Hiking Safely in Acadia National Park
I am not a person who prepares well. Those moms with the diaper bag and purses loaded down with everything they could ever possibly need for even the most minior mishap? Not me. Those dads with go-bags full of stuff? Not me either.
Do not be like me.
When my daughter Em was little we were waiting to pick up her Dad from the Jackson Lab where he worked. We had some extra time. So, I strapped her little two-year-old self onto my baby-backpack-type carrier and headed up Champlain Mountain on a trail full of switchbacks and open faces.
We did this all the time because it was one of the joys of being near Acadia National Park: random and spontaneous hiking and walking and biking happiness.
This time though? It was October.
A storm came in. Winds lashed. I could barely stand at some points. Poor Em. She had my coat thrown over her and couldn’t see a thing. She had he own coat and hat on, too.
And I remember thinking, “We are going to die up here because I didn’t check the weather.”
Do not be like me.
Safety on trails is about more than checking the weather. Here is a VERY quick list of some things you can do.
FAST WAYS TO BE A BIT SAFER ON TRAILS
Know where you’re going before you go.
I am a spur-of-the-moment person and I fail at this. Researching where you’re going can help you know if you have the right shoes (and body) for the trail, if you have enough time, how much water and snacks to bring, and if you need to wear your knee brace (cough, me).
Water
If you are an easily dehydrated person like me (I’m really selling myself here, aren’t I?), you want to bring water. Dehydration makes you feel awful. No one wants you to feel awful on a hike. Dehydration also make your brain not work so well. You get confused. You get messy.
No one wants a messy and confused hiker.
So, try to take and drink between .5 and 1 liter of water every hour of hiking.
Check the weather before you go.
That way you do not get stuck on the trail cold, shivering, and slip-sliding down.
Tell people where you’re going (also tell them when you get back).
My little human survived that adventure and now she goes on adventures all by herself wherever she goes. She’s hiked in Washington State, Norway, Austria. Our big rule: tell me where you’re going, tell me when you’re back.
She’s also tech-savvy so she drops a pin where her car is parked and texts that to me, too.
If you get lost or hurt while out exploring, this is a really great way to help people know as soon as possible. Cell phones run out of battery or fail to have signals.
Let me put my mom hat on here and tell you: This is a super important thing to do, okay? Please do it. We want you safe.
Hike with someone else.
If you aren’t a super introvert and if there is someone to hike with, do that. It’s safer to not go it alone. If one person gets hurt, the other person can help you or get help.
Don’t carry a lot but bring a light source and water (see above) and snacks
You want to carry as little weight as possible. This is especially true if you’re not used to carrying a backpack.
But what you do want is a light. That’s because best laid plans (aka time estimates for a hike’s duration) often go astray. Nobody wants to hike in the dark. Nobody really can hike in the dark if there is no moon and heavy cloud cover. It’s scary. It’s dangerous. You need to know where cliffs are and roots are.
Know when to stop
Because it can get dark, you want to have a time to turn back set in stone.
Have the right shoes
I have seen people try to go up the Precipice Trail with all its ladders. I have seen people try to do this in Crocs and in flip-flops.
Don’t be those people.
Hiking shoes. Ice cleats or snowshoes. Great trail runners with tough treads. All are options depending on season and the trail. A carriage road mid-summer? Sure. Sandals are fine. Any trail on Dorr Mountain? Yeah, not so much.
Wear the right clothes
In Acadia, this isn’t as big a deal most of the high season, but you want to wear wool or synthetic clothing in layers during fall and winter and early spring. Cotton keeps your sweat close to you and increases your risk of hypothermia.
Have paper maps.
If you have a paper map and a compass, it does not matter if your cell phone dies. Acadia has blazes on trails and numbered sign posts on its carriage roads. It’s lovely that way. What it does not have is a reliable cell phone signal throughout the park.
Have first-aid stuff
If you have allergies, you know what to do. But also some gauze, Band-Aids, aspirin can be super helpful.
LINK TO LEARN MORE
The NPS has a quick guide about safety, too. You can check it out here.