4 Essential Tips for Hikers
Author: DonaldSaunders Total views: 13 Word Count: 513
Hiking provides hundreds of thousands of people with tremendous pleasure and a sense of adventure every year and 99% of the time it is far from dangerous. But, people do get lost and have accidents from time to time and it can then become a dangerous activity very quickly if you are not prepared.
Here we look at are just 4 basic safety tips to make sure that your hiking doesn't get you into trouble.
Safety Tip No1 - Take a partner of friend along.
There's really no need to worry about heading out by yourself if you're taking a short hike in a nearby area on easy terrain, but, if you are heading out into heavily forested wilderness areas with winding trails and steep canyons then the possibility of getting lost or sustaining injury becomes very real and you ought to think carefully about whether or not you are wise to head out alone.
Having a partner along can have many advantages, especially if that person is a seasoned hiker. Clearly, 'two heads are better than one' and if you do get lost or get into difficulty you're a lot less likely to panic if you have someone with you to help solve the problem.
Safety Tip No 2 - Make sure that somebody knows where you are going.
If you are a novice hiker then you should stick to clearly marked and well traveled trails and ought not to stray from these trails to explore until you have some experience and have mastered the basics of map and compass work. But, it won't take you too long before you are ready to tackle some more adventurous hiking and the possibility of getting injured or lost will arise.
For this reason, you should always tell someone where you're going and when you expect to return so that a search party can be sent out if you don't return as expected.
Safety Tip No 3 - Ensure that you take along some basic equipment.
It's essential to carry a basic survival kit with you and your local hiking club will give you advice on the items which this should include. What we're looking at here are things like a lighter and matches, a good knife, a first aid kit and a flashlight.
It is also a good idea to have a map and compass with you and a fully charged cell phone.
Safety Tip No 4 - Take some basic provisions along.
Water or other fluids such as sports drinks are essential as you can lose a great deal of fluid even over a short period of time on a hot day. You should note though that water is bulky, so take enough but not too much. Don't forget though that you must not drink from local streams as natural water sources may appear to be inviting but they are often filled with bacteria and may make you sick very quickly.
Also take enough food to last you. It is no fun to be hungry while you are out hiking but remember that you can last a good deal longer without food than without water.
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