5 tips on how to manage a long-distance hike lasting several months

Break out of the daily grind for once! Leave everything behind and concentrate only on the essentials! Experience for once what it means not to be dependent on consumption. Just live from day to day and get closer to your goal step by step. Finally, leave all the baggage of the past behind you for once and catapult yourself out of your comfort zone. Let nature, freedom, effort, sweat and everything that makes life worth living work on you without distraction. Long-distance hiking trails don't just take you from A to B, they also move your mind. WOLFGANGS shows you in 5 sections how you can best prepare for a long-distance hike lasting several months.

The right equipment

The backpack is your wardrobe. The tent is your apartment. The waterproof food bag is your pantry and your rain gear is your shelter from the wet. This is more or less how you have to see it on a long-distance hike, because everything you carry with you will be your only possession for the next few months. It is therefore all the more important that this equipment meets your needs 100 percent and also suits your destination. Quickly cooking a meal on the stove? No way!

Your ultra-light and easy-to-store gas cooker is your new best friend and will conjure up your daily meals, even in a different setting every day. You can't afford for any one part to only perform at 90 percent. Your equipment protects you, gives you mental strength and gets you to your goal over several months . Don't risk having to sleep on an uncomfortable mattress every night and starting the next day exhausted. Don't buy a tent if you know in advance that the rain might get through. Wet equipment is harder to dry and air out on the go.

Be aware of your equipment from head to toe and you will see that this is an extremely important framework for being able to survive over a long period of time.

Step by Step - thinking in small steps

It is important that you think in small stages on long-distance hiking trails and do not immediately think about the finish line. Believe us when we tell you that you will face a number of challenges over the many months and it is not worth worrying about the end of the trail too early. If you think in small steps and stages, you will get more confirmation and more motivation in return.

Try setting weekly goals.

“ Only 5 days until I reach the next town and have a proper meal in a restaurant .”

These 5 days are much easier for your mind to process than if you were already thinking about the goal several months away. Small goals create great mental strength. Less is definitely more here. If you build a house, you don't start with the roof. Set small goals and pour the foundation first before you think about building a wall.

Accepting bad days

Everyone has bad days and it's best to accept them on a long-distance hike. You'll tend to notice bad days more often , especially in the beginning, because you're in a situation that's completely foreign to you. Your body has to get used to this stressful and new situation and it would be fatal if you gave in to these bad moods that crop up.

Quite the opposite! Try not just to accept bad things, but to like them. Smile at them and you will see that most of the time there is not much bad in them. Don't get upset about things that you cannot change. It has been raining for 8 hours? Great! Be happy that your jacket is finally getting really clean again. Has the gas cooker broken? Easy going - you can eat the bars and snacks much quicker anyway and you can use the time for something else. Light outdoor food also weighs much less and you don't even have to wash up! Try to see things positively and positive things will happen to you!

Listen to what your body wants to tell you

Flat and painful feet, and it's been like that for days. When hiking downhill, my shins hurt terribly. Despite all the sleep and the food, hiking takes away all your energy. Possible scenarios could look like this or something similar when your body is trying to tell you something. Listen to these signals from your body and try to put the brakes on. Nobody is chasing you to the finish line and you should take the time on a long-distance hike to give your body a break.

" Hike your own hike " is often said when you want to aptly describe the fact that only you decide what your hike should look like. Even if no one else takes a break on the trail and you do two every week - do what helps your body and you will see that only this approach will get you to your goal. Slowing down does not mean that you are failing, but that you are regenerating. The body and the mind need a normal bed and a delicious and hearty meal every now and then in order to function properly. Do not provoke injuries or physical impairments by marching too ambitiously.

Always try to stay healthy

Water sources are often of poor quality, so you should think twice about using the cool water for drinking. If the water is not thoroughly filtered or cleaned , you are almost guaranteed to get an upset stomach or a cold. If you are several days away from the nearest town, a high fever and gastrointestinal problems are not a pleasant thing. Try to go through the hiker's life with your eyes open and critically question things, such as the water source in question. This criticism will ensure that you get sick less often in the long run.

Also check your body for ticks and at the same time try to be careful where you sit. The little pests often lurk in the tall grass, just waiting to feed on your delicious blood. Ticks can cause many problems that could lead to you having to abandon your long-distance hiking plans.

Question things in nature, use common sense and caution now and then, and arrive at your destination successfully and healed.