A Short Hike: every golden feather, with no rush at all

A Short Hike can be finished in an afternoon, and that's the point — but if you want to climb Hawk Peak the satisfying way, with everything seen and nothing skipped, here's a gentle route. No timers, no missables that can't be grabbed later. This is a completion guide for a game that would be horrified to stress you out.

Golden feathers first

Feathers are your stamina for climbing and gliding, and the more you have the more freely you move. You start with a couple from the main path; the rest are scattered as collectibles and rewards. The good news is you don't strictly need every golden feather to reach the summit — but gathering a stack of seven turns the back half of the mountain from a careful climb into a joyful one.

• Talk to everyone. Half the feathers come from helping people: returning a headband, finding a watch, joining a race.
• Buy the feathers Aunt May's friends sell if you've got the coins — fishing funds this nicely.
• Check the beaches and the ledges just off the main switchbacks. The game rewards a small detour, never a big one.

The summit, your way

Once you've got enough feathers, the climb opens up. You can grind up the marked trail, or — my preference — find an updraft, glide off a ledge, and let the mountain come to you. There's no wrong pace. The game quietly notices how you travel and never punishes the scenic option.

Side things worth your time before the top: the fishing (genuinely relaxing, and it pays for feathers), the races (good movement practice), and just sitting on a bench when the music swells. That last one isn't a collectible. It's the actual reward, and the game knows it.

It's a completion guide for a game that would be horrified to stress you out.

That's the whole route. Help people, grab feathers when they're convenient, and glide more than you climb. You'll reach the top with everything seen and an hour well spent — which, for this little mountain, is a perfect score.