Hiking is a general word for traveling on foot in wilderness or countryside. Day hikers return before nightfall. Other hikers may go out for many days. Sometimes large groups hike together.
Hiking is a kind of physical activity as well as a leisure activity (a way of spending free time). Hikers (the people who do hiking) enjoy fresh air and the beauty of nature, and learn about the place. Many hikers enjoy challenging their physical and mental strength. Hiking with friends gives them the chance to become stronger.
Planning starts with a hiker deciding what he wants from the hike. A traveler should examine the information on landscape, climate, weather, plants, animals, type of ground, and so on. Based on that information, a hiker decides what equipment (tools) he needs. Writing everything on paper is strongly suggested to not forget anything. A hiker should choose the itinerary (the way of the hike).
Equipping means getting specialized clothing and equipment. Overnight hiking requires carrying more supplies, usually in a backpack, though many use a backpack even for a day hike. Suggestions for equipment can be found in any hiking book. A hiker is suggested to learn more than one source and work. Equipping sometimes needs getting skills in using the apparatus. Basic skills–different ways of orientation (the ability to find the way, for example)–must be developed before hiking.
Hiking can quickly become a fight for life. Hikers can get lost or suffer from injury, sickness, bad weather, or other dangers. For this reason everything in hiking is very important. Nobody should hike alone, no matter what the situation, without a great deal of experience to develop his hiking abilities.
Every hiker should keep in mind that theory is important, but it can hardly replace firsthand experience. To be safe a traveler should have enough experience. A hiker had better start by taking short hikes with more experienced hikers.
Getting lost can have bad results including sickness and death. A hiker is strongly suggested to check from time to time (at least every hour) whether he is going the right way. Portable GPS receivers can help, as long as the batteries are good. Accurate, complete maps and a compass can help, if the user understands them. On no account should he go on traveling if he has lost his way. The first thing a hiker should do is find the direction in which he was going before getting lost. Using the compass and the map, he should choose a reference point nearby (railway, road, river, etc.).
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg () is a Russian city in northwestern Russia, near the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. Over five million people live in St. Petersburg as of 2015, and it is the second biggest city in Russia. It is a major port, connecting with the world's shipping paths through the Neva River and the Baltic.
Part of Saint Petersburg is designated a World Heritage Site called The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.
Saint Petersburg was started by the Russian Tsar, Peter I as the capital of the Russian Empire in 1703, to take the place of the earlier capital, Moscow. It was the capital of Russia until 1918. Peter the Great established Saint Petersburg as a warm-weather port in order to show Russian dominance in the Baltic and to increase trading opportunities. Peter sought to modernize Russia, therefore he tried to make Saint Petersburg as different as possible from the former capital, Moscow, by modernizing the city.
Saint Petersburg has changed its name many times. During World War I, when Russia and Germany were fighting each other, Russians thought the name Sankt Peterburg sounded too German, so Tsar Nicholas II, on August 31 (August 18, Old Style), 1914 decided that the city was renamed Petrograd. In 1918 during the Russian revolution, the Soviet capital was moved to Moscow, still the capital of Russia now.
On January 26, 1924, five days after Lenin's death, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad in his honor. During World War II, the city was surrounded by the German army and under siege for twenty-nine months until January 1944.
Leningrad again took its old name of St. Petersburg on September 6, 1991, when Russia stopped being communist. In every-day Russian, the city is often called just ""Piter"". The "Oblast" (administrative province) where the city is the capital is still called "Leningrad Oblast".
Saint Petersburg was a beautiful city planned by Peter I. There are many man-made rivers (or canals) in the city, so the city is sometimes called the "Venice of the North". There are also beautiful buildings built by Russian emperors in other places of the city. Some of these buildings are the Hermitage Museum and the Winter Palace.
Kiwifruit
Kiwifruit ("Actinidia deliciosa") is a fruit. It has an oval shape. It is green on the inside with small black seeds that can be eaten. The kiwi has furry brown skin that is edible but is usually removed. The skin is relatively thin. The kiwi is native to South China.
The fruit was named in 1959 after the kiwi, a bird and the symbol of New Zealand. Before that, its English name was Chinese gooseberry.
The kiwifruit is healthy and contains many vitamins and minerals. Kiwis are rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, and fiber. Kiwis have more vitamin C than an equivalent amount of orange.
There are different types of kiwifruit. The main types are Hayward (the most common green kiwifruit), chico, Saanichton 12, and golden kiwifruit. Golden kiwifruit are sweeter than normal green kiwifruit. Golden kiwifruit was invented by grafting and cross-pollinating different types of kiwifruit.
Aardvark
The aardvark ("Orycteropus afer") is a mammal from Africa; its name means "earth pig" in the language Afrikaans. It is the only living member in its order, though some fossil genera have been found
The Aardvark looks a bit like the South American anteaters but they are not related. It is in a proposed clade Afroinsectiphilia, with the golden moles and tenrecs. Another proposal is to out it in the Pseudungulata, with the elephants and Sirenia. There is no consensus at present.
Adult aardvarks weighs about 60 kilograms (130 pounds) and a little more than one meter (45 inches) long. It is the largest member of the proposed clade Afroinsectiphilia. The aardvark is pale yellowish-gray in color and often stained reddish-brown by soil. The aardvark's fur is thin. Its hair is short on its head and tail. But, its legs tend to have longer hair.
Aardvarks are found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are found in every country in sub-Saharan Africa except Namibia, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Madagascar. It lives in many habitats like savannas, grasslands, woodlands and bushland. They have been seen as high as 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) in Ethiopia.
Aardvarks eat mostly ants and termites. They have a long sticky tongue which makes it easy to pick up many ants at once. The only fruit that aardvarks eat is the aardvark cucumber. They avoid eating the African driver ant and red ants.
Aardvarks are nocturnal, which means they are awake at night and asleep during the day. The aardvark is a good swimmer. It can dig a tunnel that is one yard in about five minutes. Aardvarks live for up to 23 years in captivity. It has many predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs, hyenas, and pythons. Some humans also hunt aardvarks for meat. Aardvarks can dig fast or run in a zigzag to confuse predators. If all else fails they will attack with their claws.