Expedition Guide: Hiking

The beach recedes behind as you hike up and onto the ridgeline. The busy movement of small boats and larger groups of people left down below. As your boots carry you along the ridge, the cloud lifts, and the air clears. An exposed rock platform appears in the snow, and the walkers pause to rest. In the crevices, small arctic plants grow in this most unlikely of places; the tiny purple flowers a sudden flash of colour in the monochrome of snow and stone. Beyond your group of like-minded travellers, the open water is suddenly in view; your ship at anchor in the cove, the gleaming icebergs drifting past in currents unseen beneath the dark waters. 

Hiking in wild places is one of the reasons many people join expedition cruises. One of the joys of this style of travel is the ability to get further from your vessel, experience the landscape in small groups, and find a sense of exploration. 

With good understanding and expectations, a little gear, and solid preparation, your expedition can be a journey into the wilderness you’ll never forget. Let’s unpack a few of these subjects and learn a little about what hiking can be from an expedition ship.

Hiking from an expedition ship is slightly different than simply hitting your local trails. To begin with, you are, of course, on a group expedition. A good expedition company with a high guide-to-passenger ratio can cater to many different fitness and mobility levels, attempting to group walkers into smaller bodies of similar fitness and enthusiasm. However, if you are going on a trip to hike, I recommend finding expeditions that offer specific activity groups to sign up for in advance of your trip. This way, you’ll get like-minded people and a dedicated guide working to achieve a hiking programme. 

Hiking from an expedition ship is also defined by considerations unusual to regular travel. After all, these are unusual destinations. Let’s look at three factors here. These are regulatory bodies, environment, and wildlife.

You will be bound by the local regulatory body wherever you travel with an expedition ship. Whether this be the government of Norway in Svalbard in the Arctic, that of Greenland, or the Antarctic Treaty in the Antarctic. Regulatory bodies may also be industry groups like IAATO (the International Association of Antarctic Tourism Operators). In any of these areas, there will be comprehensive guidelines on how a company and its guests can behave on shore. 

The most impactful part of these guidelines is timing. In general, ships will spend a maximum of 3-5 hours in any given specific location. This is influenced by the regulatory body, which allows ships to ‘book’ a landing area and, therefore, avoid conflict with other operators. Any hike will, therefore, exist within these timelines. Additionally, these guidelines will stipulate whether the area can be classed as ‘free-roaming,’ i.e. you can walk around unguided within a designated area, whether there are areas closed to visitors for scientific, conservation, or historical protection reasons, or whether visitors to a site must be directly guided.

In these respects, be ready to be informed each day about what your expedition team can provide.

The second hiking factor on any expedition is the environment. In the polar world, this can be as simple as whether there is any land to hike on. For example, the Antarctic environment is dominated by large glaciers that terminate at the ocean’s edge. Small islands and exposed rocky points allow for most landings but don’t always make many truly long hikes on rock or dirt possible. There are exceptions, but if you go on a trip to Antarctica, it’s essential to be aware of the physical limits to longer hikes. In contrast, the Arctic has long rocky hillsides and plains that can allow for some truly spectacular hiking opportunities. This factor is highly affected by the time of the year you choose to travel. Winter snowfall will still heavily affect early spring, November, and December in Antarctica, as well as May to July in the Arctic. This will limit how far you can walk and the ease of doing so. Hiking for any distance in deep soft snow is extremely physically challenging, not to mention time-consuming. The presence of early-season sea ice (frozen ocean) may also limit how far guides are willing to travel from the landing site. The chance of sea ice moving into a bay and cutting off access to the ship is a real possibility that your guides will be considering. 

Optional activity choices, like snowshoeing, may extend the season and distance of more extended hiking opportunities. For example, from November to December in the Antarctic, a guided snowshoeing group can really stretch their legs in a way that non-snowshoe-equipped walkers cannot. 

Another factor that cannot be forgotten is the true wilderness nature of your hiking experience. These areas are remote by every definition, both in terms of available emergency services and infrastructure. The best you can hope for as a trail is a faint pad that other groups in the past may have left. There are no maintained trails, flat boardwalks, or stairs. This is, of course, the reason you chose this expedition; it also provides very clear self-limitations. The more comfortable you are on loose, uneven terrain, the more you can do.

People often come to see wildlife, and hiking up to a lookout high above a huge mega-colony of penguins is an experience only possible with that extra effort.

As noted above, all expedition cruise operators work within carefully considered guidelines. With wildlife, these are created to protect animals and yourself. ‘Protection’ often means especially during vulnerable periods in their annual cycles, but it also means minimising impact so that travellers can go to places of high visitation without damaging what they want to see. Closed areas, minimum approach distances, and wildlife that alters walking route access will all affect your hiking experience. 

Additionally, some animals have specific safety requirements associated with them. Polar bears in the Arctic are the best example of this. Operators are required to provide firearm handlers with all walking groups and, therefore, directly guide groups. If there are bears anywhere in the vicinity, or if fog and visibility make it impossible to effectively determine their presence, then they won’t take you ashore. 

Wildlife factors heavily into what we can experience as hikers on expedition cruises. It will guide what your expedition team can offer, and your hiking interest and effort will open up areas and attractions unavailable to those who stay on the shoreline. 

The best preparation for hiking is, of course, to go hiking! Daily walking on steep terrain where possible will set you in good stead for your expedition. Hiking stairs if you lack local hills and doing consistent cardio activity for three hours will be a good simulator for the kind of fitness you may need to enjoy your expedition. Of course, most companies will offer walks of varying challenge, grouping individuals with similar interests and fitness. However, the more comfortable you are, the more you’ll be able to lift your eyes from the ground and enjoy where you are.

As mentioned above, hiking on expedition cruises is often off-trail and has uneven ground. This can be hard to simulate back at home. But the most straightforward answer is to walk on as many terrain types as possible or work on your mobility with a local gym. The more confident you are on variable terrain, the more fun you’ll have on the expedition.

Hiking from an expedition vessel is an incredible experience, and with the basic concepts considered below, you will be ready for your adventure. Whether it’s a guided activity aiming at a lofty summit or a gentle amble through high arctic wildflowers, you’ll be glad whenever you decide to walk a little further. Let's start with footwear and work our way through to walking poles.