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Five Tips for Safe Desert Hiking
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.
2. Remember water and electrolytes. If you’re going on an extended desert hike, you have to remember that water is crucial. Even if you think you can handle a certain amount of exercise, remember that hot air and the sun can also contribute to dehydration – and you often don’t know it until it’s too late.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
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Three Types of Extreme Hiking
If I ask you to associate a word with “hiking,” what immediately pops to mind? Probably calm words like “serene,” “peaceful,” or “nature.” But the world of exploring nature and crossing different terrain isn’t only about moving quietly up hiking trails in secluded national parks. There are different types of hiking – more extreme levels of hiking – that many of us don’t even think about.
Mountaineering – If you thought climbing up a hill was tough, mountaineering would be like running a marathon. It takes hiking to another level – a vertical level, as it turns out – moving up steeper slopes and more treacherous terrain in order to get a thrill. It’s not always safe, which is why you’ll see more people hiking up the more peaceful terrain than you will mountaineers. For the mountaineers themselves, experience and a good knowledge of safety precautions can help them live a long life even while risking death.
Canyoneering – It’s probably not to difficult to imagine where a “canyoneer” might venture. As opposed to a mountaineer – who travels up – the canyoneer descends, descends, and descends around canyons and crevasses. It’s a dangerous world of steep cliffs and fast rivers. You might see a canyoneer use skills like working with rope, swimming, and rock climbing in order to make his way around a canyon.There are calmer ways of becoming a canyoneer. If you ever find yourself near a spot like the Grand Canyon, you can take more heavily-trafficked hiking trails that are well-mapped out. Just be sure to proceed with caution.
Coasteering – If a canyoneer climbs across canyons, a “Coasteer” works on the coast. If you associate moving up and down a coast with walking on soft white sand, you haven’t seen it all. Coasteering can see a lot of different challenges and outright challenges to basic safety, including rock cliffs and laggoons. The ocean is always a powerful factor that can’t be ignored; tides are powerful and waves can be angry. A coasteer will get pletny of spectacular views, but sometimes it comes with a great risk to their safety.
If you’ve only been a “Hilleer,” scaling small hills in serene forests, this article has probably opened up a whole new world for you. You don’t have to go and risk life and limb in order to have a better time hiking, but you should know that there’s a lot of different terrain to be explored. If you do decide to tackle tougher terrain, make sure to hire a guide and instructor; you can’t simply waltz into it.
Photo Credits: Chewonki Semester School
