New Year’s resolutions that will make you a better trekker

Be planet-conscious Enjoy the outdoors responsibly by leaving no trace during every trekking trip. Plan ahead and prepare for your trip, camp on durable surfaces, and dispose of your waste properly. Nature has many wondrous gifts but never take what you find, and respect wildlife and all forms of life out there. Be considerate of other trekkers and minimize the impacts of campfires. Go to a national park you haven’t visited Many U.S. national parks are forgotten even though they offer some of the best hiking, camping, and backpacking in the world. Explore one that you haven’t visited before and resolve to keep discovering new national parks every time. Replace your trekking tent with a tarp and pole shelter How about a lightweight tarp instead of your intricate overnight setup? Before embarking on this exciting task, however, make sure to practice your tarp pitching skills for a short overnight trip. Remember that tarps don’t provide 100 percent protection and can get quite tricky, so be prepared for them. Replace your trekking boots with trail runners Those heavy boots could use some rest, and in the meantime you can try trail runners for your outdoor adventure. If you can go the extra mile in reducing the weight of your backpack, you should also try hard to decrease the weight on your feet and explore lightweight alternatives. Find a new trekking buddy Hiking alone, while offering you peace and relaxation, can get lonely sometimes and can make you easily quit from pursuing a trip on any given day. When you have a buddy, there’s more accountability and you plan for the road ahead together. Ram Chary Everi is a business professional who held various leadership posts for companies such as Multimedia Games Holding Company, Inc., Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., Firstsource Solutions Limited, and IBM Global Services. Outside of work, Mr. Chary enjoys watching football and tennis, as well as trekking and playing golf. Similar reads on this blogsite.