How to Wake Up Early for a Hike (When You Hate Mornings)

Do you love hiking, but struggle to get out of bed for the early starts? In this article, I’ll give you 5 tips to add more zen to your mornings before a big hike.

I loveee hiking.

I also love the feeling of being awake on a Sunday morning, watching the sunrise while everyone else is still in bed.

However, I really struggle to get out of bed most days.

I regularly sleep-in and have been known to get up, half-conscious, turn my alarm off without waking-up, and go back to sleep!

For safety reasons, it’s really important that we leave ourselves enough daylight to get out the door, get up the hill, and get back down again before dark.

So here’s how I leave myself enough time for an 8 hour hike as a SleepyGirl™ who also loves bagging munroes.

5 Tips to Wake Up Early

Most of the things I do to make mornings easier actually happen the night before. Preparing properly while I’m not half asleep means that when I am groggy or fatigued I don’t have to think too much.

The last thing I want to do when I’m struggling to string-two-thoughts-together is have to organise or make decisions.

1. Go to bed at a reasonable time (but you knew that…)

The obvious thing that will help you ease into the day is getting a decent sleep the night before. It’s not always possible but will make such a difference to your physical energy and mood the next day.

If I’m too stimulated the night before a hike and struggling to knock-off, I will take a magnesium or melatonin supplement. Sleepy teas, like pukka peace tea, are also helpful, as well as warm milk, or TRIP drinks.

It’s also good to let the people you live with know that you will be going for a hike so that they don’t disturb your slumber (or wonder why you are banging about the kitchen at 6am!)

2. layout your clothes

By now, you should have a decent idea of the weather forecast and what to wear. So if you do nothing else on this list, make sure you lay out your outfit the night before.

When laying out your clothes, I mean layout everything you will wear the next day – underwear, socks, comfy shoes, hats, jumpers, bottoms, tops and watches.

You’ll want to get dressed without thinking about what to wear or why. I’ve often been so tired I’ve put clothes on back-to-front and not realised until I got back to the car after the hike! So minimise how much your sleepy-self can sabotage your fit.

This is the best thing you can do to make your morning stress-free and easy.

3. Pack your bags

Ideally, ensure you also have everything packed in your hiking bag, including food and water for the day, plus sun protection and any medications.

You should also pack a day-bag with gear you want to take but won’t put on until you’re out of the car (e.g., hiking boots, gaiters, waterproofs)

Leave your bags next to the door so you can just pick them up and walk out in the morning.

4. Prep everything else you’ll need

I also like to make sure I have my breakfast items (bowl and cereal) ready on the worktop the night before, plus my coffee travel mug and my cat’s food for the morning.

Any additional decisions I don’t need to make will save me time, energy, and make sure I remember to feed Xaria before I go.

5. Have a Zen Wake-up Routine

I used to wake-up to an alarm screaming at me every morning, which only added to the cortisol coursing through my already weary brain. It didn’t motivate me to get out of bed and instead made me want to pull the covers more tightly over my ears so I could go back to sleep.

When I switched to a sunrise alarm, it changed my life. Instead of waking up panicked, I now wake up gradually to the sound of chirping birds and a soft, warm, yellow light. It’s the best piece of technology I have ever purchased, and I highly recommend adding one to your wishlist.

Bonus tip: I also find it helpful to keep a cool drink of water by the bed that I can sip after walking up to immediately hydrate me and ground myself in my body.

Waking up ≠ Willpower

For some of us, waking-up is hard, but there are things you can do to bring more ease into the morning. The best piece of advice I can give you is to lean on a system rather than forcing your body to embrace something it isn’t wired for.

For SleepyGirls™ the hardest part of a hike can be getting out the door. Lying in bed imagining the whole cold, dark slog, is the hardest obstacle to overcome.

Preparing the night before means you can get through the worst part of the day on autopilot. An hour later, you’ll find yourself standing on a hillside, watching the sun properly rise, remembering why it’s all worth it!