You’ve begun and haven’t given up? Well, you’re a keen surfer, and you’re sure to be soon suffering badly without the surf and waves in the dead season.
But there is a way out unless you aren’t a couch potato. Go on a hiking tour, especially if you’re new to the area in search of better waves!
You’ll ask “What about my surf?” – Take it with you on a surf hiking trip!
Surf hiking is not a kind of leisure activity that helps to kill time while waiting for the waves.
It isn’t a rare case when you cannot use any transport to get to far-off spots and you need to go hiking, but it isn’t a reason to give up!
It goes back to the times when desperate hippies set off on backpacking journeys with old wooden surfs in search of their happy wave. It’s all about freedom, love for nature, a thirst for loneliness, and meditation and the best surf ever.
Surf hiking is not just walking along the coastline in search of waves; it is exploring new lands for the best surf practice you’ve ever tried while hiking. And hiking this way isn’t so easy as it may seem for an inexperienced surf hiker.
You’re lucky if you succeed to find your small paradise and the best waves during the first day of hiking, or you may just be mistaken about it and lose your perfect wave at all.
So be ready to cover dozens of miles before reaching the goal and doing your surf on the waves you have dreamt of.
And it doesn’t matter if at the core you’ll spend only several hours on your surf riding the waves after having spent a few days hiking.
Still, by having found a desirable spot for the surf you’ll experience many advantages. First of all, being away from day-to-day life, while hiking, you may concentrate on surfing and improve it to a large extent.
Moreover, it may happen that there you’ll have the soundest sleep you’ve ever had as nothing can interfere with it apart from the pleasant wave sound.
But at once, such a hiking journey can appear very dangerous, so take surf hiking seriously and make all the preparations for your hiking in advance. Here are some tips on green surf hiking in search of waves.
Table of Contents
Tip №1: Work out your fit-out!
Most tips concerning equipment for surf hiking are similar to those for common hiking.
The main rule is to find a balance between packing light and be well-prepared for such a hiking tour.
The life hack is to list everything you’ll need on a hiking trip but take only half of it. However, there are some must-haves that you can’t avoid, otherwise, you’ll only spoil your hiking experience and never find the best waves in your life.
Pack your back!
The first must-have in this list for a good surf trip is your future backpack. Maybe you have one but that isn’t it for seeking the waves!
Cozy suspenders fitting your back perfectly, good sized pockets containing smalls, cloth of dense texture to be sure you won’t snag it and, if possible, waterproof too – these are the basic criteria you should take into account.
If you’re going to try surf hiking regularly, you’d better dip into your purse. If you suffer the lack of means, try to rent it or buy a second-hand one.
As for the brand, you can surf on forums that are popular among steady backpackers to choose the proper one for your hiking. As for the design, it all depends on your taste, but you may also surf for the most appropriate one on the net.
But still, its content is not of less importance when you start off in search of waves!
Proper content
If you are not going to continue the surf hiking at night hanging around your beach, you’ll need a sleeping bag or a sleeping sheet for hot nights like in Bali or Hawaii.
You may also take a tent if wild animals are common to the hiking area but choose one to take less space in your backpack.
Apart from your jandals, you’re sure to possess, you should think about good trekking boots that are perfect for different terrain.
You may buy all these duffles in the same shop where you’ve already found your backpack and other hiking items, so choose the proper brand.
Smalls play not a small role!
First, take a lot of plastic bags to sort your things, for example, wet from dry ones and dirty from clean to make your hiking trip cozy enough.
Plastic bags may be useful to hold bottles that might leak.
Take your change clothes, especially socks. Wear soft socks to keep your feet safe from wounds or you may also use silicone patches for long-distance hiking.
You also need to buy knives, special hiking matches, right socks, and other smalls in any shop selling sportswear. Such shops are more backpacker-friendly now, and you can find everything for your hiking trip there.
Surf-hikers deserve food!
Surf hiking must do a world of good for your health. You shouldn’t let your body be wasted by this hiking even if you are not riding the waves.
Being familiar with sports, you should know what your friends are: a lot of proteins, fewer carbs, and none of the fats.
To make your muscles work better, take food rich in proteins, it may be jerked meat, vacuum-packed bacon (of a low-fat content!), canned fish or beans, and nuts for a snack.
These products will help your body to restore after durable hiking combined with intensive surf practice on the waves. As to carbos, try dried fruits and oats with boiled water.
By the way, you may indulge in hot meals. You can cook just about anything over a fire with the proper tools – boil water, heat some cans, make tea and even bake potatoes.
Also, think about small treats, such as chocolate bars, for rewarding yourself at every achievement reached to motivate yourself for the steps to be taken to get your unique waves.
Remember! While hiking, your daily requirement of water increases.
If the river water is in place, use special chemicals to purify it. You can find lots of info on this matter on specialized forums dedicated to hiking and backpacking.
This lifehack will allow you to avoid schlepping large bottles of water on you. And one more recommendation – reduce the use of salt in your meals and you’ll need less water.
All these tips will help you to get the best of surf hiking and looking for waves.
Minimal for big ambitions!
The backpack is ready and all that’s missing is your surfboard for riding waves. As you go hiking, you won’t be able to lug a few surf items around.
So you need to choose the proper surf equipment and the best variant of the surf for all occasions and wave sizes.
Fortunately, since you’ve gone as far as hiking with the surf and you’re an experienced surfer who knows the waves very well, you may take a board of a smaller size, for example.
The perfect size, in this case, is from 7’ to 7’11 for all kinds of waves. Such a surf is light enough (especially the one made of epoxy) and at the same time, maneuverable on middle and large waves you are hunting.
But you may also modify your surf style by replacing devices on your board, such as single or twin fins or quads, for better riding the waves.
And still having only one surfboard is a disadvantage too. You can’t know in advance the weather conditions and the character of waves you will surf in – tide charts you have used before don’t work where you’re hiking!
Damages and dings are not uncommon during such a surf hiking trip due to changing waves and weather conditions.
So be sure to take a surf repair kit with you and check whether all the necessary items are in place: wax, epoxy glue, surf comb, abrasive cloth. Don’t forget to take a leash, pad and, of course, surf zinc!
Tip №2: Find your own secret spot with the best waves
It’s no good at all to go hiking by following your nose. You should know what waves you are interested in and what kind of waves you would like to surf at the moment.
In fact, you can easily find your secret spot with the best waves in the world.
You just need to work with wave and tide maps and revise lessons of your former surf coach: how waves are formed, how to follow the swell, and what kind of bottom relief creates the best conditions and waves for surf and drive.
Having got all theoretical aspects of wave formation and having studied the wave maps properly you can already suggest where your secret spots are for the best surf.
Then, you are to take your surfboard and go to check the waves. And still, it entirely depends on you what you expect of this hiking trip and this new surf experience.
If you are looking for green waves with lots of peaks, choose beach breaks on your surf hiking trip – the spots with sandy bottoms. And on the contrary, you’ll find the chops on reef spots when looking further for the waves.
Besides, there you’ll have one more advantage – pure water where you can try snorkeling, so don’t forget to take your mask with you! If you’re interested in long waves, hold on for point breaks.
Besides, the target spot of your surf hiking should possess suitable conditions for camping.
But remember that if they are perfect you won’t be alone there on your surf hiking trip and hereby, it won’t be YOUR secret spot and your waves only.
Moreover, sometimes locals may be rather aggressive to newcomers, in the least, they won’t allow you to come to the waves. And it won’t be the ideal case for you and your surf hiking trip will be spoiled.
If you find a surf spot with great waves that more or less meets the case, go easy on your luck, and you’d better stop, to begin with riding these waves.
The recommended maximum for green surf hikers in search of waves is ten miles for the first day with the following decrease of exertion.
Tip №3: Catch your wave of adventures!
And still, one more question is left – whether to go on a surf hiking tour alone or with the company of two or three friends.
Friends can ease off the sense of disappointment in case you don’t find your perfect surf spot with great waves. You will have a good time together on any waves.
But there is also a threat of spoiling your relations as exhaustion may cause conflicts while surf hiking.
You’d better set off alone if you can’t suppress tension or you know your friends can’t do hiking or are not patient enough to find the great waves.
You may try lots of advantages from surf hiking solo. You have a chance to experience the whole philosophy of surfing and the adventurous spirit of hiking, to meet new people, and even make friends with locals.
Be respectful towards the people and their area and they respond in kind. Don’t be afraid of asking them for help, but be grateful too.
You may buy some smalls they usually buy and contribute to their budget or the budget of the whole country. And they’ll be kinder to other surf hiking people as well.
Moreover, they can teach you a lot about the waves because no one doubts that locals are the best surfers.
Just watch their surf practice! Be grateful to the area and the ocean too, and maybe not now but once it will present you with the best endless summer with beautiful waves!
And still, if you manage to find your secret spot, leave it for yourself, don’t Instagram or hashtag it, but share your experience on this site to make the list of tips much wider!
