Open-world adventures are usually pretty daunting. With the sheer magnitude of content on offer and places to explore, it’s sometimes easier to set your controller down and take a minute to gather yourself before jumping headfirst into a huge new world. Most open worlds are like this, but not all.
As there are a bunch of indie titles that take the open-world formula and scale it back to provide a pocket-sized world with all the trappings of a monumental adventure. Of all these mini-open-worlds, A Short Hike is one of, if not my favorite. It’s a short and sweet experience with no-fail states and no stress, which lets you explore at your own leisure. It’s bliss.
That’s not to say that A Short Hike is completely without challenge. As any fan of platforming games will know, the difficulty comes not through the combat or the quests on offer, but through the sheer amount of collectibles to track down.
A short Hike has players collect feathers, a commodity that will grant you the power to jump higher, soar farther, and climb higher, which in turn, will allow you to reach Hawk Peak and finally get some cell phone reception.
However, gathering all the feathers on offer can be tough if you don’t know where to look and where to talk to. So in this guide, I aim to show you exactly where each of the Gold Feathers and Silver Feathers are, allowing you to get around the island with ease. This is Indie Game Culture’s A Short Hike All Feathers Guide!
What Do Feathers Do in a Short Hike?
When you begin A Short Hike, you will immediately notice that the world seems pretty big, and you seem pretty small and immobile by all accounts.
Well, that’s because you have no feathers yet. Feathers in A Short Hike essentially grant the player an additional jump. Think of it like a double jump function. If you have one feather, then you can boost yourself once in the air like a classic double jump. Whereas if you have three, then you can do a quadruple jump, and so on.
However, you should know that there are two different types of feathers. There are Gold Feathers and Silver Feathers. Gold Feathers are those that give you additional jumps, as mentioned. Whereas Silver Feathers are items that boost your climbing speed and jumping power, allowing you to get the most out of every feather used.
Just so you can keep stock of how many you have, and how many you need, there are twenty-one Golden feathers, and there are only two Silver Feathers to collect.
A Short Hike Feather Locations
With that explanation out of the way, let’s cut to the chase and have a look at where every single feather within the game is located. I’ll try and list them in the order that you should aim to collect them based on what items and powers will be available to you:
Feather #1 – The Shell Kid
Let’s kick things off with this savvy wheeler-dealer, the Shell Kid. As you round the first corner, just past the guy who teaches you how to jump, you’ll find Shell Kid on the beach, and he will ask you to find fifteen shells for him.
They are scattered around the island, and it might take you a little while to stockpile them, but when you do, return to him, and he will then ask you to deliver his newly crafted Shell Necklace to the Ranger, where you started your adventure.
Deliver the necklace, and you will get a Golden Feather in return!
Feathers #2 & #3 – The Visitor’s Center
Further around the corner, you’ll start running into all the inhabitants of the island. Just keep putting one foot before the other, and you’ll eventually happen upon the Visitor Center.
Here you can purchase Golden Feathers, not to mention a snazzy new hat if you have 100 coins to spare. The Golden Feathers cost forty gold each, so be sure to gather up some funds before heading for the Visitor Center.
Feather #4 – Pillar near Visitor Center
Hey, while you were buying those feathers, did you notice another one out of the corner of your eye, just sitting there on a big pillar? Well, if you didn’t, you should have. This one is an absolute gimme, so end your conversation with the Visitor Center clerk and grab that feather.
Feather #5 – Sandcastle Lad
When you were heading to the Visitor Center, you probably crossed paths with a little kid on the beach who was building sandcastles, and after a short exchange, he’ll agree to swap you his workman’s shovel for a toy shovel if you happen to find one.
Well, coincidentally, if you head up the path just north of the visitor center, and then head right toward the forest area, you’ll come across a snazzy, red Toy Shovel. Bring that back to him, and he’ll swap you for a shovel, a tool that will help us a little later.
But hey, where’s the feather? I hear you ask. Well, you’ll need to walk away and return to him a little later. He’ll have built a sandcastle metropolis, lost the campaign for mayor of his fictitious sandy kingdom, and will retail you with his tales.
Go away and come back one more time, and the feather will be perched atop one of his masterfully crafted sandcastles.
Feather #6 – Feather in the Forest
Now that you’ve solved the shovel conundrum, head back to the forest and head a little deeper into the mass of trees. Eventually, you’ll come across a cliff with a waterfall, and upon a rock in the forest nearby; you’ll find the sixth feather for your collection.
Feather #7 – Stone Tower
Okay, now it’s time to head back to the Visitor Center as a starting point and then head west. After a short walk, you’ll happen upon a tall stone tower, and you’ll notice there is a chest on top. You’ll want to get above the tower, glide over to the chest and pop it open to reveal the Golden Feather within.
Feather #8 – At the Lookout
When you headed west for that last one, you probably had to walk around the path that would take you up to Outlook Point.
Well, this time, wander up that path and work your way to the top of this area that overlooks the town. When you get to the top, you’ll find the lookout building, and a little telescope behind the building. Also, sitting there is a chest, and within that is the Golden Feather you crave.
Feather #9 – Below the Lookout
Hey, don’t just throw yourself off the cliff in any old direction, because just below the Lookout, there is a feather resting on a protruding platform on the side of the cliff. So jump south, away from the lookout building, and glide until you spot the feather below. Almost double figures now!
Feather #10 – Atop the Lighthouse
If you travel to the cliff that directly overlooks the area where you began your adventure, which is north of the forest, you’ll encounter a big ol’ red and white striped lighthouse.
I bet you can already guess where the feather is, but to state the obvious, it’s at the top of the lighthouse in the chest. By this point, you should have enough feathers to just hop up there and grab it.
Feather #11 – In the Shadow of the Lighthouse
Occasionally you will come across some treasure maps which will lead you to cool items within the game, provided you can solve the riddle. But we know you are busy gamers, and time is precious, so let’s cut to the chase, one of these treasure maps leads to a gold feather, and it is buried in a spot behind the lighthouse.
It’s not marked with a marker to dig, but don’t be fooled. It’s down there. So take that shovel you acquired earlier and dig up yet another feather.
Feathers #12-15 – The Shady Seller
Now, I need your attention back with the shady seller. This guy decided to buy almost all of the Golden Feathers that the Visitor Center had, and he’s selling them at a huge markup. This guy has four Golden Feathers, and he will sell them to you for 100 gold each. So I hope you have been accumulating wealth as well as feathers.
Also, fun fact, there was a feather right in front of the Shady Seller before the 1.8 update, but this is now rewarded to players for completing the boat race.
Feather #16 – The Artist
By this point, you should have encountered the artist at least once on your travels. He’s a painter who is trying to capture an incredible vista that will help him curry favor in the art community. However, he’s a little uninspired by his own work and keeps moving around to paint new areas of the island.
Long story short, to get this feather, you will need to find him in all the locations he moves to, and upon finding him in his final spot, he will award you with the Golden feather. Here is a rundown of the spots you encounter him in:
- Location One: Cliff Near The Visitor Center
- Location Two: Cliff Near The Lighthouse
- Location Three: Cliff At The Start of The Waterfall Stream
- Location Four: Area Overlooking The Graveyard
- Location Five: Outlook Point
- Location Six: Visitor Center
Feather #17 – Beachstickball Champ
Now we need to travel all the way over to the other side of the island, past the rainy area, and over to the volleyball court.
Or at least, that’s what you might think this court is for volleyball. When in fact, it’s custom-made for Beachstickball. To play this game, you will need to have a stick in your inventory, but chances are that you have one of these by now.
To earn the Golden Feather, you will need to play Beachstickball and work together with your partner to earn twenty points. It can be a little annoying due to the RNG involved in your partner’s return volleys, so be patient, and you will eventually get this one.
Feather #18 – Snowy Side of the Mountain
Your next feather is a little higher up, so you’ll want to get some height and head up to the snowy portion of the map, and then my suggestion to find this one as easily as possible is to get some height, use the glide, and dip function to gain some speed, and simply glide around the mountain until you spot it on the side of the cliff.
Feather #19 – Lakeside Feather
After that, allow yourself to glide down the mountain until you reach Meteor Lake. This is the area where the marathon runners are endlessly doing laps of the lake. Above the lake, near the side where you encounter the fisherman, you’ll find a little sprout where you can make a bouncy flower. Just above, there is the feather you’re looking for.
Feather #20 – Above the Starting Line
If you recall the area where you encountered Avery, who will challenge you to a series of races on the island, you’ll want to head there next.
For those unaware, this is a raised area with a flag tied to a pillar near the Graveyard. Head there and then scale the cliff face upward until you reach a protruding platform. Here you’ll find a chest, and it will have the penultimate Golden Feather.
Feather #21 – The Boat Race
Then lastly, you’ll want to head out to the islands south of the main island. So you’ll want to climb up high, and then glide over there to avoid some very slow and tedious swimming.
When on the smaller islands, you’ll want to find a kiosk where you will be able to hire a boat. It will cost you 100 gold to hire for the day, so be sure to keep collecting gold as and when you see it.
After purchasing the boat, you’ll want to talk to the bored kid chilling by the kiosk and offer him the chance to go out in the boat with you. After you gun it for a while, the kid will ask if you want to do a challenge run, which you should promptly accept.
This will then lead to a section where you must guide this temperamental boat around a series of tight corners and through checkpoints. There is an achievement related to completing this course in 45 seconds or less, but you’ll get the feather for just finishing in under two minutes, which is very attainable. So take it slow, avoid penalties, and you’ll do fine.
After the grand finale, in the form of a huge jump, you’ll need to find someone to fix your boat. So head to the fisherman just north of the island with the kiosk. The one that you’ll likely already be collecting fish for, and he will offer to fix your boat.
After this, return to the kiosk with the freshly repaired boat, and after all that adrenaline-fuelled action, you’ll be rewarded with a Golden feather, completing the set.
The Silver Feathers
Then we have the Silver Feathers, which will make all the feathers collected to this point a hell of a lot more powerful, and the good news is, only one of them is hard to track down. So you can grab one pretty early on, provided you can afford to hire a boat. Here’s where you’ll find each of them:
Silver Feather #1 – Atop Pat’s Peak
You’ll want to head out to the smaller islands south of the main island, and be on the lookout for the tallest peak among these smaller islands. When you find it, you’ll then need to scale this peak known as Pat’s Peak, and at the top, a Silver Feather will be waiting for you.
Silver Feather #2 – You’re Going to College
Then lastly, we have the second silver feather, which will require you to get find a lost watch for the guy near the caravan in a settlement near the Visitor Center. This will seem a little arbitrary at first, but if you connect the dots, you’ll realize that the Shady Seller is in possession of the watch, and is probably going to sell it on the internet.
However, if you talk to him, he’ll tell you that he’s only selling the Golden Feathers to make enough money to pay for college, which will cost another 400 coins on top of what you have already paid them.
The best way to gather the funds, outside of just collecting what you find around the island, is by selling fish to the fisherman to complete your fishing journal. Depending on how rare the fish are, they will reward you with a fitting sum, and this can be a quick way to get 400 coins, especially if you have spent all your money on hats like me.
Hand him the 400 coins, and after he gets over the sheer bewilderment of you simply handing him all that cash, he will then reward you in kind with the lost watch. After this, glide down to the guy in the caravan, hand them the watch, and they will reward you with the last feather needed to fully complete your collection. Congrats!
FAQs
Question: How Many Feathers Are There In A Short Hike?
Answer: There are a total of 23 feathers in the game. Twenty-one Golden Feathers, and two Silver Feathers.
Question: Which Feather is Hardest to Get?
Answer: None are all that hard to get. I would say of all of them, collecting enough cash to get the second Silver Feather is probably the toughest task on offer.
Question: How Long is A Short Hike?
Answer: If you just want to get to the top of the mountain and call it a day, you’re talking about 2 hours. Whereas if you want to complete all that the game has to offer, it would be closer to four hours.
Actually, a Pretty Long Hike
Phew, there we go. You’ve climbed to Hawk’s Peak, you’ve collected all the feathers in the game, and you’ve met all the colorful characters on the island.
I know the game promises a quick jaunt to the top of the mountain in the beginning, but all things considered, it’s hardly a walk in the park. That being said, you’ve overcome the mountain, you’ve soared higher than you ever thought you could, and I’m glad that I could help you do that! As always, thanks for reading Indie Game Culture.
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