4 Important Tips For Those People Who Are New To Hiking

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Hiking provides hundreds of thousands of people with tremendous pleasure and a sense of adventure each year and 99% of the time it is anything but hazardous. But, people do have accidents and get lost every once in a while and it can then become a hazardous activity very quickly if you are not prepared.

Here we look at just 4 basic hiking safety tips to ensure that your hiking doesn't get you into trouble.

Safety Tip No1 - Take a partner of friend along.

You don't need to worry about heading out alone if you are going for a short hike in a nearby area on easy terrain, however, if you are heading out into heavily wooded wilderness areas with winding trails and steep canyons then the likelihood of getting lost or suffering an injury becomes very real and you ought to consider carefully whether it is sensible to head out alone.

Having a partner or friend along can have a lot of advantages, particularly if that individual is a seasoned hiker. After all, 'two heads are better than one' and if you do get lost or run into trouble you're far less likely to panic if you have somebody with you to help to solve the problem.

Safety Tip No 2 - Make sure that someone knows where you're going.

If you are new to hiking then you should certainly stick to clearly marked and well traveled paths and should not start to stray from these routes to explore until you have gained some experience and have learned map reading skills and know how to read a compass. But, it won't take you too long before you're ready to try some more adventurous trails and the possibility of getting lost or injured will arise.

As a consequence, you should always let somebody know where you are going and when you expect to return so that they can send out a search party if you don't return as expected.

Safety Tip No 3 - Ensure that you take along some basic equipment.

In addition to as a good pair of hiking boots and sensible clothing it's essential to carry a basic survival kit with you and your local hiking club will be able to give you excellent advice on the sort of items which this should include, as well as providing you with advice on basic emergency first aid steps. Here we're looking at such things as matches and a lighter, a first aid kit, a good knife and a flashlight with fresh batteries.

In addition, it is a good idea to take a map and compass along together with a fully charged cell phone.

Safety Tip No 4 - Take some basic provisions with you.

Water or other fluids such as sports drinks are clearly essential as you can lose water very fast even over a couple of hours on a hot day. You should note though that water is heavy, so take along sufficient but not too much. Remember though that you should not drink from local streams as natural water sources may appear to be inviting but they are often high in bacteria and can make you very sick very quickly.

Also do not forget to take enough food to last you. It is no fun to be hungry while you're out but do not forget that you can last a good deal longer without food than without water.

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