Blog: Hiking Dangers

Two could-have-been-bad incidents happened on this hike to remind me to take sensible precautions and have a backup plan.

Slipping

On the way down a "steep, rough" section of the Carter-Moriah Trail I did a triple slip. Losing it on wet rock, I accelerated down trail. Caught a branch. Lost it. Caught a trunk. Lost it. Came to rest off trail in the dirt. Miraculously, in a T-shirt, not even a scratch. The only thing broken, a pole. I was REALLY lucky -- could have been a serious problem.

The reminder: overconfidence on a treacherous descent is not good.

Lost

On the way out the Stony Brook trail we got lost. In the low-altitude hardwoods, newly-fallen leaves obscured the trail. Trail markings (blazes, signs, cairns) were sparse and completely lacking in some locations (this really should be attended to!). Getting dark, tired, still a couple miles from the road -- a little unsettling. Being bushwhackers, we headed through the woods toward where the map said the trail should be and eventually re-found it.

The reminder: experienced hikers can get lost, too.