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You can do much better than the simple relief of seeing your car. These post hike recovery hacks will re-energize your drive home and greatly improve your recovery time.
Your feet are cooked, your clothes are damp. You’re hungry, thirsty, and tired. And now you have to sit in a car for two hours. This is exactly where advance planning can make a difference.
A few basic comforts waiting back at the car can take you from sweaty trail goblin to reasonably functional human in about five minutes. Fresh clothes. Cold drinks. Good snacks. Clean feet.
Maybe even a little something you’ve been thinking about since Mile Seven.
Over the years, I’ve developed a few favorite post hike recovery rituals of my own. But I also asked my mountain hiking community what they do after a big day on the trail, and they came through with some excellent ideas.
Here are the best post hike recovery tips to help you recover, freshen up, refuel, and make the ride home way more pleasant.
The Best Post Hike Recovery Hacks
Fresh Socks & Shoes
Airing out your feet for a minute and slipping into clean dry clothes will give you a massive boost before your drive home. It just feels so good.
- Ewa: Crocs and socks!
- Diana: Boots off, Crocs on. Euphoric.
- Bill: Only one pair? I change socks at the summit — then change into another pair in the car!
- Heather: Yes! I usually go with flip flops.
Some people also swear by compression socks after a tough hike.
However you choose to do it, giving your feet some love is probably the number one post hike recovery tip anyone will ever give you.
Fresh Upper Layers
It sucks to drive home in sweaty gear. A fresh teeshirt goes a long way to lifting your energy for the return journey.
- Beth: Clean shirt. In winter an extra warm puffy jacket.
On colder days, throw on a fresh hoodie or sweatshirt too.
Body Wipes
For your face, neck, and body, a stash of baby wipes or body wipes is a minor miracle.
And also great for your feet. I don‘t know about you but, by the end of long hike, my feet are a toxic dump site.
Private Parts
Personal hygiene wipes are a great way to freshen up your disco district.
There are good pH-balanced products for women. Â Summer’s Eve Simply Sensitive Cleansing Cloths for Sensitive Skin and Goodwipes Down There Feminine Hygiene Wipes are both pH-balanced and get high ratings.
- Lindsay:Good for personal hygiene: I always keep the special ones for private areas and then regular ones for whole body in my post-hike bag. That way I can further my LNT efforts by not wiping on the trail.
More Fluids
I throw a flavored seltzer in a cooler with an ice pack or two. Oh hot days, it’s the greatest drink you’ll ever drink.
- Jess: Yes to this! I like to leave either a hot tea or iced water in a thermos in the car too. And a snack. Always a snack.
On cold days, a hot beverage or soup in a thermos will heat you up immediately.
More Snacks
Jess has the right idea. You don’t have to carry it all. Leave a treat in your car for the ride home — a nut bar, a Snickers, an apple. (This might be my actual favorite post-hike hack.)
More Salt
This is a great suggestion: stash yourself a salty snack.
A long or hot hike can seriously deplete your electrolytes. I’ve seen hikers get cramps on the trail, and I’ve had them myself a few times. (I now add electrolytes to my water bladder as I’m filling it up.) It’s great to know you’ve got some salty goodness waiting for you: a bag of potato chips, Fritos, a Gatorade, etc.
- Cathy: Change to town clothes, grab an extra water from the cooler, and a salty snack. (Then try to send a text to the wife saying I’m off the mountain, and then remember I don’t have any signal — every time!)
- Becky: Around mile seven is when that all starts to sound really good.
This post hike recovery tip will help you avoid cramping and headaches later in the day.
Standing Forward Fold (Uttanasana)
A good friend does this basic yoga stretch at the end of every hike to release her back. I can’t do the full stretch — I don’t do yoga and I’m not at all flexible — but it does feel quite calming to fold in half and pause for a minute.
The A+ Post Hike Recovery Tip
This one isn’t so much for you as it is for the environment around your hike. How was the Leave No Trace aspect of your hike? Would you give yourself an A? Well, you can take it all the way to A+ with this tip for making sure you don’t bring home any alien lifeforms.
Post Hike Recovery When You Get Home
After you hit the shower, a muscle roller or a foam roller is a great way to work out any knots. I used a foam roller for a long time but, once I got that stick roller, I rarely bothered with my foam roller any more. The sticks are so great for working out your calf and thigh knots.
Sleep Aids for Post Hike Recovery
When my legs are really humming after a big day, 5mg of melatonin helps me fall asleep quickly. I use this brand which comes in chewable 5mg tablets. (I’ve sometimes taken two with no adverse reaction.)
A cup of SleepyTime tea is also a great simple aid to wind down after the
Stack Your Post Hike Recovery Hacks
Kelsey has a great post hike routine that combines many of the elements above…
- I feel like my post-hikes are a little ritual now — maybe because I’m always solo & drive far? I take everything off and change into a clean, comfy outfit with sandals. Got my favorite podcast geared up with cold water (cooler in the summer) and a new snack ready. I cruise gently down the backroads all the way back to the highway with no GPS on just to see if I can remember exactly how I got to the trailhead. If it’s super-sweat season I bring a jug of water and rinse myself off with a towel in the parking lot. LOL. But you feel SO much better afterwards.
Post Hike Recovery Before You Even Start
Prevention is always better than cure. On long, steep or rugged hikes, our feet and knees take a pounding. Set yourself up for success at the start of every hike with wool socks, trekking poles, sunscreen, bug spray, and plenty of fuel and fluids. Your body will thank you later.
And you always pack the ten essentials, right? Cool, cool.
Hike happy out there.
Sean
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