Top Tips for Planning a Hiking Trip in the Italian Alps
Decided that you want to go adventure in the Italian Alps? Great! Before anything else, you need to know some important details and planning before embarking on your trip in to the alpine forests, sparkling lakes and vast valleys of Northern Italy. Planning your trip well is important to ensure that the trip goes smoothly so that you don’t get lost, run out of food or even accidentally trip in a ditch. If you do not know how to start your planning, look no further, we will be discussing the four useful tips when planning for a hiking trip.
TIP 1:
KNOW YOURSELF
Know yourself - this means try not to overestimate or underestimate your actual abilities - or even force yourself to do a hike you know you don’t like. There are many different types of hikers with different preferences, your upcoming hiking trip is all up to you. So if you are a beginner hiker, you might be more comfortable in doing ‘day hikes’ rather than ‘overnight hikes’, vice versa, if you are an experienced hiker, you might be more comfortable in more difficult, rough situations. Think about your own capabilities and decide the length of time you would want to hike for, and also choose whether you want to be with a group of people or by yourself. Ideally, being with other people can ensure your safety and protection in any unexpected circumstances.
TIP 2:
PACK CORRECTLY
Make sure you are packing the correct hiking gear, survival items and food so that you have all the supplies you need to survive, of course, depending on what kind of hike you are going on (day or overnight). We currently have a blog post that describes the full extensive list of all the hiking gear you need to go on a hike in the summer, but in short you need:
Hiking Boots
Suitable Clothing
Food and Water
Emergency First Aid
Navigation Aid
These are the basic items that you will need on a hike in the mountains - if you are thinking of doing an overnight hike, then make sure to pack extra items, a sturdy tent and a sleeping bag so that you will be able to sleep comfortably in the wild.
TIP 3:
DECIDING WHERE TO GO AND HOW
Possibly the most important step when planning a hiking trip is to find and locate the paths you will be taking on your trail. If you are hiking in the Italian Alps, there is a lot of stunning places where you can explore such as Val Brandet, the St. Antonio Natural Reserve and more - come read our Top Hiking Spots in the Italian Alps to find out more beautiful places to go.
Traditionally, to start planning your trail, you need to grab a map of the area you will be hiking in. Then use a pen to mark the trail you would like to follow. But thanks to technology and the internet, there are many ways to plan your trip easier. For example, go on OutdoorActive to use their route planner to make route-planning easier - just select the areas you want to start and finish, then there will be routes that can be generated for you - you can then transfer it to any GPS system or share it with your friends.
Another great way to help plan your route is through looking at pre-planned hiking trails like websites such as WikiLoc - it acts as a database of many hiking trails all around the world, posted by people who have taken the hiking trail before. It is very useful as it describes how long the trail is, the difficulty and includes pinpointed areas on the map to help you visualise the trail easier. For instance, there are several hiking trails posted about Corteno Golgi by other hikers - to save time - you could just use one of the pre-planned trails for your own convenience.
TIP 4:
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
Again, even if you have planned sufficiently for your hiking trip, there can always be unexpected incidents that could happen on your trip. Even just doing a small risk assessment can help keep you safe and protected from any harm
One thing you could do is check the weather. Checking the weather is pretty important because the mountains could become very hazardous when it’s wet and stormy - so make sure to pack waterproofs just in case there is downpour. But also, if you do not want to go on a hike when it’s raining, plan around the weather.
Another thing to check is the actual environment where you will be hiking. Will there be local hazards like mosquitos? Then make sure to pack mosquito repellent. Or will there be any wild animals to be wary of? You need to make sure that you know how to handle situations in the wilderness.
We hope that these tips have given you the confidence to plan your trip. The Italian Alps is an marvellous place to go do hiking, if you are thinking of a place to stay before embarking on your hike - or even a place to stay after day hiking- come to our Alpine hotel in Corteno Golgi.
For more articles about hiking and the alps, come visit our blog: