The weather is beautiful right now. As we said in one of our previous Wellness Wednesday stories, this is a perfect time of the year to go on a hike and enjoy the splendors of the great outdoors. Whether you’re a first-time hiker or someone who’s used to hitting the dusty trail, there are some precautions you should take to stay safe so you can come back home healthy and safe.
Tell a Friend Before You Go
Always tell someone you trust where you’re going before you go on a hike. If you get lost and nobody knows you’re missing, no one may raise the alarm about your absence until it’s too late. A simple text to tell a friend the area where you’re going can make a big difference. Be sure to also tell them you’ll text them again when you finish the trail and are heading home so they know you’re okay.
Another way to protect yourself is to install an app on your phone that allows your friends or family to find your location. This kind of location sharing should only be done with people you trust; don't forget to switch off location sharing when you're not hiking.
An alternative to location sharing is to buy a personal locator beacon (PLB). These devices are synced to satellites and are able to send SOS signals to rescue agencies with your location. One major advantage of PLBs over cell phones is that they don’t require any kind of cellular/internet connectivity to function, so if you enter an area with no coverage, the PLB will still work.
Leave the Headphones at Home
Spending a couple of hours walking around in nature might seem like a great time to catch up on podcasts or unwind to your favorite albums, but you’re much better off keeping your ears open. It’s not just that putting on headphones blocks out soothing and beautiful natural sounds like birdsong and the wind rustling leaves, but that audio in your ears could block out important warning sounds. If you’re hiking in the desert, snakes will rattle and/or hiss to warn you to back away. Nearby predators might snarl, bark, or make some other threatening noise to signal to you that you’re getting too close. You may even miss hearing the telltale buzzing of a nearby swarm of bees or wasps until it’s too late.
It’s not just animals: the vegetation might give off sounds you need to be aware of (like an unstable cactus or tree groaning under its own weight, moments away from crashing down to the ground). There may also be other people out on the trail who are lost or in need of help or who are trying to warn you of a hazard or danger waiting for you further down the trail; those cries will fall on your deaf ears if you’re busy jamming out to your headphones.
Stay Hydrated
Aside from getting lost, one of the biggest dangers hikers experience is dehydration. You will burn a lot of energy while hiking, working up a good sweat: that's water you lose that needs to be quickly replenished. Start off on the right foot by drinking at least one to two cups of water BEFORE you go on the hike. Remember that you only start feeling thirsty when your water levels get low; it's not an early warning system that you're going to be dehydrated. If you feel thirsty, you're already behind the eightball. Show up to hike already feeling quenched, and maintain that state as you walk with steady sips of water.
Avoid drinking dehydrating fluids before you hit the trail. That means to avoid alcohol before a hike. Coffee can be okay in moderation, but drink with caution as it can dehydrate as well. Green tea is a good alternative in that it gives you a strong energy boost without any dehydration risks. Don’t forget to replenish your electrolytes! You lose those as well when you sweat. Pack a sports drink or some electrolyte tablets with you to keep your electrolyte levels up.
As important as it is to get hydrated before a hike, it’s important to re-hydrate and quench your thirst AFTER a hike as well. Be sure to keep drinking water after you come back from the trail.
Gear Up
Good and careful preparation is essential for a good hike. Longer hikes like multi-day hikes will require more extensive supplies, but even a simple day hike should have you bringing along the following:
- Good, sturdy hiking boots
- Water (a good rule of thumb is to carry one half-liter of water per hour of moderate activity)
- Snacks
- A 100% fully-charged phone (turn on the Battery Saver function on your phone to extend how long the battery lasts)
- Sunscreen, sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed hat to protect you from UV rays
- A map (if you’re using a map on your phone, screenshot and save it as an image file so you can still access it if you lose internet access), GPS, and/or compass
- First-aid kit, flashlight, and utility knife
Don’t Leave the Trail!
Sometimes it can be fun to improvise and play it by ear. Hiking is a bad time to do that. Going off-trail could cause you to get lost. It’s also important to remember that hiking trails are relatively stable and well-trod; they don’t have surprising holes in the ground or branches to trip you up. The terrain outside a trail could be full of crevasses and soft ground and tangled roots and thorns that could injure you, twist your ankle, or incapacitate you. Wildlife also becomes more unpredictable off-trail. Animals tend to avoid hiking trails because they can see or smell a lot of human activity on them. When you go off the beaten path, you enter their “safe zones” where they don’t expect to encounter humans. This is how people end up getting beaten by snakes or run afoul of mountain lions.
Staying on the trail isn’t just good for safety reasons: it’s the environmentally correct thing to do. Oftentimes the off-trail grounds are more fragile, full of plants and animals and rocks that could be disturbed or harmed by a careless human walking through their area.
Article by Austin Brietta
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