There are lots of places that have great hiking trials, but no one knows about them. Tour guides may be available for major tourist areas, but what about your favorite hiking area? If not, you could become the local hiking expert for your area and even create your own hiking guide…and make a little cash. Here’s how…

1. 3 Easy Steps To Becoming A Local Hiking Expert
Wherever we live, we all have interesting walks or hikes within striking distance. Even people living in
urban areas can get to the outskirts of the city using public transport and hike through the countryside.
Unless you live in a recognised tourist or hiking area, however, it may be that many people are unaware
of these trails.
The Internet Changed Everything
Until recently, publishing a guide book of walks for local area was only really viable for places with a lot
of tourist interest. The economics of paying the author, printing and distributing the books and selling
them through retailers just did not add up. Most walking guides about local areas were self-published
and the writers would often find themselves out of pocket and with a garage full of unsold copies.
Digital publishing and the internet have changed that completely. Now, with ebooks, there is no need
for the expensive process of printing and distribution and, as you will see, this lends itself to books
about hiking. If there is no guide book available for hikes in your area, you can easily fill the gap and
become the local expert. Here’s how to go about it.
1. Research the Hikes
Step one is to research the hikes you plan to describe. When walking the trail, write or record
observations, landmarks and GPS co-ordinates of important points of the walk. Some of these points
may be sites where someone could setup camping tents or eating areas with rocks/trees people can rest
on or enough room for setting up camping chairs and Coleman grills. Make sure that you can describe
the route exactly and point out places where a wrong turn could easily be made. Take photographs
along the way to illustrate the walk. Also remember to include points of interest perhaps unusual
architecture of buildings, historical notes or notes about the flora and fauna people may encounter.
2. Write an eBook
Step two is to make the eBook. This is actually simpler than it sounds. Use Microsoft Word or Open
Office Writer to type each walk as a ‘chapter’ adding photos in-between the text. There are features in
both of these programs which allow you to put shaded boxes into the page – ideal for historical notes or
points of interest throughout each chapter. When you have finished adding the walks to the document,
you can save it as a .pdf file with one click. This is the standard format for eBooks.
3. Create an Attention Getting Cover
The next step is to create a 3d eCover graphic for the book. This is an image which looks like a physical
book with your name and the title of the book on the ‘cover’. There are places online where you can
generate one for free, but it is often easier to spend just $5 and find a graphics expert to do it for you.
The place to find one is fiverr.com.

2. Now you have your own local guide book. The best thing about it is that it is in digital form so, if a hike
route changes or a landmark disappears there is no need for your book to be out of date. Just a quick
edit and the readers can download the fresh, updated version.
You can give the book away or sell it online. Approach people who have websites about your area and
split the profits with them and they will promote it on their sites. You are then in the enviable position
of making some extra money from your hobby.
Author Bio:
Barry Rodgers is an outdoors enthusiast. He has a love of the outdoors lifestyle and has hiked in the USA and many
European countries. Currently living in Greece, he is often found hiking with his friends and some camping tents,
camping chairs, and Coleman grills in the mountains and on the beaches of southern Crete.