How to Hike Downhill More Efficiently | Efficient Downhill Hiking Principles

While you have to fight against gravity’s force to hold you back when hiking uphill, hiking downhill you have to resist gravity’s force to pull you down the hill. In this video, I give some tips on how to hike downhill more efficiently.

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[GustitisLaw]

On extended downhill sections, extending your trekking poles an inch or two also helps. Thanks for the great video.

[coalfieldbeelovergerald]

Great points on down hill hiking. Thru-out my many many years of hiking 🥾 downhill has been the killer n most dangerous. I’ve had unstable rocks twist out from under foot.. I’ve had round stone act like marbles n give me a real quick surprise n ride. We use to real pack heavy (60 to near 80 lbs for week) equipment was bulky n heavy. My first pack my dad made me was called a “Trapper Nelson” (wood n canvas type) sleeping bag was an old down military mummy type n pup tent ⛺️ was single wall thick canvas. All heavy so your down hill points we had to learn if didn’t
want to killed our body.

Great 👍 points to keeping the joints from pain n agony .. As l continue to listen to long PCT hiker they are always feeling hiking pains especially down hill stuff.

Cheers Rev .. another great 👍 teaching video.. Thankz again for share n may others learn from us old goats.

Happy Trails n looking forward to future advice n helps. Papa J

[stanleyj.mitchell]

Very informative. I do find going down infinity more difficult than going up. However it is good to know I appear to be doing all the right things. Thanks for the encouragement.

[jimfede]

Thank you very much Rev for these advices, those will be a lifesaver for me since I have had tremendous pain in my joints going down hill. Regards from Uruguay.

[dennisdemarco]

Thank goodness! I've been stuck on this summit waiting for this vid!! (Hehehe!)
Thanks for all your info. Rev!

[hikingwithjackieboy]

Rev you always give some really good advice. A lot these practices I use. Some off these I will try. I did watch all three videos. Happy hiking👣👣👣🌲🌲

[ervinslens]

Gorgeous upload friend, really nice editing here. Narrated part is just beautiful.

[ruthgoebel]

I have a hill near me that is short but very steep. I call it “Old Lady Hill” because that is how I feel after I have climbed up! It is a dirt road with plenty of gravel that makes descending tricky, as I have slipped many times, but not fallen. Your tips are great. I always use my hiking sticks to keep my knees and back happy.

[zinguliwa]

Excellent advice. Didn’t realize how “wrong” my downhill technique was. Glad to have your tips.

[markfletcher]

Another enjoyable video. I could have used this video ~55 years ago when I was in Boy Scouts. We were camping in Mohican Park in NE Ohio a hilly park if I recall. We were going down a long steep grade and I tried to be in control and take my time but I couldn’t. I kept going downhill faster and faster, outta control and almost running. Eventually I decided to do a baseball slide before I planted myself in a tree. It wasn’t pretty but I survived, with a scratched-up new BSA belt buckle a little abrasion and lost a lot of pride. I was a young inexperienced Scout. I definitely could have used your advice then, along with trekking poles. 😁
Thanks for another good video.

[BurroGirl]

Hi my fave hiker!! Thanks for your vids!!!

[yogalandawellnessyolandati]

Love these videos, when you’re tired it’s nice to practice these techniques it’s something occupy your brain while hiking!
My toes always bump my shoes downhill, I’ve tried different lacing techniques but it’s the one trick I haven’t mastered.
Thank you Rev!

[wolfeadventures]

This is a great series Rev. Really helpful. 👌🏻👌🏻

[rinspector]

I'm going to try the sitting analogy. Thank you!

[George-ggny]

Watched up hill and this downhill, great advice and logical for safer and healthier joints and muscles... A must watch for beginners. Thanks for sharing your knowledge... God bless 🙏

[Slaytanik.]

Great points! I took a killer tumble down Mt. Rose at Lake Tahoe one year when I was trying to get down in half of the time I went to the peak. I did the 'swim' and then rolled. I was all sorts of roughed up from that fall. While I was doing the 'swim" with my arms I heard the people behind me say that this wasnt going to end up good. It didn't. Good times. I was in my mid 40's when it happened.

[markwinter]

I call it a controlled fall. 😆 Great advice, that sitting down comment is kind of how I do it. Hiking half dome this fall. Preparing now.

[markfenn]

Just found you by accident. Really enjoyed the videos that I've seen so far. Great info. It's been 50 years since I did a loot of hiking/backpacking and at age 75 and 2 knee replacements later, I have renewed interest in hiking/backpacking and have bought new lighter gear. I have a big hill nearby that I can train on and am looking forward to some great destinations next year in the Washington Cascades. Will take your advice to heart!
E

[philippegeissbuhler]

However, I haven't fallen downhill since I've been leaning on the walking poles, pointing them backwards rather than forwards. This may seem counter-intuitive or odd, but the fact is that it prevents me from ripping my shoes forward on steep descents. It also avoids catching my feet in the poles when they're in front of me. The walking position is more natural than with the poles in front of you, and much less tiring. An analogy can be made with horses, chamois, goats and other quadrupeds, whose front part of the body is similar to our standing position, and which lean on their hind legs to maintain their balance (a bit like a centaur). Give it a try!

[solongago]

There's at least one steep slope hereabouts covered in loose rock where I have to go up on my hands and knees and come down on my butt. To make that even more difficult, I'm at the age at which getting down on the ground and standing up again afterwards is very difficult. I only use one pole partially because I like to have a free hand to grab tree limbs. I was raised in Northwest Ohio, where everything is nice and flat, and any rocks are hundreds of feet underground. Now I'm in the northeast, which is nothing but hilly rocks and rocky hills.

A lot of the problem is poor trail design. There's no good reason for a trail to go straight up and straight down when they can put in some switchbacks to make it more manageable (with less erosion). I suppose some people like the challenge, but it seems to mostly make a trail that nobody uses because it's too much of a pain and too risky.