A how-to guide on avoiding the most common injuries while hiking

Many hiking injuries are preventable. Despite the abundance of information and literature that exists, roughly 500 hikers die every year and another 10,000 or more require some form of rescue in North America.

Those statistics frustrate Dr. Robert Scanlon, a physician and critical care doctor for over 20 years who’s also a hiker and backpacker.

Scanlon came to hiking later in life in order to help overcome the stress of his workplace, and was upset to find out how many people were injured, killed or required help from search-and-rescue.

“During this whole pathway as a hiker, I’ve been watching the headlines and watching the same core of issues on virtual repeat,” Scanlon said.

While reading those stories, he’d analyze ways to change his own trail preparation to ensure he wasn’t another person involved in a hiking tragedy.

During his study, he stumbled across a Desmond Tutu quote that clarified his thoughts on these preventable scenarios: “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”

Setting out to find out what caused those incidents, he found they were all mostly related to some version of the same five preparation skills: knowing how to stay hydrated, understanding weather and managing body temperature, being able to navigate, knowing how to cross waterways, and awareness of heights and falling risks.

The application of those skills change depending on where and when someone is hiking, and so Scanlon sought to explain the science and approach necessary to apply a preparation mindset before stepping on a trail. He compiled his findings in a new book, “Surviving the Trail,“ which was published Tuesday.

If Scanlon could share the science associated in a relatable way and how to apply the subsequent skills with other newcomers and lifelong recreationists alike, he might be able to keep those hikers and backpackers upstream from accident and injury.

“While the trails welcome all, more arrive each year with more zeal than know-how,” he wrote in the introduction to the book.

“The best complement to knowing how to survive is the knowledge base, simple pre-hike strategies, and on-trail skills applied to every hike to drastically reduce the chances of the stay-alive scenario.”

Hydration strategy

“Bring water” is not enough, said Scanlon. The simple idea is not nuanced enough for the full range of what hikers might encounter from deserts in southern Utah to the rocky peaks of the Adirondacks.

“When people are heeding the advice, quote unquote, ‘bring water,’ then they may be picking up a 16 ounce Dasani on the way to the trailhead for an eight-hour fourteener,” Scanlon said.

Someone should be calculating how much water they’ll need for the whole hike — factors such as pace, terrain, humidity and temperature all affect the volume of water someone might need. The faster, more technical, hotter and more humid walks all require more water — often significantly more than half a liter.

Based on those totals, folks need to determine whether they will be carrying it themselves or collecting it. The latter requires the person to bear in mind what it takes to clean backcountry water, such as filters and tablets, and ensuring those are carried as well.

“Even a flawed hydration strategy is better than no hydration strategy,” Scanlon said.

Prepare for the elements

Depending on the trail’s location, weather can change quickly.

“A lot of people are unaware. They may go to Colorado for the first time — up into Rocky Mountain National Park — and all of a sudden it’s windy and raining,“ Scanlon said. ”The forecast didn’t show that, but they don’t realize that the mountains make their own weather."

In some parts of the country, it may even be 75 degrees and sunny at the bottom, but snowing at the top. In others, that swing may be from 60 degrees to 110 over the course of the day. Making sure to carry all the layers of clothing necessary to manage their temperature (both warm or cool) and to stay dry in all sets of circumstances is paramount.

Heat exhaustion and hypothermia are some of the risks of not having the right clothing or preparation for the weather.

To ensure safety, a hiker should familiarize themselves with the full range of weather for where they’re going, dress in darker shades for colder temps and lighter for hot, bring varied weights of layers, consider the time of when they are hiking (early morning is a good way to beat the heat), stay hydrated and take frequent breaks to assess how they’re feeling.

Learn to navigate

The things that most often get people lost, Scanlon wrote, are wandering off the trail, bad weather and losing a larger group. Often, too, people misjudge distance and find themselves trying to navigate their way home at night.

Solo hikers account for 79% of those who get lost, with men having a 50% higher chance of getting lost than women. Of those rescued, two-thirds are over the age of 30.

Scanlon doesn’t get into the why of these stats — he does speculate about the role of over-confidence — but presents them so people know who is most at risk.

He suggests that learning how to follow trails, familiarization with site-specific markers like cairns or tree swaths and knowing how to read a map are great places to begin. Someone can also invest in a GPS navigation device or learn how to use a compass.

Just like driving, a person can also collect visual location markers — such as unique rock formations — to create a mental map of where they are going and where they have to return.

As a precaution in case of getting lost, Scanlon also suggests that hikers bring a headlamp, too, just in case they have to do any navigation at night.

Minimize the risk of falling

Scanlon dedicated two chapters to waterway and height risks but believes hydration, body temperature and navigation are where most people run into trouble. Still, it is important to prepare for crossing waterways and understanding if there are any risks of falling when preparing to hike any trail.

“Certainly not every hike is going to have a peak to fall from, though, it only takes 20 feet of falling to become considered a major trauma,” Scanlon said. “Not all hikes will cross water, but those definitely apply to wherever those elements are present.”

Acknowledging those risks well ahead of the hike is very important.

“We need to look at the paper map, look at a satellite image of the area where we were intending to go into — especially if we’re not familiar with it,“ Scanlon said. ”What is the elevation gain? What is the difficulty level? Do your homework."

The ultimate goal

Scanlon believes that if someone keeps those five skill sets and necessary preparations in mind when setting out hiking or backpacking, they will be reminded and aware of the ultimate goal of getting out onto a trail.

In the age of social media, it may seem like it’s to get to the vista and get the right picture, but it’s not.

“Getting home,” Scanlon said, “is the ultimate goal of getting out there.”