Hiking in the fall is perhaps my favorite outdoor activity. Summer can be too hot, spring too muddy, winter too dark, but autumn brings crisp temperatures, gorgeous foliage and gloriously quieter trails. As the season goes on, however, the shrinking days and plunging mercury can also present some hiking challenges I’d forgotten about during the preceding warm season, like slick trails and low light.
If you’re inspired to bundle up and hit the trail this autumn, I can’t recommend it more, but there are a few common autumn hiking mistakes you’ll want to avoid in order to be safe and enjoy yourself.
