There is always something exciting about being outdoors and at heights. That immense gorgeous view from the hilltop, serene surroundings, fresh air! Even so, hiking can be a dangerous undertaking, regardless of how amusing and invigorating it is.
Unexpected instances can happen anytime no matter how experienced you’re, so it’s better to be safe and take all necessary precautions. Gracefully there are a number of ways by which you can minimize the encounter of your odds while hiking. The more you pay attention to these things, the more you’re likely to be safe on your hiking, which is important though, right?
Here are some safety tips from experts that shall help you to trek safely and smartly. Make sure you follow all of them during your hiking.
Consider a Park Ranger
When you’re choosing where to trek, your best speculation will be a state, national park or a mountain range. State parks have a staff with an abundance of information on how you need to stay safe, what particular locations are highly risky and how to avoid mishaps while treading treacherous trails. It will be good if you give a call to the park’s office before starting your hiking. Also, visit the National Park Service (NPS) site.
This visit will help you in many ways as you’ll come across many key pieces of information on the things that you may encounter during your trek attempt. The department of NPS will let you know about the precautions and quick hacks to stay safe while enjoying the serene environment.
Take at Least one Friend with You
Try to go hiking in a group to avoid the risk of being helpless in an unfortunate situation. As we all have heard the phrase: ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed’, it is best that we heed this phrase and accompany at least one person on our adventures. It is daring and rewarding to go alone, but you don’t just know when you might need a helping hand.
Always discuss a few relevant points of hiking with your companion, like how arduous a hike you both are OK with, what to carry with you, what shoes to wear and what food to eat while on a long trek. You both should have a proper hiking itinerary, all necessary equipment, and emergency plans to prevent ruining your experience.
Plan an itinerary and share it with anyone outside of the group
Draft a rough plan with the consent of all the members of your hiking group before you start your trail. Your plan should include starting point & time, assumed finish time, and route to the destination. Since it’s quite tough to anticipate the finish timing it’s better to start hiking early as hiking gets dangerous in the dark because the trail tends to morph dramatically.
Also, share your plan with someone who is not hiking with you. You can even share your plan’s information with the park office. Your information will help them search for you in case you don’t return on time.
These are some challenges your plan should have an answer and an alternative to.
Is there going to be a good cell network? Is anybody taking a fully charged mobile phone and a portable charger? Flashlights, trekking gear, food, map, etc.
Does anybody have a satellite messaging device to send emergency messages and personal locator radar? In case of emergency does the park have an emergency number for contact.
Who is going to volunteer for you to get help if you’re unable to transmit the SOS message?
Be ready for the weather
This is something which is completely unexpected but still, you have to be prepared. Make sure to consult with park rangers about the weather and how you can stay safe in that weather. However, you don’t know when a perfect weather can change into a storm so better be prepared for such circumstances.
Lightning and thunder are common exposures. NPS advises, to make way towards shelter and stay away from high, open areas, tall objects like trees, metal objects, and water bodies. Even a small change in weather makes the whole hike risky.
Pack the 10 Essentials
Packing of 10 essentials is generally a list of emergency arrangements. This list is created by conservation non-profit the Mountaineers and Pacific Northwest hiking. The purpose of packing the 10 Essentials is to ensure that we’re able to respond to any emergency and in need, we’re able to spend one night outdoors.
Here’s NPS’s extended version of the 10 Essentials:
1.First aid kit
2.Navigation: map, GPS, and compass.
3.Sun protection: sunglasses, sunscreen, and hat.
4.Insulation: raincoat/jacket, extra coats.
5.Illumination: torch, headlamp, or lantern.
6.Fire: fire starters, matches, lighter.
7.Repair kit: multifunctional tool and duct tape.
8.Nourishment: nutritious food and at least an extra food supply of ready-to-eat items.
9.Hydration: water and definitely a tool of water purification.
10.Emergency shelter: sleeping bag, tarp and space blanket, bivy (as in, emergency shelter for a sleeping bag)
Buy good hiking boots
It’s very important to purchase good-fitting and perfect hiking boots to avoid issues like rolling an ankle due to improper support. It will also benefit you to restrict one of the most troublesome hiking hindrances: blisters. Likewise, avoid cotton socks. They hold moisture from sweaty feet, which causes the skin to blister more easily. Wool or synthetic socks made from comfortable materials that wick moisture and reduce friction are recommended for hiking.
Bring extra water or a distillation tool.
NPS recommends drinking half a liter to one liter water every hour. Further, it depends upon your regular water intake and your hiking circumstances.
If you want to avoid the weight of carrying water, check out the places to refill your bottles which are mainly small streams bursting out from the glaciers or a natural water reserve. If there are any natural resources of water then park rangers would have this information especially if you’re visiting a national or state park. Whilst trekking on a mountain trail, you can seek a small stream and fill your bottles with naturally pure water that contains natural minerals and is extremely safe to drink.
The benefit of a natural source of water will help you to pack lightly but you need to carry disinfectants and purification materials as still water is prone to contamination. To eliminate harmful elements from the water, you can opt for a physical filter and also use disinfecting tablets to kill microscopic bacteria.
Never make the mistake of drinking water directly from ponds or waterfalls even though it seems to be crystal-clear spring water because it may contain harmful pathogens. Streams that flow directly from a glacier are only safe enough to drink water from.
I hope these tips will benefit you and you will have an amazing and safe trek. Follow me on my social channels to find new and amazing places where you can spend great vacations.
Unexpected instances can happen anytime no matter how experienced you’re, so it’s better to be safe and take all necessary precautions. Gracefully there are a number of ways by which you can minimize the encounter of your odds while hiking. The more you pay attention to these things, the more you’re likely to be safe on your hiking, which is important though, right?
Here are some safety tips from experts that shall help you to trek safely and smartly. Make sure you follow all of them during your hiking.
Consider a Park Ranger
When you’re choosing where to trek, your best speculation will be a state, national park or a mountain range. State parks have a staff with an abundance of information on how you need to stay safe, what particular locations are highly risky and how to avoid mishaps while treading treacherous trails. It will be good if you give a call to the park’s office before starting your hiking. Also, visit the National Park Service (NPS) site.
This visit will help you in many ways as you’ll come across many key pieces of information on the things that you may encounter during your trek attempt. The department of NPS will let you know about the precautions and quick hacks to stay safe while enjoying the serene environment.
Take at Least one Friend with You
Try to go hiking in a group to avoid the risk of being helpless in an unfortunate situation. As we all have heard the phrase: ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed’, it is best that we heed this phrase and accompany at least one person on our adventures. It is daring and rewarding to go alone, but you don’t just know when you might need a helping hand.
Always discuss a few relevant points of hiking with your companion, like how arduous a hike you both are OK with, what to carry with you, what shoes to wear and what food to eat while on a long trek. You both should have a proper hiking itinerary, all necessary equipment, and emergency plans to prevent ruining your experience.
Plan an itinerary and share it with anyone outside of the group
Draft a rough plan with the consent of all the members of your hiking group before you start your trail. Your plan should include starting point & time, assumed finish time, and route to the destination. Since it’s quite tough to anticipate the finish timing it’s better to start hiking early as hiking gets dangerous in the dark because the trail tends to morph dramatically.
Also, share your plan with someone who is not hiking with you. You can even share your plan’s information with the park office. Your information will help them search for you in case you don’t return on time.
These are some challenges your plan should have an answer and an alternative to.
Is there going to be a good cell network? Is anybody taking a fully charged mobile phone and a portable charger? Flashlights, trekking gear, food, map, etc.
Does anybody have a satellite messaging device to send emergency messages and personal locator radar? In case of emergency does the park have an emergency number for contact.
Who is going to volunteer for you to get help if you’re unable to transmit the SOS message?
Be ready for the weather
This is something which is completely unexpected but still, you have to be prepared. Make sure to consult with park rangers about the weather and how you can stay safe in that weather. However, you don’t know when a perfect weather can change into a storm so better be prepared for such circumstances.
Lightning and thunder are common exposures. NPS advises, to make way towards shelter and stay away from high, open areas, tall objects like trees, metal objects, and water bodies. Even a small change in weather makes the whole hike risky.
Pack the 10 Essentials
Packing of 10 essentials is generally a list of emergency arrangements. This list is created by conservation non-profit the Mountaineers and Pacific Northwest hiking. The purpose of packing the 10 Essentials is to ensure that we’re able to respond to any emergency and in need, we’re able to spend one night outdoors.
Here’s NPS’s extended version of the 10 Essentials:
1.First aid kit
2.Navigation: map, GPS, and compass.
3.Sun protection: sunglasses, sunscreen, and hat.
4.Insulation: raincoat/jacket, extra coats.
5.Illumination: torch, headlamp, or lantern.
6.Fire: fire starters, matches, lighter.
7.Repair kit: multifunctional tool and duct tape.
8.Nourishment: nutritious food and at least an extra food supply of ready-to-eat items.
9.Hydration: water and definitely a tool of water purification.
10.Emergency shelter: sleeping bag, tarp and space blanket, bivy (as in, emergency shelter for a sleeping bag)
Buy good hiking boots
It’s very important to purchase good-fitting and perfect hiking boots to avoid issues like rolling an ankle due to improper support. It will also benefit you to restrict one of the most troublesome hiking hindrances: blisters. Likewise, avoid cotton socks. They hold moisture from sweaty feet, which causes the skin to blister more easily. Wool or synthetic socks made from comfortable materials that wick moisture and reduce friction are recommended for hiking.
Bring extra water or a distillation tool.
NPS recommends drinking half a liter to one liter water every hour. Further, it depends upon your regular water intake and your hiking circumstances.
If you want to avoid the weight of carrying water, check out the places to refill your bottles which are mainly small streams bursting out from the glaciers or a natural water reserve. If there are any natural resources of water then park rangers would have this information especially if you’re visiting a national or state park. Whilst trekking on a mountain trail, you can seek a small stream and fill your bottles with naturally pure water that contains natural minerals and is extremely safe to drink.
The benefit of a natural source of water will help you to pack lightly but you need to carry disinfectants and purification materials as still water is prone to contamination. To eliminate harmful elements from the water, you can opt for a physical filter and also use disinfecting tablets to kill microscopic bacteria.
Never make the mistake of drinking water directly from ponds or waterfalls even though it seems to be crystal-clear spring water because it may contain harmful pathogens. Streams that flow directly from a glacier are only safe enough to drink water from.
I hope these tips will benefit you and you will have an amazing and safe trek. Follow me on my social channels to find new and amazing places where you can spend great vacations.
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