Hiking safety: How to stay prepared and have fun in the mountains

Hiking trails abound in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. (Getty Images)

Judging by the parking lots during the summer and fall of the past few years, hiking has never been more popular. It started with the pandemic summer of 2020 as people looked to get away from being cooped up in their own residences and being around others was discouraged.

Like weekends at ski areas, mountain towns have been bustling during summer weekends to an extent that used to be reserved for prime leaf-peeping season.

The trailheads have been packed and people are exploring the hundreds of miles of hiking trails New England has to offer.

While ski patrol gets called to handle a skier who suffers an injury at a ski area, there is no quick fix when someone suffers an injury while hiking.

That largely depends on where you are. In New Hampshire, that job falls on the New Hampshire Fish & Game — with the exception being the U.S. Forest Service taking the lead on the east side of Mount Washington in the Cutler River drainage, which includes both Tuckerman Ravine and Huntington Ravine, between December and May. The Department of Public Safety takes the lead in Vermont, and the Maine Warden Service lends a hand in that state.

But none of those agencies would ever be able to do it alone.

Within each state are regional search and rescue groups like Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue, Stowe Mountain Rescue and New England K9 Search and Rescue. Those groups are most often volunteers.

“Our guys go on the carry-outs and the searches, but it’s the volunteer groups that lend the people that we can’t provide,” New Hampshire Fish & Game captain Michael Eastman said of the partnership between his agency and the assorted search and rescue groups.

According to a recent story by Vermont Digger, the number of search and rescue missions in Vermont has increased since the pandemic, and those calls often are for people who stray from the trail and are unprepared for the conditions.

“Injured hikers and searches never end. They wane and ebb with the seasons. Traditionally, the fall has always been our busy search and rescue time — that would be September and October,” Eastman said. “What we have seen, in the fatalities, have come from minimus hiking, the folks who want to do the Lafayette ridge in a day and they only have a small backpack, light clothing, and then they get into trouble.

“We have more people who go for a hike and don’t really judge when it’s going to get dark or what they need for supplies.”

Podcast: How to stay safe while hiking in the mountains

Two high-profile incidents of minimus hiking include the November 2022 death on Mount Lafayette of Emily Sotelo, and Chris Roma, who died in January on Mount Guyot while believed to be attempting a single-day Pemi loop.

Search and rescues come at a cost. For the past 35 years, $1 from every New Hampshire boat, snowmobile and off-highway recreational vehicle registration has gone toward the Fish & Game search and rescue budget.

In 2015, New Hampshire introduced the Hike Safe card ($25 for individuals, $35 for a family) to create another revenue stream to help fund those rescues, as hikers make up the beneficiaries of most of the rescues. The state said the program generated nearly $120,000 per year during its first five years and has remained popular.

According to the PVSAR, New Hampshire Fish & Game had 182 missions in 2021 that cost $235,226, with subjects being billed for their rescue due to negligence in 19 instances.

Hikers are reminded that they should carry the 10 essentials on every hike, regardless of how long it is expected to be — nobody plans on twisting an ankle when they set out for a mile walk into the woods. Those items are a pocket knife, rain jacket and pants, fire starter, first-aid kit, whistle, headlamp or flashlight — and not the one on your phone — food and water, warm clothing, map and a compass.

The list expands significantly for fall and winter hiking when temperatures drop and there is much less daylight than in summer.

Carrying all of those items is not enough, however, as one must know how to use those items when the situation calls for them and make sure they are in good working order before setting out.

A cell phone can be useful as a GPS and to place emergency calls, but because of the potential — and likelihood — of having a weak signal — or no signal at all — in remote areas, it should never replace a waterproof map and knowing how to use a compass. Have the phone in airplane mode while hiking to save on battery usage and pack an extra battery.

Know the map well before setting out. Know the potential bailout options along your route in case bad weather moves in and you need to get off an exposed ridge. Bring a guidebook with you, as it will have detailed information on not just the route you intend to take, but also whichever trail you used to avoid bad weather.

Never be afraid to turn around. The mountain will be there tomorrow. Getting back to the trailhead is always the end goal.

In the event you get stuck on the trail overnight, a bivy sac or a space blanket are good lightweight options for shelter during the summer.

It is highly recommended that you leave your itinerary with a friend or family member, along with an expected return time so that if things go badly in the woods, searchers can direct their resources to a specific location as opposed to trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Much like skiing, potential risk of injury is no reason not to take up hiking, but it should be in the back of everyone’s mind when considering where they intend to hike — taking into account things like the amount of daylight, physical fitness level and proper equipment and clothing.