One of the most important things you can do before any significant hike is to do a Shakedown Hike. People like to throw around the term loosely but a proper Shakedown Hike should put both you and your gear to its limits.

The goal is to find any hidden issues with your set up and yourself. Stressing your gear and yourself should quickly show you what is or isn’t working and needs to be changed. Plan a challenging route and give your set up hell.

The object is to find all issues during your Shakedown Hike and hopefully not any during your actual hike. The possibility of fixing issues during your actual hike go way down, especially when limited resources are available. An easier solution is to do a shorter Shakedown Hike closer to home, where you can more easily fix any issues that arise.

The Shakedown Hike is about more than finding out what issues you and your set up might have, but also about gaining experience and building your Trail Confidence too.

Reasons to do a Shakedown Hike:

• Test gear
• Figure out what works and doesn’t
• Determine best load distribution
• See what you need and don’t
• Build Trail Confidence
• Gain experience
• Boost your fitness
• Learn how your body handles a load
• Test your body and mind
• Practice navigation
• Learn what you can and can’t handle