Solo hiking safety tips

[TheChop]

A lot of good advice in here. Some of which I hadn't thought of. When I first went solo I took a detailed photographic inventory of everything I carried. That way if something did happen no one would be wondering if things I left on the trail/dropped/etc. was from me or not. I e-mailed this to two or three people.

I also would never hike alone without a good pair of sticks, a cell phone in a waterproof sack with the battery out of it and without having a good look at some topography maps before I took off and an awareness of where I would go if something were to happen. I hiked the DRT alone earlier this year and the entire time I could see farms down off the Ridge. If worst came to worst I would head downhill.

At the end of the day hiking alone is dangerous. When I came off my Smokies hike alone this older couple chatted me up and when I told him I was out alone he says, "Isnt' that dangerous? What if you fall and break something?" and all I could say was, "Isn't driving in a car dangerous?"

[jersey joe]

The most dangerous thing out there in my opinion is getting caught in lightning storms on a high ridge. Especially on the grassy balds in the south in the afternoons.

[hailstones]

I can back up jersey joe's claim to lighting and hailstorms on ridges,lol

[TheChop]

I can back up this a third time but without a funny username. Nothing like getting halfway up Coosa Bald when the lightning comes.

[Kerosene]

My first backpacking trip in 12 years was solo in southeastern Michigan in late-October at the peak of fall colors. I heard the rumbling of a T-storm as I broke camp the second morning, and sure enough it doused me before I could get to shelter. I holed up on the porch of a park service building for half an hour before setting out again, only to have a squall line pass directly over me with trees on all sides of me. Scary, especially since I had a soccer buddy die from a lightning strike.

The second time was just before I summited Mt. Moosilaukee. I had started from Glencliff just before 3 pm in mid-September 2006 and was going to meet my hiking partners at Beaver Brook Shelter about 8 miles NOBO (they had parked at Kinsman Notch). There are been scatter T-storms all afternoon on the drive up, and I was hoping to avoid them as the rumble of thunder came steadily closer. I finally decided to slow down to avoid getting caught at the summit, when soon after a bolt hit a tree less than a tenth of a mile away, almost blinding and deafening me. That got my heart moving! Fortunately, that was the last bolt from the storm, but the swirling clouds and impending darkness made it interesting crossing the open summit.

[Old Grouse]

It's worth remembering that if you're within hearing distance of thunder, you're also (at least possibly) within striking distance of lightening.

[DapperD]

Speak softly and carry a big stick. Seriousely, eat good, take plenty of breaks, stay well hydrated.

[garlic08]

I read a Backpacker Mag article a few years ago, which tabulated hikers' fears vs actual rescue causes.

Up real high in the "fear" column were animal attacks and lightning. Down at the bottom were slips and falls.

At the top of the actual rescue column were slips and falls. At the bottom were, you guessed it, animal attacks and lightning.

[Chenango]

Be willing to slow down or turn back or stop and make camp when sober reflection tells you that an unhappy choice like that is really the right choice --- that even if you overriding goal is to do more miles that you'll more reliably do those miles by making the more sane choice. For me this year that included bailing and hobbling back down to town last month when I strained my quad muscle in the Whites. My inner 18-year-old was urging me to "just deal with it" and push on albeit at a slower pace, but bailing and resting in this particular case was the right choice.

For me perhaps the highest trail wisdom is knowing when to listen to your body and when to tell it to shut the hell up !

I have that inner 18 year old, too. Don't listen to him.

[oldbear]

Here's a couple more
* Check your ego at the trailhead
* For a solo hiker there is no such thing as a minor accident
* Start your day early and end it early
*If you don't have the right gear with you nobody is going to lend it to you
*The most important piece of equipment that you have is your brain and the vast amount of knowledge that it contains

[mikec]

If you lose the trail, don't panic. Study your maps and backtrack to the last point where you saw a blaze. Use a compass or GPS. Avoid bushwhacking.

If seriously lost, don't waste energy going in circles. Either try calling for help on a cell phone or wait for help.

[earlyriser26]

1) trust your gut, if someone seems not right avoid them
2) Hitch hiking is something that is almost unavoidable at times, but remember this... strange people hitch hike, stranger people pick them up! See point 1.
3) weather is the most deadly thing on the trail, heat, cold, lightning, etc.
4) don't worry about bears. I believe that only 3 people have been killed by bears in the eastern untited states since world war II.

[Dancer]

1) Don't take your feet for granted! If you feel a hot spot then stop and treat it.
2) If you are prone to chafing; carry a small, trial size of Gold Bond powder. It can save your morale and sanity on a multi day hike.
3) Don't wear a "new outfit" on an overnight hike. Make sure new clothing fits properly and doesn't "rub funny" at seams, necklines or waistlines. Walk a couple of miles in them with your pack on. Same goes for new socks and for the love of God... break in your boots.
4) Don't get chilled. If you are cold, stop immediately and layer. If possible, remove and replace damp or wet layers. A "boggin" and gloves go a long way. Cook a hot meal and get a fire going. If worse comes to worse find a safe spot, put up shelter and get in your sleeping bag. Once you are in trouble it is too late.

[sixhusbands]

Take a look back from time to time to see where you have come from and what the trail looks like going "that' way. So if you get lost , you will have some familiar landmarks to help you find your way back.

It is amazing what you will see when you are hiking solo. that deer lying still under that tree...the loon calling from the lake.... butterflies....chipmunks....the morning sunrise or the evening sunset... the sounds of the brook...

and you are on your own time and pace...enjoy it!

[dcmidnight]

Lots of good advice here. I tend to overthink/overprepare but maybe thats the old Boy Scout in me - here's some more random stuff.

One of the things I do is carry way more food and water than I need. If I'm going for two days I carry 3+ days of food and plenty of water. Worst case I end up bringing it home. I'm in good enough shape that carrying around an extra 6 oz of food doesnt break the bank for me. I've given it away to people before or most of the time just brought it home. Water is tricky in the SNP where I do most of my hiking there are plenty of water stops but there is just no telling most of the time how it will be. So extra food and water.

Always prepared for bad weather. I dont care if the online forecast says its a low of 65 that night - bring pants, bring a jacket, be prepared.

Prior to leaving I email a Google map of where I'm going to two people with GPS coordinates attached. Here's where I'm starting, end of day 1 etc. Then I call them at whatever pre-arranged time. They also have a picture of what my pack setup looks like. Takes abotu two minutes to put together and email out.

I wrap a yard or so of duct tape around one of my hiking poles.

I'm still amazed at people who dayhike and bring absolutely nothing with them. Even on good trails, even on well marked good trails near a major road - it does not take a lot to say hop off the trail to go to the bathroom, get spun around and suddenly be totally lost.

[Dogwood]

Since I enjoy hiking alone and then meeting people on trails when I want to meet them on my terms I almost always hike alone, on less hiked trails, or hike off-trail. All of this means higher risks. Solo hiking, in general, means accepting higher risks.

When hiking solo in remote areas I've learned to accept the higher risks and prepare for those higher risks as much as I know how. I'm now comfortable with that. Took some time though. I'm always trying to gather as much usable info and assessing the risks in relation to my abilities or lack of them. Hiking solo means I need to be comfortable in my own ability to continue on as a self sufficient unit. I think it wise to soberly access your own abilities and see if solo hiking is right for you. As much as I like to push the envelope I've learned how to step back, slow down, access, and THEN either continue, or, as much as I might not like it, retreat! Same if I get lost. Sometimes, especially as a thru-hiker, it can be so difficult to get out of that "I must push on, I'm invincible menatality" that thru-hikers often adopt.

[Rocket Jones]

Not just a solo tip, but as you walk away from any break, take a look back at where you were, just in case you forgot something you took out or some gear fell off your pack.

[Hoop]

I have a friend who stood on the downhill side of the trail shaking a pebble out of his shoe; the shoe fell and slid only about ten feet but it could have been a lot worse. I learned my lesson.

[sbhikes]

One tip not mentioned (I do a lot of these already mentioned) is to spend time on the trail thinking up ways to deal with things that might happen. If you lost or broke some item, what do you have you could use instead? Doing this builds your improvisation skills. It's also a part of taveling light.

For example, I brought some bad esbits on my last trip. I used a half a box of matches lighting one cube. Now I didn't have enough matches. I wondered what I could do instead. Could my reading glasses light the cube at mid-day? (Never tried it, so I can't tell you.) I went through my inventory of food. Way too many almonds and dried fruit. I could eat that for dinner if I couldn't light my stove. I could also build a little stick fire to cook my dinner. I could also walk out to a near-by resupply place and purchase some lighters. (This last one is what I ended up doing.)

Also, being female, I found that one mile from a major road wasn't far enough. Make that 5 miles and then I felt safer. 10 miles and I knew there'd be nobody around me for at least 5 miles.

[10-K]

One tip not mentioned (I do a lot of these already mentioned) is to spend time on the trail thinking up ways to deal with things that might happen..

Hey - I do this too... Playing "What if?" is one of the ways I occupy myself while I'm hiking.