Five Tips for Safe Desert Hiking

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Desert hiking? Yeah, you heard me. When most people think about hiking, they think about thickly-forrested hills with trails cutting gently up the slopes, or canyoneering through northern Arizona with some spectacular views. But some people don’t have access to a whole lot of country side except…desert. And if you’re a desert hiker, that’s just fine by you.

Of course, desert hiking does come with a few risks. If you want to hike safely in the questionable terrain, here are a few tips that should help you on your way.

1. Plan a hike in advance. Don’t just know where you’re leaving on your hike, know where you’re going, what you’re bringing, who’s coming with you, and how to get to your destination. Without a plan, you’ll be far more susceptible to the potential dangers that come with desert hiking. Is every desert hike very dangerous? No, but being prepared will minimize your chances of something bad happening.

3. Protect your skin as much as you can. Remember to use light white fabrics that wick away sweat and protect your skin from the sun. White reflects more sunlight back to the sun, while black absorbs it. Dress in a lot of white and bring plenty of sunscreen so that the exposed parts of your skin still have some protection. You don’t only want to avoid sunburn, but you want to avoid your skin baking up and losing a lot of hydration.

4. Don’t go alone. It can be tempting to throw caution to the wind and go of adventuring by yourself, but if you bring a hiking partner, you’ll have a lot better chances of finding where you need to go, and making sure that you’ll stay safe.

5. Tell someone else about your plans. If you’re going to be gone a good while – or even going to be gone at all – make sure that someone relatively close to you knows where you headed and when you headed out.

Photo Credits: heatkernel