If you are a hiker, consider walking poles to help ease the stress on your spine and lower extremities. My patients have greatly benefited from these, and they greatly reduce the stress on all weight bearing muscles and joints.
http://www.macsadventure.com/walking-holidays/the-benefits-of-walking-poles/?utm_source=Fall+in+Love+with+North+America&utm_campaign=Newsletter+-North+America&utm_medium=email
This study confirms what hikers have felt, but realize these studies are very hard to do (and some contradict others). RPE stands for Rated Perceived Exertion and HR is Heart Rate.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20473229
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/exercise/rpe-scale.aspx
