How to Sound Smart While Hiking

hiking, outdoors | UltraRob | Thursday, August 27th, 2009 at 6:33 am

Five words you should know to make you sound smart on a hike in the Rockies:

Cairn. Small piles of rocks that serve as trail markers. These can be lifesavers, unless you’re on a rocky trail that’s essentially a collection of cairns. Note: If you see a cairn, leave it alone to guide the next guy.
Talus. Loose rock that has fallen down a hillside. If you have to walk on it, proceed with caution. The operative word is “loose.”
Giardia. A nasty parasite you can’t taste or see that lives in rivers, lakes, streams and even puddles. . We’ve all met a guy who swears he has drank water from mountain streams his whole life and never gotten sick. We’ve also all met another guy who got giardia and lost 30 pounds in a month from an unplanned “whole-body cleansing.”
Scat. A nice way to say “bear poop” or any kind of poop (not human). Use it when you are trying to impress your fellow hikers. (“Yes, I see from the scat on the trail that a coyote has been here recently.”)
Alpenglow. When the mountains turn pink at dusk or dawn. This is that “aaaaahhhh” moment we all love.