After a few months of sitting around eating chocolate Santas, sipping holiday eggnog, and dealing with holiday hoopla, many of us have noticed that our clothes and our budgets seem to fit a bit tighter come the end of January . As unfair as it is, holiday shopping just doesn’t cancel out those Christmas calories.
February rolls around and if we’ve actually kept that resolution for a trimmer New Year, we’ve probably gotten bored with the exercise bike, the gym or whatever plan we’ve concocted to combat Christmas calories. This being the case, it can often be helpful to find more than one form of exercise that’s enjoyable – or at least tolerable. The more tolerable it is, the more likely we’ll be to stick with it. And for me, and perhaps for you as well, that would be where hiking comes in.
Hiking is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise. As the heart gets exercised on a regular basis, more oxygen gets delivered throughout the body, which has many positive and lasting effects. Some favorites would include looking younger, more energy, sleeping better, building strength (especially the legs), building endurance, losing weight, relieving stress and fighting depression. I think my favorite aspect of hiking is that it can be a family activity without the expense of long distance travel. There are some fabulous state and county parks that don’t require a long drive or airfare. Just type www.stateparks.com into your internet browser for a detailed listing. Also, typing "county parks" into your browser will bring up the ones even closer to home. For hiking enthusiasts who’d like to find a local hiking club, I’d like to recommend checking out www.HikingClubsOnline.com. This particular website lists hiking clubs all over the nation, and links to companies that sell gear.
Hiking as a family has some wonderful benefits. Not only will a person be provided with built in exercise buddies, but it will bring exciting learning opportunities. For example, Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky offers a glance into American History. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, near Akron, Ohio, creates opportunities to learn about plants and wildlife. Shawnee Lookout Park near Cincinnati, Ohio can offer a quick archeology lesson in the Shawnee Center building, and some seriously camera-worthy views on the Miami Fort Trail. Other parks of the picturesque persuasion are Clifty Falls in Madison, Indiana, and Cathedral Gorge in Panaca, Nevada. Mammoth Cave National Park offers some unique insight into the science behind stalactites and stalagmites, and these are only a glimpse of the possibilities. I think the most valuable benefit of all is that a family’s shared experiences will open a door to create positive memories that last a lifetime.
