Your Best Health Remedy...Take a Hike!

The following article appeared in the Fairfield Glade newspaper on September 2, 2009.

Enjoying Nature

Don Hazel

Your best health remedy…Take a hike!

If you live here in Eastern Tennessee, you live in one of the best areas of the country for outdoor activities. Not many places in the United States can claim to be better in total for golfing, fishing, tennis, hunting, fishing, gardening, boating, biking, and hiking. Studies have shown that people who are active live longer, happier, healthier lives.

And, who doesn’t want to be happier, healthier, and live longer? Even two out of three wouldn’t be bad. So what are you waiting for…let’s get cracking!

Not everyone has the ability or desire for golf or tennis or kayaking, but there are lots of great low impact outdoor activities around here to get started. Hey, shuffleboard or miniature golf is better than sitting on the couch.

But, believe it or not, hiking is one of the best activities you can do. Unless you have bad knees, hiking can fix many ailments. If you have a headache, take a hike, I guarantee it will go away. If you are having a sinking spell or a bad attitude, take a hike. Stomach problems…take a hike.

About a year ago I had hurt my back and could hardly walk for a week. But I was supposed to lead a hike in the Smoky Mountains and didn’t want to cop out, so I thought I would get the group to the trailhead, hike a short ways and then return to the car to wait. But I found that after a little while my back was beginning to loosen up. Eight miles later I was feeling a lot better. You will too.

We have some of the prettiest hiking trails in the country right here within an hour of Fairfield Glade and I am convinced that we have the best collection of waterfall hikes in the U.S. I have lived in seven states and nowhere was the hiking better than right here in Eastern Tennessee. The problem for many folks is where to go, how not to get lost, and how to get started. Well…read on.

The best way to start hiking is to go with someone who knows the trails and how to get there. There are many hiking groups around. Fairfield Glade has a group of folks who hike every Friday, spring and fall. Their fist hike of the season is coming up on Friday September 11. Also, there are many Tennessee Trails Association groups across the state, including one right here in Crossville that hikes every week.

I have compiled a list of over 80 nearby hikes that are good trails and most are well marked. You can find that list at the FFG hiking website at: http://sites.google.com/site/ffghiking/Home . Once there, navigate to “All the trails that we hike”. There is lots of other good information about hiking at that web site. Usually, if you do a Google search on any of the trails on that list you can find more information about the hikes.

Also, two excellent books about area hikes are “Hiking Tennessee” and “Hiking Great Smoky Mountains National Park”. Find them on Amazon.com.

Worried about critters? Don’t be! I have been hiking all my life and have never run into a critter problem. Sure, you might encounter an occasional yellow jacket or tick, but you can find those guys on your way to the mailbox. There are no grizzly bears or mountain lions going to jump on you around here. Even in the Smokies, the black bears don’t attack hikers. No excuses, let’s get going.

If you have questions about how or where to get started feel free to contact me. There is no charge for this free medical advice. Take 2 hikes and call me in the morning. You will feel better mentally and physically…guaranteed.