Hiking Tips To Help You Make The
Right Choices And Stay Safe.

Hiking Tips...About Making Choices.

Hiking Tips...hiking safety is often about making the right choices. Choices that may well impact on your safety and security;

• What time of year should you attempt that mountain climb?
• Should you train and get fit before a hard trek?
• Should you notify someone of when and where you're going and when you expect to arrive?
• Do you take the left fork in the trail... or the right?
• Should you really be going by yourself?
• Are the clothes and provisions you're taking adequate?
• Can you rely on your cell phone or GPS to keep you out of trouble?
• Should you wade that fast flowing stream?
• Is it safe to drink from that stream?

Being careless or foolhardy or making the wrong choices can lead to tragedy.

Obeying all the rules can help you avoid the many dangers lurking in the wilderness. But never forget... all the preparation in the world won't save you if you are unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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Hiking Tips...So What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

These same incidents are to be found under "Camping Survival".

After all whether you're Hiking or Camping out you are still exposed to the elements and whatever surprises Mother Nature has in store for you.

• Lightning kills 5 hikers in Seoul July 29th, 2007. Four were killed and four injured climbing Mt. Buhkan, while on Mt. Surak another was struck and died (two others were injured).
  
  
• Landslide kills seven hikers in May 1999 in Hawaii's Sacred Falls State Park (many more injured). Rockslides kill another eight in May 2001 on Koolau Mountain Range, Hawaii.
  
  
• 54 year-old female hiker accidentally shot by 14-year old hunter Sauk Mountain Trail, Washington in August 2008 when mistaken for a bear.
  
  
• Nine seniors die of hypothermia on a guided mountain climbing trip in Japan in July 2009.
  
  

• Eleven hikers die when swept away by a flash flood in Antelope Canyon, Arizona in August 1997.
  
  
• Woman falls 500ft to her death after dismounting from donkey by edge of Grand Canyon cliff in 1998.
  
  
• There were 356 reported fatalaties in U.S. National Parks in 2003-2004. 17% were deemed to be suicide; 10% occurred while hiking; 6% while climbing, and 75% of fatalaties were male.
  
  

• Alaskan Forestry worker kills attacking bear with Magnum semi-automatic rifle in March 2007. The giant bear, standing 14ft high, was the largest grizzly ever recorded. It's stomach contents revealed that it had eaten two humans in the three days prior. A search found the remains of one hiker (along with his empty 38 calibre pistol... he'd managed to pump four slugs into the bear). The remains of the second human were never found.
  
  
• Two women killed by Grizzly Bears in seperate incidents the evening of August 1967 in Glacier National Park. This led to the theory that the bears may have been attracted by the scent of menstual blood. A study by Cushing in 1983 found captive polar bears attracted to seal and menstrual scents over a range of other odors; but other research with Black and Brown Bears has been inconclusive.
  
  
• Three teenage boys stalked and killed by a young male Black Bear in Ontario, Canada in 1978. The three boys had been fishing near Radiant Lake. A fourth was lucky enough to escape.
  
  
• 58 fatal attacks by Black and Brown Bears have occurred in North America in the last 20 years.
  
  
• North American mountain lions are held resonsible for at least 13 deaths in the past two decades.
  
  
• 19-year old Canadian folk singer attacked and killed by coyotes while hiking alone in Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia in October 2009.
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• Falling fir tree kills two hikers in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2007.
  
  
• Cardiac arrest is resonsible for around one third of mountain hiking fatalities.
  
  
• The risk of Sudden Cardiac Death is 5-50 times greater during exercise than at rest.
  
  
• Wilderness diarrhea can result from drinking untreated water (from streams, lakes or ponds) or inadequate hygiene. Various parasites, bacteria and viruses can be picked up unless thorough hand washing, washing of eating utensils and toilet protocols are followed. Some of the nasties that can be acquired are Giardiasis and Leptospirosis(from surface water); Lyme Disease, Tularemia and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (from ticks);Viral Encephalitis, Dengue Fever and West Nile Virus (from mosquitoes).

Being out alone in the wilderness can be a liberating and wonderful experience; but that isolation can also make you vulnerable to hazards and dangers. The message is not to let fear prevent you from exploring and enjoying the great outdoors, but to always be aware of what is really out there... and not all of it is good!

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Hiking Tips..."Essentials" to Keep You Safe.

• Map.
• Compass or GPS receiver.
• Mobile phone or two-way radio.
• First Aid kit.
• Matches or a fire starter.
• Flashlight or headlamp.
• Knife or multi-tool like "Leatherman/Swiss Army".
• Sunscreen and sunglasses.
• Extra water and food.
• Extra clothing.
• Tent or plastic tarp & rope for shelter.
• Signalling device (e.g. mirror, whistle, flare).
• Insect repellant.
• Water purification kit (either filter or chemical).
• Repair kit (e.g. duct tape, sewing materials).

Hiking Tips...Man charged over murder of three hikers...two victims decapitated.