Category: Hiking

Hiking Accident Prevention: Meet The Tougher Side Of Mother Nature

September 1, 2021

Avoid The Unexpected Realities Of The Wilderness

MOTHER NATURE HAS A CRUEL SIDE. OBEY HER RULES TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE

Stay on the good side of Mother Nature by preparing for trail and weather conditions. Understand the risks, before you head into the backcountry.

Mother Nature At Her Worst

Avalanche

Extreme Heat

Blizzards

Flash Floods

Extreme Winds

Freezing Conditions

Abrupt Weather Change

Ice

Lightning

Hail

Whiteout

Fog

What You Don’t Know Can Kill You

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Know Before You Go: Trip Planning Resources For Hikers and Backpackers

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Irene Pastore, is a Certified Personal Trainer, fitness blogger, health educator, and speaker. She has 24 years experience teaching exercise in New York City. To read her complete bio, visit the About Page.

Hiking Accident Prevention: Why You Should Use A Compass and Map

September 1, 2021

A Map & Compass Are Hiking Survival Tools

Why should you learn to use a compass and map, when all you need is your GPS device?

The reason is battery failure. It’s ok to bring your GPS and cell phone, but don’t rely on them. In many wilderness areas, cell phone signals are weak or don’t exist.

If you’re not familiar with reading a map and compass, learn how to use them before your next trip. And then, put them in your pack for your next hike, even if it’s only for a day.

A compass and map applies to all skill levels, and is one of the 10 Essentials of Hiking.

Hikers sometimes get lost, or injured. If your device fails, or you aren’t carrying one, a map and compass could save you from hypothermia, or heat exhaustion.

Trail maps for U.S. national parks and U.S. forests can be ordered online from the U.S. Forest Service, and National Geographic, Click this link for State trail maps.

Where to buy a trail compass; Sporting goods stores, REI.com, Amazon.

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KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Trip Planning Resources For Hikers and Backpackers

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Irene Pastore, is a Certified Personal Trainer, fitness blogger, health educator, and speaker. She has 24 years experience teaching exercise in New York City.  For her complete bio, visit the About Page.  

Hiking Accident Prevention: Don’t Hike Alone

August 6, 2021
STORIES PAST AND PRESENT

Cautionary Stories For Back Country Hikers

Solo Hiking Increases Your Risk Of No Return

In August 2018 Samantha Sayers 27, never returned from her solo hike up Vesper Peak in the North Cascades, near Seattle, Washington. After an 8,000 hour search, not a trace of her showed up. To date, her family has no closure about what happened to her.

Esther Dingley, 37 went missing while solo hiking near the border of Spain and France, in the Pyrenees mountains. She started her hike on November 22, 2020, and was expected to return within 3 days. Partial remains were recently discovered, and tested positive for her DNA, giving her family closure, but no explanation as to how she died. The search continues for her equipment.

Both women had concerned family, and devoted companions who searched the mountains looking for clues to their whereabouts.

More Posts On This Topic

Hiking Accident Prevention: 7 Risks Of Solo Hiking

Hiking Accident Prevention: Know Before You Go Trip Planning

Hiking Accident Prevention: Solo Hikers Go Missing On The Trail

Disappearing On The Hiking Trail

Irene Pastore, is a Certified Personal Trainer, fitness blogger, health educator, and speaker. She has 23 years experience teaching exercise in New York City. Visit the About page to read her bio.

Hiking Accident Prevention: Solo Hikers Go Missing On The Trail

August 4, 2021

 STORIES PAST AND PRESENT

Cautionary Tales For Back Country Hikers

Frequent hiker Harold “Joe” Smallwood 82, got lost while hiking solo in the Santa Rita Mountains in Arizona.  In late afternoon, he called 911 for help, reporting he was lost and couldn’t find the trail.  Until poor weather conditions prevailed, 120 people, rescue canines, horses, and helicopters, were involved in a 7-day search for the missing hiker.

Media: Solo Hiking With Unfortunate Outcomes

CNN.com – July 30, 2021 – Bone confirmed to be remains of missing British hiker Esther Dingley, By James Briggs

AZCentral.com  July 10, 2019 – Arizona searchers find remains of hiker who dialed for help in February, By Shaq Davis Arizona Daily Star

9NEWS.com – 3/15/19  –Search Efforts Suspended For Missing Tennessee Man In Rocky Mountain National Park, By Janet Oravetz

NYTimes.com (The New York Times) 3/26/19 – Geraldine Largay’s Wrong Turn: Death On The Appalachian Trail,   By Jess Bidgood and Richard Pérez-Peña

Adirondack Daily Enterprise.com – 3/7/16 – Hiker who died in High Peaks was experienced, but ill prepared

Herald.net 9/14/18 The 8,000-hour search to #find sam sayers on vesper peak, By Caleb Hutton

Times-Union.com –  3/18/16 –Hiker,  Hua Davis’ Death A Tragedy That Didn’t Have To Happen, By Herb Terns

HeraldSun.com 10/22/19 Rescuers reach remote Cascades cabin but don’t find missing hiker, Washington cops say, By Jaret Gilmour

Asheville Citizen-Times, October 4, 2018 – Staying safe in the outdoors: Hiking death in Great Smokies a reminder of forest dangers,  By Karen Chavez

EPTrail.com (Estes Park, Colorado) May 12, 2019 Three missing hikers in six months is unprecedented for RMNP search and rescue operations, By Tyler Pialet (RMNP: Rocky Mountain National Park)

CNN.com October 26, 2020 Search resumes for university professor who went missing after hiking in Mount Rainier National Park, By Harmeet Kaur and Andy Rose

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Trip Planning Resources For Hikers and Backpackers

Irene Pastore, is a Certified Personal Trainer, fitness blogger, health educator, and speaker. She has 23 years experience teaching exercise in New York City. Visit the About page to read her bio.

Hiking Accident Prevention: What You Should Know About Rattlesnake Season

August 4, 2021

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What To Do If You Encounter A Rattlesnake

ADVICE FROM THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NPS.com 9/11/20 – Run-ins with Rattlesnakes Results In Rescues, By Yosemite National Park Search and Rescue

Click Here For Link To Article
And Here

RATTLESNAKE

Length Is 2 To 4 Feet

Striking Distance Is Half Their Length

Rattlesnake Season: Precaution Information From the San Diego Humane Society

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Trip Planning Resources For Hikers and Backpackers

Irene Pastore, is a Certified Personal Trainer, fitness blogger, health educator,
and speaker. She has 25 years experience teaching exercise in New York City.
Visit the About Page to read her bio.

Hiking Accident Prevention: Extreme Heat Fatalities In Kalbarri National Park, Australia

August 4, 2021

 

S T O R I E S  P A S T  A N D  P R E S E N T

Cautionary Tales For Back Country Hikers

Heat Exposure and Dehydration Fatalities In Australia’s Outback Fall 2018

THERE ARE MANY STORES LIKE THIS OF HIKERS FOUND DEAD OR RESCUED IN CRITICAL CONDITION FROM HIKING IN EXTREME HEAT

Temperatures reaching 104º Fahrenheit, resulting in heat exhaustion and dehydration, are the suspected causes of several recent deaths in Australia’s outback.

An elderly couple, and two men in unrelated incidents, were found dead in the outback, from insufficient hydration while hiking.

Bob Cooper, Australian survival hiking expert, gives planning and survival tips when hiking during high temperature, in the November 4, ABC News article listed below.

ONLINE NEWS SOURCES

ABC News, November 4, 2018  – Two People Have Died In Remote Parts of Western Australia In One Week — But Experts Say Most Outback Deaths Are Preventable, By Sarah Collard

ABC News, October 28, 2018 – Man Dies of Suspected Dehydration After Group Hiking In Kalbarri National Park Runs Out of Water, By Sarah Collard.

ABC News,  November 8, 2018  – Remote Australian Deaths Prompts Warning Outback Travel Dangers Could Rise, By Emily Smith

ABC.Net.au, November 25, 2018 – German Tourists Wandered 17km off Central Australia Hiking Trail Before Dying Of Dehydration, Heat Stress, By Neda Vanovac

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Trip Planning Resources For Hikers and Backpackers

Irene Pastore, is a Certified Personal Trainer, fitness blogger, health educator, and speaker. She has 25 years experience teaching exercise in New York City. Her bio is found on the About Page of this website.