Hiking in Colorado

16 July 2008

Hiking Safety

Posted by kris under: Tips & Tricks .

Hiking safety is one of the most important things that everyone needs to think of and worry about if you enjoy hiking. Many of the other tips that I have talked about in this blog are important for being safe while hiking. There are many things that need to be considered based on where you are going and how long you will be going for.

The first thing you should always do is let someone know where you are going even if you are going with other people. This way if you end up getting lost or hurt there is someone that can let authorities know where to look for you. Since it is possible that the unexpected might happen you should always pack for the worst. Make sure you have some extra cloths with you just in case the weather takes as turn for the worst. You should also bring some food with you as well like an energy bar. This is a good idea if you are doing a long trip anyway but if you are not going to be out for very long you should still bring something in case you get stranded. This is the same when it comes to water, you should always have more water then you think you will need. There are some other items that you might consider, hiking poles, hiking boots vs. tennis shoes, GPS, emergency beacon, first aid kit and shorts vs. long pants.

Once you have all of your equipment put together you are ready for your hike. At the start of the trail you should make sure that you know where you are going by using a map or following trail markings. While on the trail make sure that you watch where you are going at all times so that you do not roll your ankle or injure yourself some other way. Wearing hiking boots gives your ankle support and may help prevent injury while hiking. If you do get injured, try to do first aid on the injury and go to where you can get help (if there is more then one person hiking, have one person stay with the person that is injured while another one or so go and get help). The weather can turn bad at any time so make sure that you get back to your car or a building as quick as possible in bad weather conditions. Lightning is particularly dangerous and you should try to get away from open areas and trees.

Another thing that you have to be aware of is the wild life around you. There are many larger animals like mountain lions and bear that you should look out for and make sure you know what to do when you come across one. In the case of a mountain lion you want to make yourself as big looking as you can and try to back away from the lion if possible but never run away. If you do get attacked you want to fight back any way you can because they are more likely to stop if they don’t think they can beat you. When it comes to bears you want to make as much noise as possible while hiking so that a bear will know that you are coming and you will not surprise it. If you do come across a bear, make sure it knows that you are a human by talking to it in a normal voice and moving your arms and try to back away. If the bear follows you then stop moving and do not run, continue to make noise and move your arms and if it gets closer try to make more noise. If you are attacked by a bear do not fight back and curl up in a ball protecting your neck and do not move. Once the bear does not see you as a threat it should move on, but if it persists in its attack do all you can to fight it off. In general you should try to avoid any encounters with wildlife if possible.

If you get lost and you do not have a GPS to guide you and you don’t know where you came from, try to figure out the direction (based on the position of the sun or stars) where you know a town or road may be and head that direction. If you can’t seem to find your way out stay in one place and try to signal a plane or helicopter if possible (you can use an emergency beacon if you have one).

Once you get back from a hike, you should make sure that people know that you are back (especially the person that you told where you would be). You should also check yourself for ticks or other bugs to make sure that they do not get under your skin or hurt you in some other way.

Even though there are a lot of things to think about and do before during and after you go hiking, it is always better to be prepared for the worst and never have to use the extra stuff that you have, then to find yourself unprepared. In the end we do this because hiking is fun and safety while hiking is very important.

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