Hiking Is Fundamental

One of my favorite fitness influencers is someone that does ultra trail running and she preaches that EVERYONE belongs outside. You don’t have to be a super fit or super outdoorsy person to play outside and enjoy nature! There definitely is no specific type of person or body type to go hiking, just interest in the beauty of the natural world!

Hiking is Fundamental is an informative guide not just to hiking but knowledge, tips, skills being in nature overall (a lot of it applies to camping, backpacking, geo-caching, and more as well) which helps enjoying the outdoors be accessible to everyone. It also has adorable illustrations and fun facts sprinkled throughout!

If you’re like me, you like to be prepared. I’ve enjoyed plenty of couple hour one-day hikes, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable camping or doing long-distance hiking without proper advance preparations and sufficient nature and situational knowledge, which this book has, all the way from exercise prep, clothing, packing lists, to pacing, weather, plants and animals, trail etiquette, even post-hike recovery and first-aid! Did I know how to make a fire before reading those? NOPE!!! Do I feel like I’m ready to take on the Grand Canyon R2R2R like my favorite fitness influencer? Well, maybe not quite yet, but this is a great start!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Roman & Littlefield, and the author for an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review!

Hands down one of the best hiking books for new hikers. I always think it is important to do your research about new experiences so that you are best prepared. When you read this book, a lot of it might seem like common sense, but it is always a great reminder on how to be safe. I really enjoyed the fun facts in this book! There are pointers on everything to start hiking such as what to bring, first aid recommendations and explanations, how to train yourself to start hiking, and the best way to start hiking. I can't wait for this book to come so that I can purchase it as I think it is a really important book to have for beginner hikers.

I enjoyed this book. I am a casual hiker, going out with a group for 2 hour hikes twice weekly. Even though I am experienced at these hikes, through many types of terrain (hilly, flat, mud, etc), I still learned a lot, even about these shorter hikes. What I liked best about the book was Barbara Ann Kipfer’s attitude. While very encouraging about hiking, she was also very clear about when not to hike (weather, etc) or when to stop hiking and turn back. The targets she asks readers to set are very realistic. Her attitude is not that you must finish the hike at all cost. The book also covers longer hikes and through-hiking, so despite there being a lot of information I didn’t need, I still found the book enjoyable and interesting. The writing is friendly and conversational and the illustrations are cute.Thank you to Netgalley and Rowman & Littlefield, Falcon Guides for the advance reader copy.

I love to hike. For me, it's shorter, easy to walk trails that get me out into nature, sometimes with hundreds of other people, so I can experience something different than the everyday. What I consider hiking, others consider a walk. And that's OK. Hiking is Fundamental reaffirms that anything can be considered a hike; it's important to just get out there and do it. There are some guidelines you should follow, which are outlined in this book as well as great explanations of different terms, what kind of gear to use and what it's for, the essentials for a first aid kit (and some great tips on assessment of injuries and treatments), and most importantly, to STAY AWAY FROM WILDLIFE WITH THEIR BABIES! This is a definitive guide for hikers of all levels: as a primer or a refresher, it has so much information with a few fun facts sprinkled in to give you context. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get out there!

Hiking Is Fundamental is a well written and appealing guide with tips and information for getting outside and building up confidence to safely hike the great outdoors. Due out 1st Sept 2022 from Rowman & Littlefield, it's 232 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is one of the Falcon Guides and for readers already familiar with the series, this entry, by Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer, has a similar layout. The writing is easy to understand and accessible for beginners. The chapters are arranged thematically: an introduction covers a lot of the why and how including an overview of the benefits of hiking and engaging with nature, followed by types of hikes, preparation & planning, hiking skills & fitness levels, navigation, safety (VERY important info included here), and planning and compensating for weather and wildlife.

The info is written in accessible language in short easy to understand language in bullet points. Special tips and fun facts are posted in highlighted text boxes in the text with clear captions. The layout is graphically appealing, with high contrast text, clear margins, and simple line drawn illustrations.

The author has also included an abbreviated resources/bibliography/links list as well as a good glossary.

Five stars. This would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition, scouting and activity groups, or home library use.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I thought this was a great introduction for beginners. It covered virtually every aspect of getting into hiking. Since it does cover everything, and I mean everything, I feel like its a good starting point to decide what areas you need more information on. I enjoyed it and I learned a lot as someone interested in but with no knowledge of hiking.