Hikers are exposed to life-threatening situations and are often saved by search and rescue teams due to a lack of preparation. So, what should hikers avoid?

According to Boston Globe, over 46,600 people required search and rescue services during hiking between 2004 and 2014. Those incidents resulted in 1,578 deaths, with many others ill or injured. These unfortunate events were primarily a result of hikers’ negligence and unpreparedness. As thrilling as it is, hiking can be equally dangerous, bringing us to a major question: how can hikers prepare for hikes?

Hikers should avoid not carrying a GPS or compass, becoming wet, being unprepared for the night, failing to share their strategy, losing track of time and eyesight, dismissing dehydration, and failing to manage weariness.

You might be going on a short hike for one to two hours and think a water bottle, a fanny pack, and your mobile phone will probably be enough. It is usually enough for most short hikes. However, you must be prepared for all possible contingencies. It is like wearing a seatbelt in your car. You don’t prepare yourself for every day but for one unfortunate event that can happen any time.

If there’s anything our decade-long hiking experience has taught us, it’s to always be prepared and avoid actions that can lead to rookie mistakes. In this guide, we talk about seven mistakes hikers make and how you can avoid them.

Hiking Mistakes to Avoid

Not Bringing GPS or a Compass

Not bringing a GPS or a compass or having them but not knowing how to use them is the first deadly sin you can do on a hike. Even expert hikers can get lost on a hike, but not having a GPS, compass, or map is an unforgiving mistake. Usually, trails are marked, and the paths are quite evident. But you can get off the track to take a photo or follow wildlife. However, it is often the decision that makes most hikers lose their direction.

Sue Clements was a 53-year old hiker from Ohio who didn’t survive getting lost in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2018. Therefore, it is vital to keep a map, preferably a topographic one, and a compass to tell if you veered off the trail. Mobile phones are an all-in-one solution, and you can use downloaded maps so weak or no signals don’t affect your resources. However, the charging can end, and electronics can always be unreliable.

Getting Wet

Sometimes getting wet is not in the hiker’s schedule, and it can happen out of nowhere. The serenity might convince you to take a dip when coming across a lake or a river. Sometimes the weather is too hot, and you might take a quick swim to chill. Other times, you can meet unexpected rain. In any case, getting wet is not a good idea if you are not prepared.

Places like Nevada or Ohio can usually are piping hot during the day. But if you get wet and do not dry until the dark, you can get hypothermia in moderate temperatures. You can get rain ponchos that are cheap and fit into your pocket. So don’t worry about it hogging your storage space. The night is usually deadly when wet, which brings us to our next point.

Not Being Ready for the Night

As mentioned earlier, the nighttime kills many hikers in search and rescue situations. Even if you are not wet or cold, the night can bring you hundreds of troubles when not prepared. A person can survive 8-21 days without food and water, depending on the conditions, and up to two months with a good water source. However, the conditions can worsen, and the freezing night can kill a person much faster.

However, you can avoid that by having necessary items in your backpack, even on a short hike. Warm clothing is an essential item to keep, but the level of warmth can vary according to the season. In summers, the desert gets cold at night, but it will get too cold in the winters. Similarly, you can prepare for hiking in the mountains. Other essential items to keep in your backpack include a pocket knife, an emergency blanket, a lighter, and duct tape. It is also wise to cover the lighter to waterproof it.

Not Sharing Your Plan

It might seem like a benign detail to remember but not telling someone about your plan, or the trail you are going on is probably a bad idea, especially if you are going solo. It’s best to tell a family member or a close friend about your whereabouts and give them a copy of the map. Some hikers prefer telling two people about their plan who would notice if they went missing. You can set a certain time frame for you to respond, or they can alert the authorities after that.

Losing Vision Due to Lost Track of Time

As we talked, we saw how the nighttime could be deadly. Another situation that can unfold is that you lost or lost track of time and are unprepared for the night. You can trip over a rock, get injured, break a leg, or stress and get anxious. All these situations can call for search and rescue. However, if you want to avoid that and get back on track so you don’t end up spending the night unprepared, it requires a simple solution - a headlamp. High-quality headlamps are an effective solution that you can get for a minimal price.

Taking Dehydration Lightly

Dehydration is a common thing that happens to hikers, a rookie mistake that even experienced hikers make. A stroll on hard terrain can turn into a much longer experience, and there is always a chance of getting lost. A general rule of thumb is that each hiker should have a gallon of water per day. So if you get stuck in a piping hot desert, it’s not going to be sufficient.

You can keep a hydration pack to avoid that. It comes in different quantities to use, whichever suits your storage best. We typically keep a 3-litre hydration pack apart from a gallon of a water bottle. You can also keep a water filter and a straw if the trail consists of a drinkable water source.

Not Having a First-Aid Kit

The first aid kit seems like a basic thing to bring along on a hike. However, hikers usually don’t bother if they plan to return from a short trip or if the trail has medical facilities. But matters can go sideways quickly, for instance, an unexpected sandstorm, rain, getting lost, etc. It won’t hurt to keep a few essential first aid elements like bandages, medical tape, ace bandages, disinfectants, anti-allergies, and pain killers.