By ANNIE RITCHIE / March 9, 2023
Welcome to your early morning hiking adventure! You are embarking on a dawn hike to see the sun rising over the fields. It’s going to be awesome!
With your hiking gear assembled and camera in hand, you are ready to see what the day has to offer! It’s very early, but you can see the sky beginning to get lighter and you know dawn is on its way. You are familiar with the route you are taking, but it is still quite dark and you can’t yet see the path in front of you. You need to find a way to progress in the dark so you will get to see the sunrise.
A. Do you use your hiking flashlight?
B. Do you trust your trekking poles will keep you on track?
If you chose A, go to part 2. If you chose B, go to part 3.
As the flashlight illuminates the path ahead you see creatures scuttling away. You’re glad you have your flashlight but still feel a bit nervous in case you startle an animal that then goes on the attack. To be prepared, you must decide how best to defend yourself.
A. Do you stop to get your backpacking axe out of your backpack so you will have it at the ready?
B. Do you attach your camping knife to your hiking belt so its there when you need it?
If you chose A, go to part 4. If you chose B, go to part 5.
As you use your trekking poles to keep your balance, you make your way cautiously and quietly. The sky is turning from dark grey to light grey and you start to see the outlines of hedges and trees. Soon you start becoming aware of the birds singing the dawn chorus.
A. Do you walk quietly enjoying the sounds of the birds?
B. Do you stop and use your binoculars to see if you can spot any?
If you chose A, go to part 6. If you chose B, go to part 7.
You are making good progress now. You just need to follow the path through a small woodland and you’ll be in place to watch the sun rise over the fields. As you enter the woodland, you see a tree has fallen across the path during the night. It’s not a huge tree but it is lying over the path. Luckily you have your backpacking axe. You chop away some of the branches so that you can step over the tree trunk where it lies along the ground. You continue on the path, walking through the dark woodland until it leads you out into the open again.
You are feeling a sense of urgency as you want to be in place to view the sunrise. You are not managing to walk as fast as you had hoped. What you really need is a walking stick to lean on when you are walking along the tricky bits. You spot a fallen branch. Luckily you have your camping knife, as you can strip off the sharp twigs to create a smooth surface for your hand to rest on. You resume your walk but this time you are able to move along faster and soon you can see the field ahead.
You look around you as you walk. The sky is turning pink and the misty air seems to glow. It is actually colder than you expected and even though you are walking fast you still feel a bit chilled. You need to decide how to warm up. If you want your hands warmer you could wear gloves. This will mean you may not have your hands free for taking photographs. If you want to warm your body and keep your arms and hands free, you could choose a hiking vest.
A. Do you pull on some hiking gloves to keep you hands warm?
B. Do you choose to wear the hiking vest you brought along with you in your backpack?
If you chose A, go to part 9. If you chose B, go to part 10.
You spot some movement and focus your binoculars in on a tiny bird. He hops around on the branch of the tree singing and chirping away. Then he shakes his tail feathers at you and flies off. Your binoculars are light and compact so you can carry them with you as you walk. You get back on track and follow the path as it meanders along to the field, stopping now and again to check what other birds you can see through your binoculars.
As you reach field you see that sunrise is close. There are pink clouds on the horizon and the sky is growing brighter by the minute. You are excited that you managed to get to the field in time even though the darkness made it tricky for you to find your way. You also appreciate how hard it is to get out of bed on a cold misty morning and you feel a sense of pride for persevering.
With your gloves on and hands warming up, you continue on your journey. You get to the field and see you are just in time to watch the sun rising up off the horizon. You look around for a place to sit down and watch. You choose a log and wipe your hand across the bark to clear off the debris before sitting down. Your glove snags on some thorns. You are pleased you chose to wear gloves or the thorns would have ripped your skin. You carefully remove the thorns before sitting down to watch.
You make your way to the field and see that soon the sun will be rising. Everything looks like it has been gilded as the first golden rays of the sun start to shine down on the field and hedges. The hiking vest is keeping you lovely and warm even though the misty air is still cold. With a sense of excitement building, you grab your camera and start filming.
As you watch the sun creeping up the sky, you feel your breathing deepen and your heartbeat slow. You feel serene and peaceful. You also feel so grateful that you can go on these hiking adventures and see awesome sunrises. The bright day dawns beautifully. It’s a great start to a brand new day and you are there to witness it.
Congratulations on completing your early morning sunrise adventure!
Now that we have gone on this sunrise adventure together, maybe its time for you to start planning your own. To save you some time, we have done some research and uncovered some great hiking gear:
If you think you might need a flashlight, have a look at our review of the best hiking flashlights to see which one would best suit your needs. We included a buyers guide to help you choose what’s best for your specific needs.
We have reviewed a selection of hiking gloves. We found some options suitable for a summer or winter adventure taking into account warmth, flexibility and functionality.
One of my favourite pieces of hiking gear is my hiking vest. If you would like to see some of the benefits of having a hiking vest, we have included these in our review of the best hiking vests.
I’ve owned binoculars as far back as I can remember as we spent a lot of time exploring nature when I was younger. There are a few things you should consider when making your choice of binoculars and we have laid these out in our review of the best hiking binoculars.
When I first started hiking and camping, I did not really think about bringing along an axe. But the more adventurous I got the more it became necessary for my adventures. If you need some help choosing the best for your needs, we have included factors to consider when buying.
A camping knife is such a versatile tool to have along on a hiking or camping adventure. In our review, we investigated the pros and cons of different camping knives on the market.
If you would like to go on further adventures have a look at our other ‘you choose’ gear adventures. The way I see it, if you have to make gear choices, why not have a bit of fun along the way?