Safety measures when you hike outdoors

Let it surprise you

I share some things that I have learned over 20 years of walking outdoors that increases the possibility of:

• Return safely home.
• Enjoy the place you visit.
• Feel more confident and calm regardless of the circumstances.

It is up to you to apply the recommendations I explain below at your own risk:

Search one or more people to follow up on your trip (monitor)

Talk to someone you trust, and preferably with the ability to know what to do in case you do not report at a certain time. Let him know the route you plan to travel (and stick to it) and the estimated time of arrival.

If at a certain time you do not report, your monitor may begin to notify other friends that you have not arrived, and that it will be probably they have to go look for you. By having the route, they will know what direction to look for you.

If there is a group from a social network to report your exits, do it and put the necessary basic information, so they can find you in case of an emergency. Due to this, it is important that you get used to report when you go, when you come and when you arrive.

Nowadays with the technology that exists, you can share your position with people of confidence. If there is no signal, do not worry, there are times when your phone has a signal and shares your last position. Also, depending on the area you can carry communication radios and ... if you have the economic capacity and it is worth it, you can buy a GPS with the service that shares your position with other people.

Plan your route

Say hello to the people and be nice.

Once you are outdoors, always and warmly welcome the people you meet regardless of their appearance and what they bring with them. By default we all tend to be defensive when we see a person we don't know; greetings breaks that initial barrier and give you standing to receive help if you need it.

Showing respect towards the person you meet, you tend to also receive respect. Use your common sense to know when to ask, what route they recommend to get to a certain place, and if there is a problem. Avoid following a route if a person insists that you shouldn't follow.

If you hear voices of people from a distance and there is a way to avoid them, do it while you stay on a trail.

All people deserves respect, and to greet remove barriers

Respect the place you pass by.

This includes several things, such as leaving a door as you found it, either open or closed.

Use your common sense to know when to take pictures or something else. The lands you pass can be from ejidatarios, comuneros or private, and you have to maintain the trust so that you and other hikers will continue to have the opportunity to continue passing by, without problems with the owners or other people who work in the back county.

Many of us like exploration, and we regularly walk off trails. However, the use of trails and roads is much safer and it is recommended.

Walk without a trace, take only photographs, leave only your fingerprints, kill only the time ...

Left the doors as you found them...

Avoid separating yourself from the group

In addition to putting yourself at risk, you put more people at risk when they go looking for you if you get lost or something happens. To remain united to the group, helps any accident can be attended or reported faster.

Dress appropriately.

This means that you notice that you are a visitor or hiker. Use bright colors such as yellow, red or orange in some visible garment. Avoid the use of uniforms similar to official or camouflaged ... it's a bad idea!

The use of pants and shirts or blouses with short sleeves is very comfortable, however, the use of long sleeves protects you more from the sun, animals and plants. And reviewing the climate of the region you visit will help you decide better, including preparing for sudden changes in climate.

Dress appropriately, make it clear you're a hiker

Respect flora and fauna

In more than 20 years the only beings that have attacked me are bees and a spider that I never saw. Once, those were African bees and those attack whether you enter their comfort bubble even if you do not bother them ... the other bees were because we accidentally moved their hive ... the spider bit me because I was looking for a geocache near its web for almost one minute.

Well, in general, animals will not attack you unless they feel attacked or cornered. It would be very cowardly to kill an animal in the open air just because you are afraid of it. We are the visitors and they simply want to take us out of their sight. Even the animals most feared by many people, like snakes, prefer to get away from you.

If they feel attacked, keep calm and walk slowly without looking at them. Fleeing would invite them to go for you.

When you go in a group, the probability of  finding an animal tends to zero. When you go alone and do not want to meet animals, step on the leaves of the trail from time to time to scare away those who hear you from a distance.

It is more to be afraid of another human being than of an animal; and we saw above how to behave with another person ...

Snake

Offer your trip to God

If you are religious or believe in God, entrust and offer your way out. It is comforting to know that if something happens to you once you pray, it is because it was in God's plans or because you were stupid...

Talk with God

Keep calm

No matter the conditions or situation you are in, if you manage to control your panic and keep calm, you can think and make better decisions. Many times the solution to your fatigue when you are still far from your destination that day, is to just sleep an hour and change your route ...

Keep calm and rest is important