I coach cross country and track and field and the thinking now is that stretching before any athletic activity (I'm talking about static stretching where you push and pull on muscles) actually causes injuries and lessens performance. If you go to one of our meets you won't see any teams stretch and I rarely see it at any other high school sports. The thinking now seems to be that some very easy warm up running exercises is the way to go and then stretch after the workout. Also, I sit at UVA football games with kids who are majoring in physical education related fields (I don't think they actually have a physical education major), and they all say that all the research says not to stretch. I was wondering what your practices are and what you've seen others do out on the trail. Do the "experts" know what they're talking about or will the pendulum swing back to stretching again?
I know I never have stretched before hiking, but I like to camp in a place so that I can start off up hill the next day and I use my first climb as the "warm up" and go real easy. I never stretch after hiking because I'm usually tired and have to cook, etc.