Hiking Safety Tips
In 2024 through October, there have been at least 4 unnecessary hiker deaths from being lost and / or hypothermic exposure in Victoria and Tasmania. Their fate might have been much different if they were adequately prepared for contingencies.
On this page, we offer some basic tips on wilderness hiking safety which could make your hike a much more pleasant experience, and in crucial times could make a huge difference between survival and unnecessary trauma
Many of you have experience hiking in very high elevations, in bear country or on challenging terrain - do share your valuable tips in the forum pages or send us your tips to add to this section.
1. Always Check the Weather
Weather conditions change quickly in the wilderness, particularly in the mountains. Checking the weather forecast in the area before you set out on your hike helps you being adequately prepared.
It could also mean to take an extra layer; plan more time or carry more water in warmer conditions to prevent heat exhaustion. It could also mean you need to take the hard decision to postpone or cancel in the event of lightning storms, extreme heat, extreme cold, heavy rain that may cause floods or mud slides, or strong winds that may fell trees, etc..
2. Don't Start Late & hope for the best
One of the perils of hiking is running out of day light. There is a wide array of things that could quickly go south when it gets dark before you could get back or reach your destination. You could very easily get lost; have a bad fall because you can't see where you are going; it gets cold and you are not adequately dressed; any one of which could leave you stranded and in danger. Rather start early and allow plenty of time to get back well before it gets dark or before bad weather closes in.
3. Don't Understimate the Trail
In our great enthusiasm to scale the next peak, we often under-estimate the difficulty and trail conditions. Every trail is different. The hiking guides may provide a rough guide of distances, types of terrain and degree of difficulty. Each hiker needs to be aware of their fitness and agility to tackle challenging terrain. This may vary from day to day depending on how well you slept the night before, if you are fully healthy or nursing a bug. Certain terrain like boulder scrambling and steep and uneven hills could slow you down significantly and tire you out more than you might realise.
4. Adequate Food & Water
Often people show up for a 12 km hike without having had breakfast thinking they never eat breakfast any way or without carrying water. Invariably they get exhausted very quickly and were not able to continue with the hike. In the best case, other hikers carried extra and could spare them some food and water, in the worst case, they endanger themselves and others.
A good breakfast rich in protein, magnesium and some carb is always a good start before a hike. Do carry enough power snacks and water to last through the hike according to the demands of the weather, and some extra in case you get delayed or stranded over night.
Prefer natural foods like banana, nuts and seeds, dried fruit, and water as opposed to highly processed protein bars or energy drinks.
5. Plan Ample Time
Estimated time for hikes provided by hiking Apps like Alltrails and others are averages and they assume non-stop walking at a good pace. However, hiking in nature is unlike the predictability of non stop constant pace on a treadmill. We stop to take in the view or the sight of an animal or beautiful flowers; take photos, take rest pause, wait up for a slower hiker; slowed down by weather or fallen trees; and take refreshment breaks or even an extended picnic at a beautiful view point.
Planning ample time takes away stress and allows us to fully enjoy the hike without feeling stressed..
6. Carry Appropriate First Aid & Survival Kits
Carrying appropriate first aid and survival items on a hike is akin to getting travel insurance. Its something you would want to take up but hope you would never need to use. It's in those rare times when you really need it that you wished you did have it, but the consequences of not having crucial items when in need could be significant.
What to carry is a compromise between potential risks and weight in your pack. See the Hiking Gear First Aid Kit section in this website for some basic suggestions.
7. Be Adequately Prepared for Navigating the Trail
With the availability of navigation Apps, finding our way through most trails has become much more accessible compared to the days when you had to learn the skills of navigating with a map and compass.
Even with popular Apps like Alltrails, one needs to be mindful that in most remote areas, there is no mobile service, hence a paid subscription would be helpful for saving offline maps before setting out. Even still, these Apps have been known to be not 100% reliable - they are mostly generated by other hikers, and trails may have changed, or the App itself may hang at the most crucial times. These App also drain your phone battery rather quickly.
It would be prudent to have back ups including a power bank to recharge your phone, downloaded offline maps on google maps; basic knowledge of the terrain layout with some sense of direction, distance, and key terrain features; and preferably also some knowledge and skill in manual navigation with map and compass.
8. Let Someone Know your Hiking Plans
Whether you are doing a day hike or multi-day trek in the wilderness, always let a loved one know your plans and intended trails.
At the end of the hike, make it a habit to send that someone a photo or a short note so they know you have returned safely.
At some National Parks, eg Cradle National Park, there are log books for hikers to log their intended hikes. Do log your hikes and include names of all persons in your group.