Hike smart for Safe and Joyful hike especially during the summer months. The NPS (National Park Service) encourages special caution for all hikers in the summer.
The national park authorities might have seen that, every year, many hikers come to the trial without proper preparation. The fresh hikers get attracted to the first easy downhill hiking experience, but later on the hiking gets harder and they may feel severe illness, or they may get injury and in some cases it could be a fatality when hiking in the canyon.
Photo Credit: Jake Newman on flickr
It is advisable to prepare well enough before starting, read the hiking smart tips page and browse the back country updates and closures page for updated information on trail situations and conditions alarming the back country.
You should know the facts that you may not get the help immediately during the summer because of less staff and also more rescue call. Especially during hot summer days or stormy days limited safety requirements, and also limited pilots to fly helicopter during this time.
Hiking is not all about having physical strength don’t just rely on it, hike smart and you may go much farther. The rescue team responds to heat exhausted hikers every single day during the summer. So you don’t to be the one to get rescued! To avoid sunstroke drink plenty of water and follow these below tips to be a smart hiker:
Ten Hiking Essentials for Summer Hike:
1. Water – Drink a lot of water and liquids, get some plain water and get add electrolyte in some water bottles.
2. Food: Eat twice the amount of food that usually eat, and eat salty foods, yes its true salty foods helps you fight the heat.
3. First Aid Kit: You first aid kit must contain ace wrap, band-aids, moleskin, antiseptic, etc.
4. Map: Don’t forget to bring Map, even though the trails are marked well, maps could be helpful.
5. Pack: Pack your backpack light; carry only what you need to survive.
6. Spare Batteries/Flashlight: It is always good to pack flashlight and extra batteries when you are hiking.
7. Sunscreen/Hat: These two items protects your skin from the hot sun and UV rays.
8. Whistle/Signal Mirror: These items are useful for emergency purpose
9. Waterproof Clothing: Jacket or poncho will be good especially during the monsoon season.
Drink a lot of water and eat often:
When you are hiking on hot summer day, you may lose around ½ to 1 quart of sweat for every one hour. That is why you should drink lot of water and electrolyte. When you are climbing uphill you may lose around 2 quarts of liquid from your body, if you don’t drink enough water, you will get dehydrated very soon and it can lead to other serious problems. So to avoid all these trouble you must drink lot of liquids. Whenever you take small intervals from hike, eat something salty; eat some snack to keep you energy levels normal.
Do not wait to drink water till you are thirsty, drink water often and sometimes replace it with other liquids and electrolytes. If you feel thirsty that means you are dehydrated. If you get dehydrated, then you may not enjoy your hiking trip. So keep that in mind and drink lot of water and eat often.
Conclusion:
Make sure to balance your intake of food with fluids and some solid food. If you do not drink water during summer hike, you can get debilitated and may become dangerously ill. So follow the above mentioned tips and make your hiking experience fun and safe.