Thanks for joining us at Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks. We’ve been picking up new subscribers on YT so we thought it would be a good time to take a moment to reintroduce ourselves. Our goal with our all of our content, podcast and blog, is to entertain and educate about the outdoors through experiences that will empower us to explore the rich intersections of culture, history, and the natural world.

We also think we’re at a good age to encourage other people who have had a long time urge to get into the outdoors and do some hiking but have always felt that perhaps they couldn’t hike long hikes, or maybe they’re recovering from an injury and aren’t sure they’re ready to hike. Or maybe they’re just afraid to get started. If any of those statements sound familiar, you’re in the right place!

We firmly believe that hiking is for everyone! Being outdoors is good for all of us. It’s important to touch grass now and then. To know that if things get too hectic in our daily lives, a walk or hike amongst the greenery can help us all to breathe. Being outside helps bring our blood pressure down. It brings down our stress levels. It helps us to focus. It grounds us.

You don’t have to hike miles and miles to gain the benefits of hiking and being outdoors. Research published in 2019 in the Journal of Positive Psychology provides evidence that subjects who spent just five minutes in a natural environment showed significant increases in positive emotions compared to participants who sat in a windowless room.

It’s not only how long a single outing is, but also how often you get out. Shorter, repeated exposures (interval exposure) can bring benefits. Even 10 minute exposures, if repeated over time, show positive effects. And here’s something interesting…these same studies also show that very long durations (hours) don’t always yield proportionally greater benefits, depending on the setting and how strenuous the activity is. This means that short intervals outside can yield the same, if not better, results than long, extended activity!

• If you go for a hike (or spend time in nature) just once, even 10-15 minutes will likely give you a mental boost: better mood, lower stress.
• More frequent shorter outings may be as or more helpful than infrequent long ones.
• Hiking regularly (say, one or more hikes/week) is better than one long hike then many days indoors.

We take you to visit city, state, and national parks. We talk about the culture and the history surrounding them, then we talk about the hikes. And, we have some laughs as we do it. So, what are you waiting for? Grab your hiking sticks, join the Two Chicks, and go “Hike Your Own Hike!”