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Don’t Take Unnecessary Risks Hiking!

I am writing this after just having decided not to attend a hike I was supposed to be going on today, Saturday (At time of writing). I planned to go out with some of my hiking friends, however really bad weather was forecast so I wasn’t 100% sure about it.

Hikers In Cold Weather

I decided I would wait till the morning to check the forecast and see how things looked. I got up this morning and the weather was VERY BAD! A lot of rain. The forecast for the rest of the day wasn’t much better either with consistent rain and possible heavy downpours as well as fresh (weatherman euphemism for chilly) North and North Easterly winds.

Hmmnn, I wondered if it was it a great idea to go out at all. So I was in two minds. I decided to check with one of my friends to be sure he was still going. I got a yes back as they can’t go out tomorrow and being back to work on Monday, they don’t have the option of waiting till tomorrow as I do. Now the weather is still not great tomorrow anyway but the forecast isn’t as bad as today.

When I got the confirmation, I thought what the hell and decided to still go. I have all the gear and I have got VERY wet on many an occasion while out hiking.

Preparation

I started my usual routine to prepare and while packing up some stuff into my day pack, I realized I didn’t have my hiking beanie hat. I wasn’t where it normally is kept in my day pack. I thought about it and realized I had probably lost it on the hiking challenge weekend I went on a week or so ago. Well, that was the last time I recall having it anyway.

I went upstairs to look for another warm beanie hat but I don’t really have another one suitable for hiking. I only really had a standard beanie that was a bit thin on it and is more for summertime fashion as opposed to Spring downpours! I thought, what the heck and threw it into my day pack where my old hat normally sits.

So, a new dynamic had now entered the fray and one I wasn’t 100% comfortable about. Now, not only do I have to contend with really bad rain and cold winds, I now don’t have the best protective gear for my head for those conditions. Not ideal!

I put it out of my mind and got into my car and started heading down the road to the meeting point. The rain was pouring down on my window as I was driving. All the time, the hat thing was playing on my mind, as well as the weather though too, as how it was was much more pronounced while driving in my car.

As I mentioned, I didn’t have to go out today, I could wait till tomorrow as I didn’t have the same time pressure as my friends. I was hmmnning and hawing and then decided, no, the weather was too bad, I don’t have all the right gear and as I can go out tomorrow, why head out today. I turned round to head back home and text my friends when I got back.

The Deciding Factor

So, on reflection after that I was thinking on what was the deciding factor in my decision as I did to and for a fair bit as I processed it. In the first place, I didn’t have to go out hiking today as I can go tomorrow so there was no necessity for me to go out in very bad weather, I could just wait for tomorrow.

However, hiking in rain can be fun too and a short 20 km hike in the right gear would be fine to do. When I thought about it, there was another factor that tipped the balance and that was that I had no proper hiking hat.

Two New Beanie Hats
My two new beanie hats purchased after writing this post.

You need to protect your head in cold and wet conditions as heat leaks from it when it is exposed. I might have been OK with my substitute fashion beanie lol, but why risk it when I don’t need to!? At worst, something could happen and I can’t walk out, with no real protection for my head, it will just make a bad situation worse.

At best, nothing happened and the temporary hat did fine. However, the likely outcome was probably somewhere in the middle. I’d have a very wet and cold head and so probably quite likely a miserable experience while out hiking. No fun 🙁

If I had the hat, would I have gone on a hike in crappy rainy and cold weather? Probably, even though I was in two minds anyway, as it is a really nasty day lol 🙂 , hiking in the rain can be good and brings it’s own set of challenges and fun. Nature is splendid in all of it’s forms, within reason of course.

When I got back home and thought about it, I realized that I had just went through a risk assessment in my head. I do it all the time when I go hiking, for all hikes and all conditions as there are always risks involved.

Summary

There will always be risks of some kind on all your hikes however, if you assess them properly you can prepare appropriately. In short, there’s no need to take unnecessary risks hiking.

In this case for me it was gear and I think this is one that catches a lot of people out a lot of the time. I was short what some might think of as a relatively inconsequential item, a proper hiking hat.

However, that gear item is key to protecting my head and keeping me insulated. If I don’t have a proper one and if the weather forecast is really bad rain with expected downpours, it makes no sense to risk it.

As mentioned above, if something happened to me and I couldn’t walk out, with my head not protected in a proper manner, it would very quickly exacerbate my problems.

Conclusion

So, the moral of the story is that you should always assess all elements of your planned hike for risks, your safety on the trail is always the most important thing. Think gear, weather, terrain, environment, food and water, timing, sunset, sunrise, emergency contact, to name some of the key ones. If you have any doubt about any of these and other factors for your hike, it’s wiser to stay safe and cancel. You will get out on another day 🙂

Aside from all that was there a lesson learned today? Yes, always have a spare hiking beanie! I have spares of a lot of my hiking gear but interestingly, my hiking beanie wasn’t one of them! I’m off to the store now to buy two of them so I’ll always have a spare. You can see the fruits of my shopping excursion in the picture above 😉

What do you think? Do you always do a risk assessment for all of your hikes? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Hiking In Safety – Ten Top Tips!

When you go out hiking you’re going out into terrain in the wilderness. With that in mind, there are certain steps you can take to ensure you have as enjoyable an experience as possible.

Hiking In Safety

While whole books can be, and are, written about hiking in safety, I thought a quick summary post with ten of, what I think, are the main tips you can easily implement to help keep you safe on your adventures out on the trail would be useful.

Every point below is applicable and so I am loathe to put these in any particular order of importance. In short, you need to tend to all of them on any hike you are preparing to undertake.

#1 Wear the Right Gear

This first one is probably one of the ones that is most often neglected. In this day and age, good gear is easily available and while it can be very expensive, there are plenty of reasonable options at reasonable prices available too.

Every other week when I go out hiking, I’m half way up a mountain and I see someone in Nike Air sneakers and jeans. Not advisable in any way. Although trail shoes can be grand on occasion as a general rule I recommend you have proper hiking boots.

As well as that, some kind of breathable warm clothing is advised so base layers (where required) hiking pants, tee’s, etc. should allow you to sweat but let excessive heat out and away from your skin to prevent moisture build up.

You also need to have layers for warmth so a fleece is a good option.

Finally, you need waterproof outer rain gear, so a rain jacket and rain pants. By this I mean stuff you slip on over your pants and top to protect you from heavy rain.

#2 Carry Additional Layers

As with wearing the right hiking gear, you need to carry any extra that you need. So if it isn’t raining, you should have your waterproofs packed away in your pack. You should also have an extra layer or two for warmth and protection in case it is needed.

Hikers In Cold Weather

I didn’t mention this above, as you don’t really wear it, although you do kind of I guess, but you need to have a good day pack with you, to carry these additional layers and your other bits and pieces in while you’re out on the trail.

#3 Leave your Hiking Route with Someone

A simple yet excellent idea! Before you head out on your hike tell one or two people the following information:

  • Where you’re going
  • What time you are leaving
  • When you expect to be back

Ideally, leave them a print out map of the area where you plan to go hiking with the route marked out on it. That way, if you don’t show up as scheduled, they know where to look for you. Also, be sure to leave it with people who will notice you are gone.

Just knowing where to look is a critical piece of information for any search and rescue teams should you have gotten into difficulty.

#4 Take Adequate Food and Water with you

You need to bring supplies of food and water with you, and it’s always good to bring a little extra just in case something should go wrong. There are of course plenty of options depending on what you like to eat, drink, etc.

For some idea on what I like to do, check out the posts the 10 best day hike foods and how much water should I take on a hike, where I cover what I like to do for my hikes.

#5 Take a Mobile Phone

A mobile phone is a critical piece of safety gear. It’s worth noting that even out of coverage for your network, it should still connect to an emergency number via any available network, as long as it can find one, should you need to.

If you’re hiking in a new area or a country that’s new to you, it’s worth checking before you go out on a hike that you know how to contact help and familiarizing yourself with safety protocols if someone in your party should get hurt.

#6 Have a Map and Compass

At the very least you should have a map of your hike and have an idea how to follow it. Ideally you should be versed with using a compass to take bearings etc. but in reality, that won’t be the case for many.

Map and Compass

Take the time to look at your route on your map and pick out landmarks you expect to come across on your way and roughly how long you expect to get to them. That way, if you’re expecting to walk beside a large river in an hours time and you don’t see one, you know you’re off track.

Generally speaking though, if you’re new to hiking, stick to well marked trails which are clearly marked on your map that have easy escape routes back to safety.

#7 Hike with a Group

While I do love to hike solo, I do also enjoy hiking with a group too. The main advantage of hiking with a group in terms of safety? Well, if something happens to one of you, there are enough people to stay with the injured party while others go off to get help should they need to.

Be sure that everyone in the group is of similar fitness so they stay together. If some people are much fitter, a gap will form and people can lose each other, especially in foggy and misty conditions. Not good!

#8 Stay Within your Limits

There are a few points in this with regards to staying safe. Firstly, with regards to fitness, don’t take on something that’s too big a challenge for you. Only you will know your own fitness levels and if you get too far into something very demanding for you, you may not have the strength to walk back out.

As with anywhere, the trail can be a place where macho-ness can come to the fore, especially among men. In short, it’s just daft. If you’re not able for something, better to be honest about it than get yourself into a pickle and have to call for help. Not having the common sense to speak up and stand down from something too challenging for you, is very not macho 🙂 AKA stupid.

The other area of limits are the types of terrain and it’s state when you enter it. For example, if you’re not familiar with hiking in very snowy or boggy conditions, you would be wise to wait to go into that environment with someone who is. You will learn loads in a short space of time and probably save yourself a lot of hassle.

#9 Avoid Hazards

Hazards on the trail, fall into two main categories 1. natural and 2. man made. A natural hazard would be something like a steep cliff. A man made hazard would be an area used for forestry or by the military for shooting practice and man oeuvres.

Again, it’s back to your map and route planning. Most hazards should be highlighted on a good map and so you can plan your route accordingly.

However, many times you may come across a hazard as you hike which you weren’t expecting e.g. a swelled river after heavy rains. Where that occurs, you need to be wise and take appropriate evasive action to avoid the hazard.

#10 Have Emergency Kit with you

Ideally, someone in your party should have a first aid kit and someone else should have an emergency blanket and a bothy bag. Should someone take a nasty fall and get a bit of a gash on their leg, it is much better if you can treat it on the spot with a first aid kit which will have the basics in there i.e. some antiseptic wipes, plasters and tape.

Should someone have a more serious accident, it could be many hours before help can get to them so keeping them warm and protecting them from the elements will be paramount so an emergency blanket and bothy bag are a must to keep them protected until help arrives.

Conclusion

Safety on the hills and on the trail is a big thing for all hikers. If you follow these ten safety tips, you should be well on your way to fully enjoying your hike as much as possible, and also be prepared to act appropriately should a problem arise for you or any member of your hiking party.

I hope you found these hiking in safety tips useful for your adventures on the trail! As always, please leave any thoughts in the comments below.

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