Hiking Tips

Hiking Tips: What to Bring

In your pack you must have: your emergency kit, an extra pair of socks, hat and gloves, warm clothes to layer up in, your rain gear, all of your food, 2 water bottles and your whistle. Everything except water and rain gear must be inside your pack liner to keep it dry. If you do not have these things, you are a safety risk and you are wrong.

This is the speech my students usually get when they are still new to our wilderness program.

It is frequently necessary to check and make sure they have these things before leaving, as they are prone to try and lighten their packs.

The above items are considered minimum gear for a day hike in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, where we are based. Their emergency kit consists of extra socks, hat, gloves, a set of lightweight polypropylene long underwear and non-perishable food, typically an MRE (military Meals Ready to Eat packet). This is shrink-wrapped to keep in dry in a dire emergency, where everything else they have has gotten wet. This list is a summer list.

Winter gear would also include more warm clothes, gaitors and neck gaitors, a heavy parka and a couple of extra hats and mittens (with shells), as these tend to get wet in snow. Depending on conditions they might also bring snowshoes, crampons and ski poles. This is what they need to keep them safe, warm and dry in ever changing and unpredictable weather conditions.

In addition to this individual gear, the group collectively will have a first aid kit, map and compass, firestarter with matches or lighter, a good knife, flashlight and extra batteries, and a good sized piece of plastic or tarp to build a shelter or wrap up an injured person.

In the winter, we will bring a sleeping bag and ensolite pad to wrap up an injured person who could quickly succumb to hypothermia lying on snow or cold ground and a small pot and stove to heat water. Because we are a state run program, we also carry a cell phone, although I am personally opposed to cell phones in the woods.

Even if you think you are just going for a short walk in the woods, the above emergency gear is just common sense. Many a person has spent an unexpected night in the woods and I have spoken to seasoned locals who have gotten lost in what they considered familiar forests. If you go into the woods regularly, it is convenient to have a small pack containing this gear always ready to go.

Hiking Tips: Footgear

What about footgear?

There is some controversy here. There are those who prefer a softer shoe or moccasin and complain that the heavily lugged hiking boots are not only unnecessary, but also detrimental to trails. I say, it depends where you are hiking. If you are on relatively easy terrain, what you have on your feet may not be that important. If you saw me out and about under normal circumstances, I would probably be wearing moccasins, or lightweight canvas sneakers.

I would never put on a heavy hiking boot except to hike, not even in winter. But the Adirondack Mountains are steep, rocky and frequently muddy. I have witnessed a helicopter evac for a broken ankle in the winter under treacherous conditions and have done the painfully slow hikes out with a sprain that resulted from a boot that was not properly laced up. Ankle support can be very important and in the mountains I don a good waterproofed boot with a sure grip sole.

Hiking Tips: Group Hiking

In addition to gear there are several other things we consider when we take groups in the woods.  The first is to know your limits. I don’t take kids fresh from the city up the highest mountain in the state. I give them time to get in shape and work up to it. The same goes for individuals out for a hike on their own. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Remember that you not only have to get in to your destination, but also back out. Don’t hike until you are exhausted before you turn around. A tired and overstressed hiker easily stumbles and gets injured, or makes a poor decision and gets lost.

The group hikes at the speed of the slowest person. We make it a policy to put this person in front so they can set a pace they are comfortable with. This eliminates the slinky motion of stopping and starting that can be so frustrating. It also seems to help with motivation when they are in the front and included with everyone else.

Slow hikers in the back tend to fall further and further behind and get discouraged. Muscles cramp up when overly stressed or under hydrated. It also helps to know that most injuries happen on the way down the mountain when you are more tired and moving fast, than they do going up. I never let my students go barreling down the hill.

When traveling with a group, trail junctions are important. Always stop and make sure everyone goes the same way. When by yourself, take note of which trail you took or which direction you headed. Don’t let a group get too spread out. Assuming the back of the group is on track and safe when you can’t see them is not a good idea.

Pace is also important. It is better to set a steady pace that you can maintain than to push really hard and wear out quickly. Breaks are shorter this way; long breaks allow lactose to build up in muscles making them stiff and making it hard to get going again. Your stride is lost; it’s like starting all over. Avoid gasping for breath when hiking steep uphills. I always tell my students to blow out hard to clear the lungs.

Gasping doesn’t really clear the lungs out and after a while you’ve got waste build up and no room for fresh oxygen. Proper breathing is a good idea in all aspects of life, but particularly when exerting yourself. If you are on a well-used trail, be considerate of others.

Do not be loud to the point that it disturbs others who have come out for the quiet and tranquillity. When hiking steep trails the general rule of thumb is similar to cross-country skiing: those coming downhill have the right of way over those going up. Step aside and let them pass.

So now you’re hiking along happily with your group when suddenly you come to a stream. Stream crossings can be tricky business. What you remember as a tiny trickle last fall can be a roaring torrent in the spring. Rock jumping is fine, but use caution in colder weather as thin, invisible layers of ice can form on the rocks making them very treacherous. Be wary of logs. Wet wood is slippery and wood near water is frequently rotted and not trustworthy. If the water is high and there are no safe rocks wading across is your next option.

Do not wade through water that is much more than waist deep. A strong current can not only knock you over but also hold you pinned down underwater if you are carrying a well-loaded pack on your back. Use a sturdy stick to prod the bottom for holes or rocks your foot could get stuck under. Forming a chain with the other members of your group can help with stability.

To keep your feet dried you might want to take off your socks and go across in just your boots. To can dump them out and put on dry socks when you get to the other side. Alternately, you can wear just socks so your boots stay dry. Bare feet however are a potential injury. Be sure to scout up and down the stream for the best crossing spot. Do not cross at the narrowest point, the current there will be the strongest. Cross at the widest part where water will be slower and not as deep.

So far we have talked mainly about hiking with groups on a well-used trail.

Hiking Tips: What if you are going out alone where there is no trail?

There are many things to keep in mind. First, don’t rely on your sense of direction to keep you straight. Very few people walk in a straight line and there is no such thing as intuitive sense of direction. (You can test this by blindfolding yourself and trying to walk in a straight line, or even just from one side of the field to the other.)

What you need to keep from getting lost are good, common sense and attention to detail. To begin with, know where you started from. Take the time to look at a map of the area and get familiar with the landmark so you will recognize them when you see them. Memorize the details as you hike.

Look for streams, unusual rocks, patches of flowers, anything that you will remember. A good trick is to tell a little story as you go incorporating the details you see. You will remember them better and will track them in order as you retell the story on your way back out.

Timing yourself works pretty much the same way. If you know how long you’ve been hiking you can predict how long it will take you to reach certain spots on the way back. Be sure to look back from time to time, as your path can look quite different from the other direction. If you’re really worried about getting lost, you can leave little trail markers in the form of a rock pile or broken stick every thirty paces or so.

Do not leave flagging tape; that encourages others to follow your path and create a false trail. If you leave any kind of markers, be sure to remove them and restore the area on the way out. Track the sun, it gives you a general east/west direction. In the winter the sun stays lower in the sky and tracks on a more southeasterly route. This is particularly so in northern latitudes. You can also use your watch and the sun to get a general sense of direction. If you point the 12 at the sun and draw a line halfway between the 12 and the hour hand it will point to north.

Alternately, pointing the hour hand towards the sun and drawing a line between it and the 12 will give you a line pointing south. You can also, to some extent, use the wind. Wind is very finicky and not reliable on a day to day basis. But you can be aware of overall wind patterns and where the wind usually comes from. In the United States, most of our weather comes from the prevailing westerlies and tracks west to east across the country.

Certain geographic formations, such as lakes or mountains, can also form prevailing wind patterns. You can see this in the trees, particularly in wind swept areas. They are called flag trees and tend to grow all their branches on one side, (The side facing away from the wind). If you see cut off stumps and can check the rings, the tree might actually have grown more, and have wider rings on the leeward side. You can even orient yourself with the North Star if you know how to find the Big Dipper. Naturally, knowing what direction north is doesn’t help much if you don’t know which direction you need to walk to get out.

Take note of what direction you are heading before you go in and every time you change direction. To keep yourself going fairly straight in that direction line up landmarks, even trees and be alert to where ridges, hills, gullies and streams are in relation to you. Count your paces every time you veer off your straight path to avoid an obstacle and then pace back onto your line.

Hiking Tips: Getting Lost

Finally, what if the worst happens and you truly become lost. Above all, don’t panic. If you think someone will soon be along, stay where you are. People tend to get further and further lost when they wander aimlessly trying to find their way back. Locate a central hub where you are and walk in radiating circles out from that hub, or in straight lines out and back in different directions, but don’t lose sight of where your anchor spot is. If you must sit save your voice and use a whistle. It carries much farther and your voice will soon fail you.

A smart plan is to leave word with someone on where you are headed and what time you expect to return. Someone then at least knows you are out there and knows when and where to go looking. An evacuation plan made before you head in goes hand in hand with that. It’s always good to have a backup plan should weather or injury cause you to alter your course. Even a simple scribbled note left on your windshield can give searchers something to go on.

If you keep these hiking tips in mind, you should be able to go out there, on a trail or off, with a group or alone and be safe, comfortable and happy. Part of being prepared is the gear you bring with you. Part of it is the information you’ve left behind and the rest of it is what’s in your head.  All three are important; together they can get you out of dangerous situation and just maybe save your life.