April 2019: A Note From Diane

As the days grow longer, this newsletter will grow shorter. You know why!

Trail time beckons.

So I’ll summarize the best stuff for you here, and then invite you to sign up for the free weekly updates (much shorter, still packed with info) if you want the unabridged version ;)

HFH Weekly Email Updates

This month’s best stuff includes introducing you to a free new hiking magazine, a cooler made of paper (!), a smorgasbord of classes, a completed long trail twenty five years in the making, a new giveaway, some hiking product reviews, and more.

(Okay, maybe not so short. I try!!)

Let’s start off this month with a chance for some free gear.

HIKING FOR HER APRIL GIVEAWAY

Never heard of them? Read my reviews for a peek inside the box:

The Nomadik Review: Part One

The Nomadik Box: Parts 2 and 3

The giveaway page is waiting for you, so be sure to get your name in the hat by the end of the month. Note: Not my sweaty hiking hat, a pristine electronic version reserved only for this purpose: Hiking For Her Giveaway

Upcoming monthly giveaways will focus on good hiking self care and gear (think trekking poles, for example).

And weekly update readers will be treated to a flash giveaway now and then, just to keep life interesting!

A VERY COOL COOLER

It costs $9.95, it’s made of recylced paper and a natural coating to hold it together and waterproof it, and allegedly it will keep your ice in solid form up to 12 hours.

It can be dried out and re-used, then recycled when its life span is over (or something over 75 pounds crushes it).

My question: Will it squeak like those cheap styrofoam coolers I used in the ‘80s for road trips and camping adventures?

All it takes is writing the word “squeaky” to make me smile as I recall having to crawl into the back seat (not while driving!!) to make adjustments that never really worked to silence the annoyingly loud (definitely not cool) cooler.

So what do you think? Would you use it even if it doesn’t squeak? Hit reply and let me know!

GREEN SPACE RESEARCH

I never realized how growing up in a green world had hard wired my neurons, but a recent study claims that a happy adulthood is tied to exposure to childhood green spaces.

Are you a happy hiking adult despite not growing up with access to a green belt or park?

Read a synopsis of the study at NPR: Green Space NPR Article

Or the original article here: Green Space Happy Adults Article

CLASSY HIKERS

I admit to having missed the boat (or the trail marker).

So I took a closer look, then gathered together my thoughts about how you can whittle down this huge selection of classes and put them to good use in five different ways.

REI Classes And You

HIKING RESOURCES

Best Women's Hiking Jackets

Find The Right Hiking Gloves

If you're just starting out as a hiker in 2019, welcome to the clan! Here are some start-from-scratch tips for you. Beginner Hiker Tips

Three new April reviews for you:

Colorado Aromatics Joint Jam Review

Tinklebelle Stand To Pee Female Urinary Device Review

Hiking Snack Subscription Box Review: Alpenfuel

NEWEST HIKING MAGAZINE

Armaskin is an Australian company offering antiblister hiking socks, which HFH has reviewed here: ArmaSkin Anti-Blister Socks Review

Now, ArmaSkin is offering another useful tool for happy trails: a free daily magazine featuring 5 or 6 of the freshest articles pulled from a dizzying array of sources around the world.

One day you can read about hiking in Oregon; in the next issue you’ll be whisked to Australian hiking trails, or drop in on the adventures of a woman hiker (Lucy Barnard) attempting to trek the full length of the Americas as a section hiker.

For a free sample copy, go here: ArmaSkin Hiking Magazine

COOL AND REFRESHING

If you like the challenge of northern long trails which remain cool and refreshing even in the blazing heat of summer (See what I did there? A cooler tie-in. And I didn't even try.), feast your eyes on this newly completed trail: The Great Trail Interactive Map

You’ll see 24,000 kilometres of trans-Canadian multi-use trails skirting the U.S. border in places but also hooking into the far north.

This trail project (part of Trans Canada Trail’s mission) took about 25 years to piece together. It’s a great story of cooperation between the government, donors, land holders and hikers.

It highlights respect for the land and the people on the land, and gives a hiker plenty to dream about. Meet the people who brought this great dream to fruition: The Great Trail: About Us

One more thing I really enjoyed: interviews with some of the people involved in The Great Trail dream.

Here’s my favorite (short) video featuring Darren Yelton, who carved the welcome poles to mark this trail in the traditional manner handed down through his ancestors: Great Trail Carver

DID YOU KNOW?

Seriously! A female hiker chooses to get out there, get sweaty, get tired and dirty, and get happy.

So thanks for reading this, and thanks for your commitment to hiking happiness - whatever that means to you.

Hit reply to say howdy, share ideas, suggest topics, wax nostalgic about squeaky coolers, it's all welcome and appreciated here at Hiking For Her.

Happy trails to you, today and every day,

Diane a.k.a. Happy Hiker (was it the childhood green space??)

diane@hiking-for-her.com

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