【推荐1】A hike can be as easy as a walk in the park, but when you start covering more interesting places, you'll quickly meet challenges.     1     Or maybe you never manage to pack the right things or wear the right clothes. Here are several tips for becoming a more confident hiker.

Improve your cardio. The more you hike up hills, the better you'll get at hiking uphill.     2     Work on your cardio in the gym or at home. Running and cycling are perfect, or try any of these underrated cardio options. The stronger your heart is, the easier it is for you to hike up those hills.

    3     You need energy when you're out on the trails all day, and you need extra food in your pack in case you get lost and end up staying out later than you have planned. So bring a variety of options to keep you full.

Find your favorite hiking socks, then pack extra. Appropriate clothing is essential, which means layering up and packing an extra rain jacket even if you aren't sure you need it. Of course, sports shoes are necessary.     4     If you've gotten sweaty or stepped in water, that change of socks will feel like heaven on the way back.

Make friends with hills. Hills are almost as much mental as physical. And this is another place where we can take a page from advice for runners. Train on hills, expect your pace to slow down, and tell yourself that your extra training is making hills your superpower.     5    

【推荐3】Some people exercise for health. Others exercise out of a sense of competitiveness or accomplishment (成就).     1    . However, simply changing the shape of your body isn’t likely to completely change the way you feel about your body. The reasons are as follows.

    2    

When you start a body transformation journey, it will be weeks—maybe months—before you see any significant differences in the mirror. If you’re just trying to lose fat, you’ll begin seeing results pretty soon.     3    . And if you want to gain muscle and lose fat, that takes even longer.

You may never get your dream body.

You keep working out. Eventually you lose fat, gain muscle and do have whatever you dreamed at the start.     4    . For a lot of people, the answer is: not really. Maybe you can see your abdominals (腹肌), but you’re unhappy about your back. And when you compare your “after” picture to the celebrity you most admire, you might still feel like you’re coming up short. The truth is that if you got into exercise because you hate something about your body, you will probably always be able to find something to hate about your body.

If you realize the problem, that doesn’t mean you need to quit the gym.     5    . And you can work through your mental health issues while also enjoying lifting some weights or going for a run sometimes, especially if your mental health issues are mild.

【推荐1】Cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in countries on opposite sides of the world on Sunday and many governments rushed to close their borders even as scientists cautioned that it’s not clear if the new variant is more alarming than other versions of the virus.

The variant was identified days ago by researchers in South Africa, and much is still not known about it, including whether it is more infectious, more likely to cause serious illness or more able to evade the protection of vaccines. But many countries rushed to act, reflecting anxiety about anything that could prolong the pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people.

Israel decided to bar entry to foreigners, and Morocco said it would suspend all incoming flights for two weeks starting Monday. Scientists in several places — from Hong Kong to Europe to North America — have confirmed its presence. The Netherlands reported 13 omicron cases on Sunday, and both Canada and Australia each found two.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, meanwhile, emphasized that there is no data yet that suggests the new variant causes more serious illness than previous COVID-19 variants. Collins, along with several experts, said that the news should make everyone redouble their efforts to use the tools the world already has, including vaccinations, booster shots and measures such as mask-wearing. “I know, America, you’re really tired about hearing those things, but the virus is not tired of us,” Collins said.

As more omicron cases have been found in more countries such as Dutch, Canada, Australia, many countries are introducing travel bans or closing borders, though they go against the advice of the WHO. It has warned against any overreaction before the variant is thoroughly studied, noting that travel restrictions may play “a role in slightly reducing the spread of COVID-19 but place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods.”

Spain announced it won’t admit unvaccinated British visitors starting Dec. 1. David Hui, a respiratory medicine expert in Hong Kong, agreed with that strategy, saying the two people who tested positive for the omicron variant had received the Pfizer vaccine and exhibited very mild symptoms, such as a sore throat.

【推荐2】Do you have any travel plans for 2024? Tour agencies like Contiki in New Zealand and Booking, one of the largest online travel agencies, have provided their predictions for travel trends in 2024.

Embracing the unknown

While many people like to make a perfect plan for their trips, more travelers are interested in booking trips where the destination remains a mystery until later, according to a global study of Booking involving 27,000 travelers across 33 countries and regions. By doing it this way, they seek a chance to escape from their everyday lives and explore places that few people have been to. A majority want to go on trips without any set plans, enjoying the spontaneity (自发性). Surprisingly, 34 percent are even open to traveling with strangers.

AI travel

With the rise of AI, especially with services like ChatGPT becoming accessible to people, there’s been a growing interest in AI-assisted travel. According to Contiki, both tour companies and travelers are increasingly turning to AI. For companies, AI serves as an efficient tool to plan trips based on clients’ preferences, such as the duration of their vacation, preferred hotel types and budget. Similarly, travelers are showing a willingness to let AI select their next holiday destination, particularly if it comes with discounts on travel and hotels.

Mouth feast

Regarding food exploration, most travelers prefer experimenting with new and fresh flavors rather than sticking with familiar dishes, according to Booking’s study. They also love to discover the origins of well-known local specialties. Additionally, technology is transforming our dining experiences. A significant number of people are drawn to eating experiences that combine the physical and digital realms, using technologies like virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR). There’s also a growing curiosity in creative plant-based alternatives, such as 3D-printed vegan steaks.

Sustainable (可持续的) trip

The travel industry is ready for a sustainable revolution. According to Contiki, a substantial majority of travelers now actively look for accommodations that offer both comfort and innovative sustainability features. There’s a growing desire for natural peace even indoors, with many seeking green spaces and plants in their lodging. Adam Armstrong, CEO of Contiki, noted, “People are traveling closer to home to reduce their carbon footprint. They are using alternative transportation such as coach rides and train trips, and traveling off-season to avoid large and potentially destructive crowds. ”

【推荐1】

The Paint Creek Recreation Trail is the flagship pathway of a planned trail network in the Ohio counties of Fayette, Ross and Highland. Nearly 35 miles of paved trail are currently open linking the communities of Washington Court House, Frankfort and Chillicothe.

The vast majority of the trail occupies a former railroad corridor acquired by the local nonprofit trails group in 1994. However, the trail does leave the original corridor where the right-of-way could not be acquired from its current owners. The diversions are usually short, with the longest stretch being a 2.5 mile stretch of highway cast of the Washington courthouse.

Because most of the trails through rural Ohio are dominated by seemingly endless fields, trail users are exposed to the sun for long periods of time. Fortunately, the path occasionally winds through a more wooded corridor near local waterways, such as Paint Creek and the Scioto River.

The Paint Creek Recreation Trail also passes through the downtown areas of the three towns along the way, offering many opportunities for rest and energy. Just before Chillicothe, trail users will want to stop at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. The Hopewell Mound Group, a part of the park visible from the trail along Sulphur Lick Road, features earthworks and tombs built by the local people nearly 2,000 years ago.

The existing Paint Creek Recreation Trail will one day make a significant contribution to local leisure and transportation. There are plans nowadays to develop new trails along former railroad corridors from Washington courthouse northwest to the existing Xenia-Jamestown Connector, southwest to Wilmington and cast to Circleville in Pickaway County.