Just being curious. When you go hiking with your friends, have you ever observed their manner and behaviour? Do you know which types of hikers that your friends are?
Well, I’m not talking about whether they are day hikers, backpackers, or whatnot. I’m talking about the types of hikers that are related to CHARACTER.
Different people have different characters and this reflects in their daily lives. So as HIKING. Meaning, you know their personally if you know which types of hikers they are.
Let’s turn the table. Your friends might be curious and wondering what kind of hiker you are, too. Well, what’s your impression on them?
So, let’s check out the 15 most common types of hikers that you will meet when hiking, so you know which types of hikers that your friends and you are.
1. The maximalists
They are the typical “what-if” hikers. Before any hikes, their minds are very creative, which they could think of ANY likelihood for the hikes.
“What if I don’t have enough water?” “What if I need to stay in the woods and it’s freezing?” Or, “What if I’m bored and have nothing to do?”……
They prepare for the worst and any possible outcomes. It turns out they bring almost everything they could for the hikes.
It’s good that they are well-prepared, but they tend to over-pack their backpacks.
When you see them at the trail head with the huge backpacks, you will be SHOCKED because it’s too much for a short day hike.
Meanwhile, you wonder if you bring enough hiking gear for the day hike.
This is not the end of it, though. During the hike, you might hear some questions from them.
“What if I need to pee?” “What if there is a snake?”……
And they are quite ANXIOUS even when hiking. So, you might need to calm them down by not overthinking.
2. The minimalists
The exact opposite of the maximalists. They are the typical “I-don’t-care” hikers.
How do we know the character of these hikers? – Well, just look at their outfit when hiking.
They adore minimal packing. So, they might just bring basic hiking gear, such as water, food, and first-aid-kit.
To them, WEIGHT matters the most, because they don’t want their backpacks to be their burden when hiking.
Some might go to extremes. They hike without backpacks. And they might just wear sandals.
This seems like they don’t prepare for uncertainties. But, if you ask them what they’re gonna do if this is the case, they might just shrug or simply reply “I don’t care”.
Well, maybe they have excellent PRIMITVE or SURVIVAL skills? – Who knows?
3. The quiet hikers
Usually, they don’t talk and just keep quiet. Only when others ask them something, they smile and reply with short-phrase answers.
“Yes”, “I dunno”, “You’re right”…… followed by dead silence and awkwardness.
Sadly, people crown them as being anti-social. In fact, they don’t find small talks exciting and they just want to enjoy solitude, even when hiking with people. – Yeah, most likely they are INTROVERTS.
They mostly OBSERVE – observing people around and the environment. And they keep processing their thoughts in their mind. – That’s why they can’t react with questions well.
Besides, they are the MYSTERIOUS ones. Others can’t tell their strength, weakness, or emotions because these quiet hikers won’t reveal much.
But, don’t assume that they are weak. Some of them are pro hikers, who can surprise you all of a sudden. – Maybe the silent one is the deadly one.
4. The social media grabbers
They dress like common hikers, nothing special.
But, things get unfolded when they take out their phones to take photos or record videos almost every second.
Besides, they are always the ones who call for group photo. They will be in front as they are the ones who take the photo.
If their posture is off, they retake photos, until they get the perfect one. – “Their” INDIVIDUAL perfect posture.
Next step is their main goal. That is, to upload on social media, hashtag everything with a touching or motivating (yet unrelated) title.
Within a fraction of time, their posts burst with hundreds or thousands of “Likes” and comments, while we struggle to get double-digit “Likes”.
And then you notice they have thousands FOLLOWERS. Then you know why.
5. The fast hikers
Regardless of experience level, these hikers refuse to be the slow ones. To them, being slow in hiking is weak, which others disdain.
So, they treat hiking as a form of RACE in their mind. They can’t lose the race, can they?
Hence, they increase their hiking pace as fast as they can. When they overtake other hikers, they have a sense of achievement.
But, when they get overtaken, they feel upset. So, they further increase the pace again, despite the uncomfortable feeling.
This could disturb their hiking pace, which is inefficient. They could be stubborn even when they are out of breath. – And this is due to their “can’t lose” mindset.
6. The naggers
“OMG, this is so tiring. I wish I stayed at home.” “No, I couldn’t go further. Why did I choose to come?” “Urgh, this hike is stupid. No more second hike!”
They spread negative energy to the rest. They keep whining and complaining about every small issue.
Hiking, by nature, will never be clean and neat. Most of the time, it is dirty and a mess. But, what makes hiking unique is we all have fun with the mess.
Perhaps the naggers have unreal hiking expectations. They expect hiking would be clean and effortless. So, they complain whenever the realities deviate from the expectations. And they exaggerate these small, common issues.
This could be annoying as this might bother other hikers. But, they aren’t aware of this.
Despite that, they usually have good fighting spirit. Yeah, hiking can be tiring. And they “voice” them out. But they don’t really mean them.
After that, they keep going once the frustration dissipates.
7. The clueless hikers
These hikers are usually followers. So, they don’t agree nor reject any suggestion from other hikers.
And we think they are obedient, too. But the truth is, they might not even know anything when hiking.
For example, they forget to bring headlamps for a dawn hike. They don’t bring any water or snacks. Or, they are late because they can’t find the trail head…….
Try to ask them something before or during the hikes, such as length of the hikes, trail condition, number of teammates, etc.
They will likely answer like this “oh, really?” “I have no idea” “I dunno. I’ll just follow the crowd”.
They know they don’t have any experience, so they trust and follow the rest. Although they might cause some hiccups during the hikes, they rarely cause any trouble.
They are willing to listen to and learn from experienced hikers. Hence, they get along with the group quite well.
8. The cheerers
These hikers are the total opposite of the naggers.
They emit infinite amount of sunshine to the group. Sometimes, you wonder how they get this high spirit all the time.
“Wow, perfect weather today. Must be a perfect hike, too!” “20km hike today? I can’t wait to start right now!”
They keep smiling and motivating the rest for the simplest achievement. And you don’t need self-motivation, at all.
Don’t you think they are the perfect match for the naggers? I’m sure they will shower the naggers with their positive vibe to get rid of the negative energy.
Also, they are perfect for beginners. Sometimes, beginners lack self-confidence as they think they are the burden of the group.
But, with a little bit of motivation, this makes them move further and start to believe in themselves.
Maybe the cheerers are a bit dramatic. But, who doesn’t like motivation?
9. The hardcore hikers
They set very high expectations on themselves. In fact, they treat hiking as racing or training.
Seem like they are similar to the fast hikers, huh? Hm…. Yes and no.
Yes, they tend to hike the most efficient way. No, unlike the fast hikers, they know well what they want to achieve. They are very confident in themselves.
And they compete with themselves. They always look for improvement and strive to achieve personal best.
Another big difference with the fast hiker is, the hardcore hikers know their limit and push themselves further. For example, tougher hikes, longer hikers, shorter completion time, etc.
Thus, they are either experienced hikers or trail runners. Challenges excite them.
And you think it is stressful to hike with them, don’t you? Not really, as many of them are friendly and they will scale down their ability.
More importantly, they wish to influence others to join them for challenging hikes. So, it will be really fun to hike with them!
10. The DJs
They love listening to music. They can’t live without music, even when hiking. So, they play music by using their phone or a radio that they carry.
It’s fine, as long as the music volume is soft, which doesn’t disturb others.
But, they might love to blast music and even sing along with it.
Sometimes, you can literally hear the music from a distance out of nowhere. Then, you know someone creates sound pollution in the woods.
I hope they realize that this is extremely annoying. But, the exception to make noise to shout or sing is when we sense the appearance of wild animals, eg bears or cougars, etc.
Luckily, some DJs are considerate. They play music quietly or wear headphone. At least they don’t disturb others.
11. The braggers
When they approach, you know why they get this name.
Their outfit is superb. They bring good quality / branded hiking gears. – Literally, they look like they are going to shoot for a commercial.
What makes them different is they like to keep sharing their opinion on their outfit with other hikers, although no one bothers to know.
So, we can’t do anything but just nod and smile wryly to them.
Plus, they like to share their great hiking experiences. “I remember that time when I was attempting Mount Everest” “Mount Fuji hike is easy, everyone should summit it” “I’m training for K2 hike”……
So, they want to impress us, huh?
I dunno. Maybe they are keen to share and help other hikers. So, we can truly listen and learn from them. Of course, this actually inspires us.
Sharing is good. But, when this goes too much, it is annoying and awkward.
12. The social butterflies
It doesn’t matter whether they are beginners or experienced hikers. The aura that they radiate attracts our attention right away. – Just like when you meet someone and you instantly like him.
They love to smile and talk, which makes them attractive. Obviously, they know how to carry conversation and grab attention naturally.
In fact, they can be your friends, right after you first meet. And you feel totally comfortable talking to them. There’s no single awkward, silence moment, at all!
If they are beginners, those experienced hikers are happy to help them. In contract, if they are experienced hikers, many listen to what they say.
They are the star hikers, as they are attractive, which we can’t resist. – By the way, who doesn’t like social butterflies?
13. The photographers
Ok, the photographers like to take pictures, too. Which mean they are the same as the social media grabbers, right?
Hang on! Though they might post and share in social media, their purpose is to build their PORTFOLIO or COLLECTION.
They capture the beauty of our Mother Nature. These can be flowers, trees, bugs, waterfalls, etc
This is similar to wildlife documentaries of National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, etc. – Don’t you think they are fun to watch?
Sometimes, I really think we should learn from the photographers – their spirit of LEARNING. Not that I insist to take pictures, but we just need to stop and observe the moment when hiking.
Learn to be grateful of what we have right now.
14. The porters
Well, I’m not referring professional porters / Sherpas, who we hire when trekking or mountaineering.
Nonetheless, it’s common to see a lot of hikers possess the spirit and quality of professional porters. That’s why I call them the porters.
Have you ever felt tired because of your heavy backpack? And there are hikers who are willing to help you carry some stuff in your backpack.
Or, some are kind enough to help you carry the whole backpack.
They are helpful and willing to sacrifice to give a hand whenever someone needs it. Because of that, the porters are always STRONG and experienced.
Not only this, similar to the braggers (in a good way), they are willing to share their hiking experience to whom is keen to know.
15. The leaders
The last one doesn’t mean the weakest. Sometimes, it is completely opposite. And this is the case.
Let’s face it. Though we are keen on hiking, we hate to do all these tedious stuff, eg, researching, organising, etc.
And we wait for “someone” to do these for us, so that we could just pack our backpack and go to hike right away.
So, the “someone” take the initiative to do all the research and planning for us. Remember, they do it for FREE!
They make sure all hiking members have the best hiking experience. They are the ones who coordinate to make sure everyone is safe. – Hence, they could be either LEADERS or SWEEPERS.
Plus, they usually are willing to share their hiking experience, just like the braggers and the porters.
However, it’s baffling to know that we often take their effort for granted. Without them, hiking could be a mess or a total disaster.
In short, the leaders are exquisite and are a-must for group hiking. Treasure them and don’t take their effort for granted.
Final thought: types of hikers
As you can see, these 15 types of hikers consist of both good and not-so-good quality hikers. But, this is not a demeaning post to those not-so-good quality hikers.
Regardless of what types of hikers we are, we are indifferent when it comes to the passion and love of hiking.
The moment when we reach the summit or complete the hike, we all are grateful for what we’ve achieved to reach that point. Our frustration dissipates right away.
In fact, the above types of hikers are not mutually exclusive. You might be a mix of few types of hikers above.
Like me, I was a clueless hiker and a minimalist. Now, I am a quiet hiker.
Take this post for fun. Try to see which types of hikers describe you the best, as well as your hiking friends!
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