourself!

 


 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coffee Prices Explode & Global Coffee Gratitude

-
Image
At the end of the Thanksgiving holiday, I am reminded of how grateful I am for coffee. Not only for its rich, soothing, energizing effects---but also because of its health benefits, including a reduced risk of diabetes, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and depression. I am also grateful that increasingly the medical evidence is documenting these benefits with amazing contributions from European and American universities! I am also grateful that most of the coffee-drinkers I know can still afford to drink coffee and enjoy its benefits. That is not insignificant, especially when you consider that coffee prices are at an all-time high for the past 13 years. In fact, coffee futures have increased 44%. According to pundits, a constellation of factors are contributing to coffee's sky-high prices, including bad weather in South America and low stockpiles in the United States. But, there's something else: Increasing demand from coffee drinkers in emerging economies. The largest increase i
Read more

Happiness Is…Buying a New Coffee Maker & Getting a Refund for the Old One

-
Image
About a week ago, the unthinkable happened. One mid-August morning, my Barista Aroma TM 8-cup coffeemaker broke. It became essentially unusable. My first reaction was denial. The large rubber lip of the thermal carafe had become completely unhinged. I tried to meld it back together, but this coffee maker was almost 4 years old. Indeed, if ever there was ‘planned obsolescence’ this was it---because it was definitely NOT abuse. Over the years, I have loved that coffeemaker. On some cold winter mornings, I would practically coo at it as it competently brewed my coffee. I loved many of its features. It’s black and silver sleekness, the gold mesh flat filter, the fact that I could yank the carafe away from the case before it finished brewing in order to pour myself half a cup. I loved the shushing sound it made as it brewed, the strategically placed water canister, and the digital read-out. Ours was a warm respectable relationship informed by my primal addiction to coffee.
Read more

Who is Juan Valdez and why I drink instant coffee

-
Image
Instant coffee gets a bad rap. But like it or not, instant coffee---a freeze-dried, powdered concentrated form of coffee--- is coffee. And like other types of coffee, it is full of antioxidants. The obvious downside for many people, however, is that instant coffee has a different flavor profile than traditionally brewed coffee. But that does not mean that it can’t be good. In fact, there are now second- and third-generation instant coffees that have gained a following.  However, this post is NOT about the most au courant instant coffees. This post is about an old-school, first-generation instant coffee. Specifically, Juan Valdez Café instant coffee (which I recently received as a gift from good friends). The Juan Valdez Café brand represents coffee produced by Colombian Coffee Farmers---500,000 strong, who are devoted to continuing a coffee-growing tradition that many say produces the best coffee in the world. Amazon reviewers tend to rate Juan Valdez Café coffee with 4.5 to 5 stars (
Read more