OK, today I thought it might be useful to take a closer look at a common problem many hikers can experience when hiking on the trail. As noted on many occasions throughout the site, your hiking boots are a critical part of your hiking gear.

I consider hiking boots to be a must have item for heading out on the trail and so taking time to find the perfect fit and get the right model for you, is a really wise idea. Nothing will ruin a hiker’s day faster than a pinching blister or other sore coming from a pair of ill fitting boots.

I have reviewed the key items for buying hiking boots in the hiking boot buying guide. In that I cover pretty much all the main things you need to be aware of when considering the purchase of a good pair of hiking boots. For some of the best hiking boots available, check out our top hiking boot selection for men here and our top hiking boot selection for women here.

However, I thought it might be useful to start going into some elements within that sphere in a bit more detail. So today I want to hone in on two common problems that hikers, and folks in general, encounter when choosing boots and shoes. Let’s look at Pronation and Supination.

What is Pronation and Supination?

In a nutshell, they are the way your feet and ankles move and bend when you walk. Pronation is where your ankle bends inwards as you walk. Supination is where your ankle bends outwards as you walk. Pronation is, by my best estimation, the more common of the two.

What’s the big deal about that? Well, as you can imagine, if you keep on walking for a long period of time with your ankle, or ankles, bending or leaning inward or outward, there will be significantly more stress on certain muscles and your ankle as a whole. The ankle is designed, if I can use that word, to be in a vertical and aligned position to the rest of your body. So, if you pronate or supinate as you walk, it follows that you can expect pain to develop over time.

Now, some people will have pronation or supination to a greater or lesser degree. That is, many people in day-to-day life can just get on with things if they have only a little bit of pronation or suppination. This can be very deceptive though as all the time you walk on and don’t take remedial action, damage is quite possibly being done. So, something that is a minor annoyance can develop into a bigger problem over time.

As a hiker, you of course are often moving your feet in various and different ways. For example, when you hike upwards over a rocky slope, your ankle will be under a lot more stress and strain than it normally would from just walking on a normal flat trail or road. So, hikers can be particularly prone to experience more pronounced problems with pronating or suppinating feet.

How can I Tell if my Foot / Feet Pronate or Supinate?

Well, this is pretty easy to do. A pronating foot can be recognized by excessive wear on the inside heel of a boot or shoe. A supinating foot can be recognized by excessive wear on the outside heel of a boot or shoe. So, go get a pair of boots or shoes you have worn for some time and take a look at the heel and you should be able to tell if your feet pronate or supinate.

There are other ways to get an idea of how much you pronate or supinate. These days, in sports stores it is very common to see a machine that measures your feet and gait, the way you walk and run, to help you find the best running shoe for your feet.

A store assistant versed in shoes and how to use this machine will be able to give you an idea of how your feet and ankles are shaping up in terms of pronation or supination … you will of course have to pretend that you want to by running shoes though 😉

If you really have a bad problem with pronation and supination, you probably already know about it and have experienced pain or discomfort to some degree. That is, if it would cause you hassle hiking, when you are being a bit more various in terms of exertion on your feet and ankles, in all likelihood it has already caused you hassle in terms of walking around day to day.

Now, it is worth noting that minor pronation or supination can cause little or no problem to people. It really depends on the individual as to what degree you may or may not experience problems.

What can I do if my Feet Pronate or Supinate?

Well, first off, there isn’t anything, to the best of my knowledge, you can do to permanently rectify a problem with pronation or supination. If you have problems with it, it’s the way you’re built so you can’t do too much about it to remove the problem completely. While the leaps and bounds of technology are always pretty impressive, taking a trip to the ankle shop for a new fitting isn’t on the cards just yet 🙂

So, you have to live with it but for most people this is more than manageable. Your first port of call could be specialized insoles which will help keep your feet in a certain position providing the required support that you need.

Now, I should stress that I’m no expert on this area as I thankfully don’t have any major pronation or supination issues but pictured below are a pair of insoles, called Superfeet Green Premium Insoles, that are along the lines to what I am referring to. Click on the image to learn more.

There are many different insole and heel support options available  depending on the level of the problem you experience with either pronating or supinating feet. So, as with everything in terms of hiking gear, it’s worth researching those different options, reading user reviews and so on to see if they sound like the right ones for you.

I think if your problem is minor to medium, you should be fine to try and find a solution yourself. Get some suitable insoles and try them out. If you notice a difference, happy days! If not, maybe try another type of insole and see if that works any better.

Bigger Problems

If, however, you have a bigger problem and you suspect you might have a potentially high level or pronation or supination, you may need to make an appointment with a podiatrist or orthotist. A podiatrist is basically a specialist doctor that deals with all things related to the feet and ankles. They will be able to look at your problem and give you a good course of action.

If you have a pronation or supination problem, you may also end up having some dealings with an orthotist. These guys are specialists in the prescription, manufacture and management of orthoses. An orthosis is something that is used to control, guide, limit and/or immobilize an extremity, joint or body segment for a particular reason.

So, In layman terms, these guys measure your feet, your gait, your ankles, etc. and then, similar to our insoles above, they would design a specialized insole or prop specifically for you to support your ankle to counter the pronation or supination.

Now, to the best of my knowledge, you can go straight to the orthotist to try and sort you out and skip the podiatrist but I’m not 100% sure. I think it really depends on the set-up where you are based and how bad your problem is. If it’s bad, it goes without saying that you should always seek medical advice first so if you just start with your local physician, they will advise you from there.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. I hope found this brief look at pronation and supination useful. Today was just a short trip into a problem that can be a real pain, literally, for many people. For some, it’s an annoyance that can be accommodated with some insoles. For many, it’s a bigger problem where professional help is required.

Each persons’ feet are unique so it follows that sometimes a very specific solution may be required to help address pronation or supination. If you have problems with standard boot sizes, you could also look into getting custom made hiking boots but that’s more for someone with general comfort issues or minor pronation / supination problems.

For bigger problems, an orthotic of some kind will most likely need to be used in conjunction with a pair of hiking boots and / or normal day-to-day shoes.

So, if you notice your ankles getting overly tired or sore after a hike, it will do no harm to take a quick look at an old pair of shoes and check where the wear and tear on the heel of them are. If there’s a noticeable wearing on the inside of the heel, you could have a higher than average level of pronation.

If there is a noticeable wearing on the outside of the heel, you could have an issue with supination. Either way, if you’re concerned, discuss it with your physician to get some advice.

I hope you found this article useful. Please like and share 🙂

Today I wanted to do a quick piece on how to measure jacket size for a rain shell jacket. To try and elaborate a bit more on what I mean, picture this.

Photo Credit: Randen Pedersen

You’re surfing on the net and you come across a really great deal on a rain shell jacket, 50% off! You jump at the chance and click on the link to order online. You start the ordering process and as you’re filling in the form, you come to the size section and you have to select a size.

Now, you’re probably in one of two camps.

Camp 1: You know your jacket size so easy peasy and you’re good to go. Or …

Camp 2: You don’t know, or at least aren’t 100% sure of it so you need to measure yourself to find out what size you should be aiming for.

If you’re in Camp 2, or just curious, read on!

What are the Standard Sizes?

As you know, there are a standard set of sizes:

XS – Xtra small

S – Small

M – Medium

L – Large

XL – Xtra Large

XXL – Xtra, Xtra Large (At least I think the second X = Xtra too 🙂 )

Now, wherever you’re ordering from will most likely have an explanation of their actual sizing under each heading above. For example, it will usually be in a table, very similar to the one below.

MEN’S BODY MEASUREMENT (INCHES)

Size Pant Size​	XS 28-30​	S  32​	M 34	L   36​	XL 40​	XXL   44​
Neck	14-14.5	15-15.5	16-16.5	17-17.5	18-18.5	19-19.5
Chest	32-35	35-38	38-41	42-45	46-49	50-53
Sleeve Length	32	33	34	35	36	37
Waist	26-29	29-32	32-35	36-39	40-43	44-47
Hips	32-34	35-37	38-40	41-43	44-46	47-50

Note: this table is for men only. You can use this as a guide for sure but it is always wise to check the table from the brand as there can be slightly different variations between manufacturers. For example, hip size for a size S could be 38-40 inches for one brand and, as above, 35-37 inches for another.

So, you have the great price, you have your sizing table but you don’t know your size. What do you do? Well, traditionally, if you’re in the store, you simply try the jacket on and see what fits. It’s a good idea just to get your measurements and write them down but if you really have no idea and you sometimes fit a medium size better than a large and vice versa, depending on the clothing item and / or the brand, it is wise to confirm your size before ordering.

However, when you’re buying online to take advantage of some great deals, you of course do not have the option of trying the jacket on so …

How do I Measure Myself for a Rain Jacket?

Now, first off, I should point out that if you get a wrong size, all good companies will replace it with a size up or down, no questions asked. That’s normal and should be the case.

However, if you want to try and minimize the chances of a back and forth over the postal / delivery service, you can take a measurement and link it in with the sizing table from the brand. How do I do that?

Tools for the Job

Well, first off you will need a couple of things. First and foremost, you need a measuring tape. Ideally one that a clothing store uses, you know, the ones that roll up into a coil nice and easy, like the one in the picture above.

If you don’t have one of those, you can shoot for a work man’s measuring tape. You know, the ones a carpenter would use when measuring a piece of wood to cut. Many people will have one of these some place.

If you don’t have one of those, well you’re down to a using a ruler and some string or any other long piece of cord. Note, it has to be big enough to stretch around the widest part of your chest. Using this method, you’ll need to measure the string against the ruler to get the measurements, not ideal but if you have nothing else, it will work.

The second thing you need is a willing assistant. A friend or family member should do the trick. I don’t recommend asking a stranger but if you’re desperate, you never know, someone might help you out 🙂

I jest of course, you can give it a go yourself but it will be a bit trickier, so you probably want to redo it several times to confirm the numbers you’re getting.

How to Measure my Size

OK, this is the nitty gritty. As per the table above, you can measure in numerous areas to ascertain your size. To get started, you need to be in a measurable position, so stand up straight with your arms to your sides. Stand in a relaxed position with normal posture breathing at a normal rate.

It’s a good idea to put a few layers on while you take the measurements, particularly on the torso, it will simulate you wearing your jacket at a colder time of year and your jacket with need to accommodate a few layers in the winter.

Working from the head down …

Neck

Measure round from the base of your neck, the thickest part essentially. Keep the tape firm but not too tight, think about how much space you need to leave to be comfortable.

Chest

This is one of the most important ones I think. Measure round from the back under the armpits. Be sure to go over the shoulder blades and the widest part of the chest. Again hold the tape taut but be sure to leave some room to be comfortable.

Photo Credit: Phil Gradwell

See the picture above for an example on how to do this but remember, this is hiking so you will need to have some layers underneath when taking a measurement for a rain shell jacket! the method is the same so.

Waist

Measure the actual waistline, let the tape sit in a comfortable position resting on your waist.

Sleeves

Starting at the center of the back of your neck, measure across the shoulder and down towards the wrist.

Hips

Measure where your hips are fullest. This may not always be applicable for a rain jacket but is still good to have as a general guide.

OK, so you have your numbers. Where appropriate, round them upward. Next, go back to the sizing chart and see where your numbers fall in under each item. Obviously, where the majority of the numbers fall into, is the most likely best fit for your size.

If you have any borderline measurements, that is some in one camp but one or two in another, I would lean towards the side your chest measurement falls into. If you’re a normal body shape, there shouldn’t be wild variances but if you’re unsure, measure up again.

What next? Order your rain shell jacket and enjoy!

Conclusion

I hope you found this post on how to measure jacket size for a rain shell jacket useful. When you’re buying online, any decent retailer will have a sizing table on their website to reference for the brands they sell. These come from the manufacturer and so are accurate enough to get a good fit.

Also, if you’re unsure, you can call them or use their online help, they’ll be only too happy to help you out.

However, not everyone knows how to get the right size, and not every site will list how to take your measurements so I thought I’d add this up here for ease of reference. Hopefully it comes in useful.

Remember, even if you take your measurements, order the right size by the table but it is a bad fit when it arrives at your door, fear not, you can normally return it and get a different size. So, worst case, all is definitely not lost 🙂

If you are in the market for a hiking rain jacket, you can check out our top recommendations for men here and our top recommendations for women here.

Please share this post if you found it useful.

Sanitation in the great outdoors is a topic that many folks, understandably, don’t like to talk openly about but it is something people need to know how to approach. You’re unlikely to find too many outhouses along your hiking route, that is for sure 🙂

Photo Credit: Greg Westfall

The Great Outdoors is by its very nature a very delicate ecological balance and so when enjoying it we, as humans, need to be as careful as possible to not damage it. This is important not only for fellow outdoor enthusiasts today but also to help ensure we leave it in as best a condition as possible for future generations to enjoy.

The fact of the matter is that any human movements in wilderness will always do some kind of damage to it. That is just an unfortunate fact. The goal then has to be to minimize that damage as much as humanly possible. This is where Leave No Trace and so on plays such an important role.

Good Sanitation is Critical

Sanitation is of course something that can have a significant impact on both users enjoyment of the trail and the outdoors as well as damaging the delicate ecological balance. Too often I have come across human excrement just off trails. If it’s in plain sight, it’s a problem not only from an aesthetic point of view but from an ecological one too.

Animals and so on will be attracted to faeces and so it can easily lead to problems in many ways. As already mentioned, it is impossible to not have an impact of some kind on the local environment when you have to go to the toilet and no-on denies the fact that nature will call and so must be dealt with. However, there are a few simple things you can do when dealing with sanitation in the great outdoors to try and minimize any impact you have on the wilderness you are hiking through.

Numero Uno

When you gotta pee, you gotta pee 🙂 This is of course easier for men to deal with than women but the general rules in terms of sanitation of course apply to both genders. Firstly, you want to try and be as discreet as possible. So if you’re on a clearly marked trail, try and find a place where there are a lot of trees or bushes where you can go into out of the way to do what you need to do.

Be sure that are at least 50 meters away from any water source, for example a lake or stream. You don’t want to mix anything with a local water source that could be a source of drinking water for animals or even humans.

Numero Dos

OK, this one is of course the trickier of the two when it comes to sanitation as there is much more involved. The first thing to do is again, of course, be discreet and find somewhere well out of sight, so well away from the trail or any thoroughfares.

Next up you want to be sure you again go at least 50 meters away from any water source. To move onto the next step you will need the help of a well known and loved camping implement, a trowel.

A trowel is of course typically made of steel and used as a gardening implement. While you can of course use a standard one of these if it works for you, it isn’t ideal in terms of weight. A Camping and Backpacking Trowel is more designed for use in the Great Outdoors and so is made from tough plastic. While still tough enough to dig into the ground it is lighter in terms of weight and so easier to carry in a backpack than a steel one.

When you have found a suitable location satisfying the first requirements take the trowel and dig a sod up from the ground. Ideally you can cut out a square or rectangle, about 30 * 30 cms. Where possible, lift the sod or topsoil away first and set it to the side.

Next up, start digging down into the hole scooping out the soil underground. You want to get down at least 6 inches but this could be more depending on where you are. You want to be sure animals can’t smell anything as they will potentially dig it up, so some animals in certain places may be more acute to smells than in others so a deeper whole will be needed.

You’re Ready!

When you’ve dug out your hole in the ground, do what you need to do. When finished, put the lower soil back in on top first and then replace the sod you removed at the very start back on top. If done well, it can look like the ground was hardly disturbed at all and so you’ve done your best to return the visible environment back to how it looked before you came along. It can also help to roll a rock on top of the site so if an animal does happen come along after smelling it, it just can’t get at it.

Doing this in a deep hole and covering it up isn’t only for ascetic reasons. It is also to ensure the feaces is surrounded by soil. The various enzymes and what not will help break it down over time. Also, as already mentioned, in a deeper hole, it should keep animals from smelling it and so digging it up.

With regards to toilet paper you can use bio-degradable toilet paper but that isn’t always ideal as it’s not from the local environment. It can be a good idea to burn the toilet paper in the hole after use, before filling the soil back in, to help with the degrading process. Another option is that if you can use certain leaves or moss as toilet paper, that will be even better as it is local to the area and so nothing new for the local ecology to deal with.

With regards to cleaning your hands afterwards, carrying a little bottle of hand sanitizer and or using hygienic wipes should do the trick but ideally pack that out with you rather than dumping it after you’ve filled up the hole.

Sanitation for Women

When it comes to women’s sanitary and tampons towels, they should be packed out in a suitable bag. These are not suitable for burying as the scent of blood to an animal can be very enticing. With this in mind some planning in advance on how best to carry this out is required. Some airtight packaging is the most desirable to avoid attracting animals as you hike.

Washing

Foe cleaning hands, as already mentioned, I think a little bottle of hand sanitizer is great. Having some hygienic wipes are also a good option but remember to pack them out.

When it comes to washing yourself, clothes or cooking equipment, it should never be done directly into a water source. Instead use a pot or other vessel for washing by filling it full of water first. Then do your washing or whichever directly in the pot and when finished dispose of the dirty water away from the river or water source.

Again, bits of waste food or other chemicals can contaminate the water source so keep your washing away from it. When it comes to food, going down the boil or heat in a bag route definitely is a great option as in minimizes the need for cleaning afterwards and the water used isn’t mixed with any food so it keeps it uncontaminated from external sources.

Conclusion

OK, we did it 🙂 We just covered the topic that no-one really wants to talk about! I can’t think of a better way to address this actually than in a blog post. Easy to read at leisure.

The above are general guidelines to follow and should be suitable in most locations but it does assume that there is woodland or ground with soil, vegetation, bushes and so on, on your hiking route. However, if you’re going into a very different and / or extreme environment, say very rocky terrain or the Arctic as an extreme example, then you need to educate yourself as to what the best way to handle sanitation in that local environment is.

If you’re planning to set out on a long hiking trek or backpacking trip, it is worth adding sanitation as a research topic for the area you will be hiking in and travelling through. Someone will have gone before you so there should be information and tips on the best sanitation practices for that particular area which only local folks and people who have hiked there before you will know.

There may also even be religious or spiritual things to consider, for example, if you pass through a patch of ground sacred to a specific tribe of people, going to the toilet may be a huge no-no in places. I haven’t come across that yet on my own travels but it wouldn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility. The general idea though is just to educate yourself in advance.

Well, I hope you found this post on sanitation in the Great Outdoors useful. Please share it round and leave a comment 🙂

Cramp is a common problem that will happen to every hiker at some point. While it is generally harmless and normally shouldn’t cause any long term damage, it certainly isn’t a pleasant experience as anyone who experiences it will attest to.

It will of course vary in severity depending on many factors so there is no expectation you can set with regards to it.

What is Cramp?

A cramp is where you experience a very sudden and intense pain in one of your muscles. It happens due to a muscle contracting or over-shortening. This process is not voluntary and so you have no control over it when it happens.

Cramp can be experienced in skeletal muscle, a muscle connected to the skeleton, or smooth muscle, muscle in organs, blood vessel walls and so on. The duration of cramp varies greatly and it can last anything from a few seconds to a few hours. It really depends where you get the cramp.

As a hiker, typically the cramp that is probably most often experienced is skeletal although smooth is common enough too, thing of having a ‘stitch’, that stabbing pain you can sometimes get in your rib cage as a result of exercising.

The most common area to experience skeletal cramp hiking is the legs in the calves and thighs but personally I also find that my lower and upper back can be quite prone to cramp too, probably from carrying a very full day pack.

What Causes Cramp?

There are a myriad of things that can cause cramp. Everything from hydration to hypoxia, a lessening of oxygen in the blood, from big changes in temperature to low levels of salt in your blood. There are a lot of possible reasons why you may get cramp.

Generally speaking, similar as mentioned above, from my experience, when hiking cramp is most likely to be skeletal and occur either at the start of a hike or after I have been hiking for a long time. This of course is indicative of two specific states your skeletal muscles are likely to be in.

With the first, when starting your hike, your muscles are likely to be colder and not as supple as they haven’t been stretched out. Normally hikes start early in the morning so you have probably just got out of bed and got into your car to drive to your hike. Therefore, your muscles may not have had as much time to stretch themselves out and get loosened up.

The second, after hiking for a longer period of time, comes due to the muscles getting tired. Tiredness means simply that the muscle is tired and wants to stop being used. Generating a cramp is a quick, efficient and very effective way for your body to tell you to STOP 🙂

How do you Treat Cramp?

Generally speaking, it’s a case of stretching and massaging the muscle when treating a skeletal cramp. Stopping what is causing it obviously helps too but sometimes you need to keep pushing on so some rest and good stretching should give you enough to be able to keep moving till you finish your hike. For really bad skeletal cramps, some heat application may also help but that is probably not very practical on the trail.

For both skeletal and smooth muscle cramps, good hydration should help as well as keeping your sodium, salt, at decent levels. So drink plenty of water and have the odd salty snack as you hike.

Some medications for cramp are available but I think in most cases you should be OK with a good stretch and muscle massage. For some internal cramps, say indigestion as an example, it may be better to treat them with a suitable pain killer or muscle relaxant. Vitamin B complex can also help with cramps and are generally good for helping your body run well overall so could be an option to take if you experience cramps regularly, that’s for preventative as well as for treatment purposes.

How do you Prevent Cramp?

Prevention is always better than cure 🙂

Broadly speaking, prevention is the same as the treatments listed above. Stretch your muscles well before you start out and every now and then during your hike, especially if you feel your legs or muscles tensing up as you hike. Take 5 and have a quick stretching session, this could easily prevent a cramp from developing.

While you may think you are being a real trooper by plowing on regardless, it will have the opposite effect and encourage the symptoms to increase more than likely leading to a nasty and sudden cramp which will stop you whether you want to or not, that I can guarantee 🙂

As above with treatment, stay well hydrated and try and optimize your sodium to help ensure there are suitable electrolyte levels that are balanced in your blood.

A really common one that people often under estimate is good physical preparation. Your body needs to be conditioned to be able to take on the hike your are planing to do. If you’re not adequately prepared, you’re opening up your body to cramp central and you will be miserable and sore at some point.

This is easily avoided by knowing your levels of fitness and only taking on hikes that are suitable for your fitness level. So even if you’re fit in another activity, that fitness may not carry over immediately to hiking if it’s a different type of fitness. Hiking will involve specific muscle groups that you may not normally use to the level you need to for hiking. So if you’re new to hiking, start small and build up distance and height slowly over time.

Conclusion

I hope you found this short post on how to prevent and treat cramp useful. Most people have experienced cramp at some point so it shouldn’t be an entirely new concept to most. What might be new is the way you get it, if you’re new to hiking in particular. Your legs will be taking more of a hit when you start out on the trail so you should pay a bit more attention to them if you take up hiking regularly.

A simple series of stretches before you start your hike, during your hike, should you feel a muscle tensing up, as well as after a hike should go a long way to keeping cramp at bay.

What do you think? Do you have any other tips on how to prevent cramp while hiking? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

If you found this post useful, please share it out and about 🙂

Last weekend I was lucky enough to get out on a beautiful hike. It had been raining all week but the weather turned on Saturday and it turned out to be perfect weather. I was heading out with some hikers I regularly hike with and one of them had organized the route for the day.

He’s an experienced hiker and has been all over the world hiking but he knows the local hills and mountains really well.

Anyway, the hike we had planned was about 22 km in total with about 1 km in elevation, give or take a hundred meters or so. It was over pretty varied terrain, boggy in parts and rocky in others with some pleasant rises and steep ascents.

There were two steep ascents both of which were up to the mountain peak, we went to the top twice. We came up one side ducked down another to enable us to head up the other steep part. You can see me on one of those ascents in the picture above.

Why on Earth do That?

Well, both of the steep climbs involved ‘scrambling’.

So Scrambling is?

Well, scrambling is when you have to use your hands to enable you to get up the mountain as the path is too steep to do it on your feet alone i.e. you’d probably fall and hurt yourself if you didn’t use them. Normally, it will be over tougher terrain where there are rocks, ledges and so on to grab on to. Now, it is important to note that this isn’t ‘climbing’ in the sense of pitching and using ropes, nothing like that at all.

However, I guess scrambling does move further away from hiking in the direction of climbing. I recall when I went to the top of Mont Blanc, I asked the head guide what the difference between hiking and mountaineering was. His short but succinct answer was that in mountaineering, you use your hands as well as your feet to move yourself forward, whereas in hiking you only need your feet.

Now, I mentioned in the post linked just above that there is probably a lot more to it than that but I thought it was a nice and easy way to summarize it. So, going back to my Saturday hike, you could say that part of our hike was more in the sphere of mountaineering as opposed to just hiking.

Not Everyone Likes Scrambling

It’s worth pointing out, that if you’re a hiker and you’ve never scrambled, it may not be for you. I know plenty of hiking folks who if confronted by a pass where they have to scramble to get up it, they would simply look for another route to the summit. It just doesn’t appeal to them as there is no doubt that it adds a bit more risk to the average hike.

However, I also know plenty of other folks, me included, who love to scramble! I find it really adds another dimension and a nice variation to a day out hiking.

That is also fascinating to me as while I love scrambling, which is moving in the direction of climbing, actual rock climbing with ropes etc. really does not appeal to me in the slightest.

Safety

As always, safety is paramount and so if you’re new to scrambling, try and do it first with an experienced group and ideally in a place that isn’t too challenging. Safety always should come first and too much too soon, while it may seem exciting and challenging, could end up just being dangerous.

When you do finally get out scrambling, be careful and take your time, especially if you’re new to the particular area and you’ve never scrambled there before. When you’re scrambling, things can get much more difficult quite quickly and it’s very easy to get into a situation where it’s very difficult to keep going up but it’s even riskier to try and go back down.

First Hand Experience

I have first hand experience of this on two separate occasions. Some years back, I was with a group of about 8 hikers, we were hiking a long a rocky ridge and suddenly the weather got very bad and a white out, fog, was coming in. We decided to veer down to one side of the mountain as we couldn’t see a clear way ahead where we were. However, we got about 40 feet down and it was even harder to continue across.

We could have went further down off the mountain, which may have been the wiser choice, but we went back up to a place where we could scramble to get back up to the ridge beyond the initial tricky piece we had came across. We started trying to scramble up, 4 of us got up but the other 4 couldn’t!

The ledge was such that once you committed to it you had to keep going. So basically, with heavy wind, rain and fog we, the four who went up, had no visibility or contact with the other 4 who couldn’t get up. With no phone coverage, it was a little concerning. We continued on, on the ridge, as did our 4 friends via a different route, and we eventually met further down the trail a couple of hours later. Thankfully the weather had improved too so visibility returned.

Planning

Overall, in truth the planning for the hike wasn’t very good and for us to get into a situation like that where we had to scramble to be able to move onward, was definitely not a great idea. We were reasonably experienced at the time but with the weather changing so quickly, it just goes to show how fast even experienced hikers can potentially get themselves into a pickle.

As if that wasn’t enough, the same mountain range a year later, a similar scenario happened again. A little different in that we could see clearly but the route chosen really had some very challenging scrambles, so much so that even I was a little nervy at times. In fact, one lady with us had real difficulty getting past those parts and had trouble getting off the mountain. We didn’t know it at the time but, panic had set in with her and she was having a tough time of it.

It ended up fine but it was another example of where you really need to be careful when you go scrambling. You never know what the terrain will throw at you and when you commit, sometimes there’s no going back!

Conclusion

With all that said though, I love scrambling 🙂 and I look forward to doing more and more of it in the future. As with anything hiking related, you have to be smart and be safe. There’s no point taking unnecessary risks. If the scramble starts to get too challenging, play it safe and back out while you can.

If you do want to do a bit of hiking, be sure you pack some gloves in your day pack. They can come in very handy when you’re grabbing on to sharp rocks and other things.

Do you like to do a bit of scrambling when you’re out in the hills? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.