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Walter Hix

Survival Tips for Hiking in Winter

Survival Tips for Hiking in Winter

So, are you planning to have some adventure in your winter days? Well, going hiking might be one of the best things you can do. It will bring a lot of thrilling adventures and the best opportunities for exploring yourself. However, along with these fun adventure things, you will also face some challenges. So, it is best to know some survival tips for hiking in winter.

Is hiking in winter any different?

Yes, hiking in winter is very different from hiking in any other season. There are a lot of additional challenges that you need to face apart from the cold weather. So, the survival tips for hiking in winter can be vital for enjoying and having a good experience.

Survival tips that you need to know for Hiking in Winter

The following are the best survival tips that you need to know for hiking in winter.

You must know how to start a fire with the least resources.

The first tip is to know how you will start a fire. Fire can be your only source of warmth in cold temperatures, so this is an important thing that you must know. Different places will give you different natural resources, and some will not give any. You must also know how to harvest the available resources. Whatever the situation comes, you must know how to start a fire. It is a good choice to always keep the following things along:

    • Battery and steel wool
    • Waterproof matches
    • Lighter
    • Tinder

Learn building shelter for cold nights

The next survival tip when hiking in winter is to learn how to build your shelter. Hiking in winter and needing shelter is nothing like setting your camp in your backyard or at a picnic spot. So, you must know how you can make the best use of the following things:

  • Igloo in snow
  • Using trees to build shelter
  • Finding and using caves in winter

Using all the opportunities to block cold air is what you must know.

Knowing the art of staying dry and warm is important.

You may be amazing at starting a fire or at making a shelter. However, it would help if you still learned how to stay dry and warm. It is because staying dry helps keep warm, and that is necessary to stay safe from different cold-related injuries. Some of the things that you may need to do are:

  • Keeping your heart, ears, and shoulders warm in whatever situation
  • Putting up layers and selecting the right options to layer up.
  • Sharing body heat between two bodies
  • Make sure that your layers include waterproof boots, socks, and jackets

Missing out on any of these means that you are welcoming hypothermia, so you must consider all of these.

How you can stay hydrated in cold weather

Having a dehydrated body in cold weather is the worst because we do not even feel the urge to drink water most of the time. Even if we feel the urge, the cold weather freezes our water, meaning we have no options. A survival tip is to make a routine for drinking water along with all of these things:

Never let coldness freeze your water, keeping your bottle warm with your body can help

Make sure to always keep an eye for snow that you can collect or other water sources from where you can get drinking water.

If you find the presence of alive animals and birds, it is a good indicator of water. These things always live with the supply of water nearby. So, never skip a chance of getting the necessary amount of water.

 

You must know what to eat and when to eat.

It is important to eat right and at the right time as well. Packing snacks that are hiking-ready will be your best choice. Keep lots of nuts, calorie bars, protein bars, and such snacks with you to never have to worry about what you are going to eat.

Packing the right amount of stuff is necessary.

Packing less than you need is not an option. Similarly, packing more than you need is a choice neither. It is because you will need the necessary stuff and only you will be carrying everything on your body. So, make sure to pack a quantity of stuff that is perfect. Adding more weight will make you tired in no time.

Never rely on luck

One of the most important survival tips is to never rely on luck. Thinking that the snow falling will stop soon or someone will find you here. You must know that you need to survive, and it is all on you. So, working for whatever you need to do is important.

Make sure that you have complete perpetration for the location.

Going hiking without preparation is not good at all. There could be different challenges. So, it would help if you prepared according to the location. Before you leave for hiking, you must keep track of the weather situation and forecast to prepare mentally and physically for what you are going through. Having a map and knowing which places are safe and not will also be a good choice for you.

Learning about different injuries is important.

The last tip that might be the most important for survival is learning how to deal with cold injuries. The common issues you may face are hypothermia, where there is an excessive cold feeling. Similarly, frostbite can happen when some parts of your body are exposed to cold air.

You must know the symptoms and treatment for these things. It is best to act as soon as possible because that might be life-saving for you. A general treatment and prevention act covers that part of the body and keeps it warm.

Final Remarks:

Going anywhere without knowing how to deal with any challenge that the place puts on you is not a wise thing. So, you must prepare well for wherever you are going. If you are hiking in winter, these specific survival tips for hiking in winter will be very beneficial. Even if you do not face any challenges, using them will make your trip easier and safer.

Image by Walter Frehner from Pixabay 

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