Trail dangers - what you don't know can kill you!

Last winter I sat down one evening and compiled a list of dangers associated with hiking that I could think of. The goal of this exercise was to think of ways to avoid these dangers if within my control, or to have a decent plan of dealing with them whenever they occur. To this end I would love to hear some real stories of things that were going wrong and how you successfully dealt with the situations at hand. Also, feel free to add anything to this list as I am sure there are things I must have missed.

Some dangers related to hiking:

1. lightning / thunderstorm
2. strong wind
3. falling trees / limbs
4. falling rocks
5. heavy rain
6. freezing rain
7. hailstorm
8. fast changes in ambient temperature
9. extreme cold
10. hypothermia
11. snowstorm
12. ice storm
13. icy conditions
14. slippery surfaces
15. avalanche
16. deep snow
17. spruce traps
18. glacier crevices
19. dense fog
20. extreme heat
21. heat stroke
22. sunlight exposure
23. blinding sunlight (no goggles / sunglasses)
24. drought
25. dust storm
26. flash floods
27. mudslides
28. raging streams
29. swimming in unknown bodies of water
30. flood-prone areas
31. swamps
32. lack of water
33. contaminated water
34. dehydration
35. loss of food
36. loss of shelter
37. loss of boots / clothing articles
38. lack or loss of equipment (e.g. flashlight, map, etc.)
39. forest fire
40. altitude sickness
41. injuries
    • broken bones
    • cuts
    • animal bites
    • insect bites
    • poisoning from plants
    • poisoning from animals
42. ticks / tick-borne diseases
43. animals with rabies
44. animal attacks
    • grizzly bears
    • black bears
    • mountain lions
    • venomous snakes
    • moose
    • wolfs
    • coyotes
    • wild hogs
    • bats (with rabies)
    • alligators
45. humans with criminal intents
46. not knowing where you are
47. panic
48. lost of ability to asses risk

I think your list is confusing because it mixes root causes and end effects. It would be much more descriptive to list each end effect and then all of the root causes. For instance hypothermia is an end effect with some root causes being excessive cold, strong wind, heavy rain, loss of clothing etc. the end effect might occur due to the combined effect of multiple root causes

And then you could take it one step further and say these are the steps to prevent the root cause from producing the end effect.

I'd add inadequate preparation and machismo to the dangers but agree with JHS about how to organize the list. That way, by addressing the cause you reduce, but not necessarily eliminate, multiple dangers.

Driving to/from the trailhead

John H Swanson said:

I think your list is confusing because it mixes root causes and end effects. It would be much more descriptive to list each end effect and then all of the root causes. For instance hypothermia is an end effect with some root causes being excessive cold, strong wind, heavy rain, loss of clothing etc. the end effect might occur due to the combined effect of multiple root causes

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I agree that the number of items on the list can be further separated into root causes and end effects yet the line between them sometimes can be quite blurry.

For example, a twisted ankle could be a result of slippery conditions or it might be just bad luck. Yet it could present a totally different challenge on a rarely used trail or bushwhack if it occured few miles away for the nearest trailhead with no cell coverage than if it happened at a local store parking lot.

Some of those are what makes hiking "type 2 fun". Some are challenges to prepare for and overcome.

To take a quote from the movie " The Town" If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.

John H Swanson said:

I think your list is confusing because it mixes root causes and end effects. It would be much more descriptive to list each end effect and then all of the root causes. For instance hypothermia is an end effect with some root causes being excessive cold, strong wind, heavy rain, loss of clothing etc. the end effect might occur due to the combined effect of multiple root causes

And then you could take it one step further and say these are the steps to prevent the root cause from producing the end effect.

Click to expand...

I agree that there's value in thinking about causes and effects separately: causes are the things that work to avoid/reduce/eliminate, and effects are the things you need to be prepared to resolve/mitigate/tough it out with when you experience them. I also agree there are items that fit in both lists, which is fine.

A few more items:
- thin ice/snow over water
- cliffs on ascent causing unforeseen delays and/or extra distance
- cliffs on descent causing stranding
- illusory/failing support/footing from unstable plants/rocks
- unwillingness to change the plan
- groupthink in decision making
- snake-wise (but hopefully not in the Whites), don't forget constricting snakes - impressive how potent a big python can be

In any case, it's an impressively long list when you look at everything together!

+1 on the drive to/from the trailhead especially after a long hike. Like descending a mountain vs. ascending.

I did a somewhat similar analysis on my gear list. It started with identifying "luxuries" and quickly changed to justifying each item.

Next to each item, I listed why I was bringing it, i.e what risk I was trying to mitigate and the likelihood of the risk.

A surprising amount of my hiking gear was/is related to the risk of hypothermia - clothing, rain gear, shelter, sleep system, fire making tools, food/water [indirectly].

Some years back I started a similar project, with the goal of producing a website or pamphlet that hikers (and their concerned families) might find useful - a sort of mini-encyclopedia of trail dangers. I called it the "Paranoid Hiker's Guide to New England", and in I-don't-know-how-many years I've completed six articles, which you can find online. It sounds like I was right that there's some interest in such a thing; maybe I'll restart the project.

edited to add: reviewing the Table of Contents, one notable difference is that I didn't list things like "injuries" and "getting lost" or "loss of food". Some of that is the causes vs effects distinction ("loss of food" would be subsumed by "bears" or "mice"; "panic" is not covered). Some of that is that is my deliberate decision to focus on "backwoods" hazards (bears) to the exclusion of more familiar hazards (trip and fall). I had forgotten about spruce traps - that would go in my Natural Hazards category, which covers weather and terrain.

Tom_Murphy said:

I did a somewhat similar analysis on my gear list. It started with identifying "luxuries" and quickly changed to justifying each item.

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I also do a periodic review of my pack content and I usually have a hard trimming my gear list. I probably carry way too many batteries but then being a solo hiker most of the time I always want to make sure that my flash light, gps & Spot won't die out on me. One of my friends told me once during a hike that she didn't need to bring a first aid kit because she knew I would have one. She was actually right...

Thanks to everyone who glanced at the list and decided to chip in.

I went on a hike today and while trying to decide if I want put on my orange hat on in the morning I realized that I didn't mention hiking areas open to hunting.

Thinking about Stan's comment about inadequate preparation I also realized that I didn't mention ability to assess own skills and capabilities, both during preparation and the hike itself.

nartreb said:

Some years back I started a similar project, with the goal of producing a website or pamplet that hikers (and their concerned families) might find useful - a sort of mini-encyclopedia of trail dangers. I called it the "Paranoid Hiker's Guide to New England", and in I-don't-know-how-many years I've completed six articles, which you can find online. It sounds like I was right that there's some interest in such a thing; maybe I'll restart the project.

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I googled your guide and found it - it looks pretty interesting! I was actually wondering if anyone has already written a book like this, but I reasoned that if such a book existed it would pop up next to "Not without Peril" on Amazon. I didn't find anything that would cover a full spectrum of hiking dangers, although there are many books that explore different aspects of hiking risks.

The approach that you're taking is pretty similar to what would be covered in a course on Wilderness First Aid. You can get certified in a weekend for a few hundred bucks; I highly recommend it.

My project is aiming for something a little different: reassuring the "OMG! Bears will eat you!" crowd, or at least hikers who know members of that crowd.

iAmKrzys said:

One of my friends told me once during a hike that she didn't need to bring a first aid kit because she knew I would have one. She was actually right...

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Also known as "carrying one's security in someone else's rucksack...".

(Those who were rock climbing during the transition from pitons to nuts/chocks ("clean climbing") or have read the climbing history of the period (1960s-70s) may recognize the above. )

Doug

DougPaul said:

Also known as "carrying one's security in someone else's rucksack...".

(Those who were rock climbing during the transition from pitons to nuts/chocks ("clean climbing") or have read the climbing history of the period (1960s-70s) may recognize the above. )

Doug

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Wasn't it by Messner and about bolting?

http://web.mit.edu/lin/Public/climbing/Messner.txt

Some of us also remember the Barber supplement to Joe Cote's guide to Cathedral Ledge, and the Ego Book at EMS North Conway that recorded new FFAs.

DougPaul said:

Also known as "carrying one's security in someone else's rucksack...".

(Those who were rock climbing during the transition from pitons to nuts/chocks ("clean climbing") or have read the climbing history of the period (1960s-70s) may recognize the above. )

Click to expand...

jfb said:

Wasn't it by Messner and about bolting?

http://web.mit.edu/lin/Public/climbing/Messner.txt

Click to expand...

I certainly remember Messner's opposition to "murder of the impossible" by bolting otherwise too difficult rock, however my recollection of "carrying one's security in someone else's rucksack" is in the context of the transition from pitons to nuts. It could have easily been used on both contexts.

FWIW, Google hits:
* "murder of the impossible messner" lots of hits
* "carry courage rucksack messner" lots of hits
* "carry security rucksack messner" none

Looks to me like Messner used the word courage rather than security, however the underlying concept is the same. (Of course, he may have made his comments in German and we are at the mercy of the translators.)

Some of us also remember the Barber supplement to Joe Cote's guide to Cathedral Ledge, and the Ego Book at EMS North Conway that recorded new FFAs.

Click to expand...

I was even a member of a team that made an entry in the Ego Book, but others claimed the route had already been done.


Back to the OP's topic, plenty of things that you already know can kill you too...

Doug

DougPaul said:

I certainly remember Messner's opposition to "murder of the impossible" by bolting otherwise too difficult rock, however my recollection of "carrying one's security in someone else's rucksack" is in the context of the transition from pitons to nuts. It could have easily been used on both contexts.

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Perhaps someone once wrote something about climbing clean and with less gear to enhance the adventure.

http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/ch_page2.html

We may remember things differently, but I continue to avoid carrying enough gear to survive every conceivable danger as a way of enhancing the adventure.