Reduce Risk of Solo Backpacking, and Other Hikes

Jeff Edwards
Aug 26, 2017 · 2 min read

Two German hikers found a lost hiker in the Alps last month. The hiker had been reported missing in 1987. Receding ice revealed the missing hiker’s boots and hands.

Also reported last month, the bodies of two hikers were found near a ski lift. The Swiss couple had hiked up to a higher meadow to milk their cows in 1942. Seventy-five years later, melting snow and ice exposed the couple.

Last year, Trailiac offered a blogpost about another hiker found in the Alps. Twenty-five years ago, a hiking couple found Otzi (the Iceman). Two hikers descending a mountain found the 5,000-year old alpine backpacker. Otzi’s body was partially visible in ice.

None of these examples was a suicide attempt, although one seems to be a murder. Each hiker probably had every intention of returning home. Rarely does milking cows turn out to be deadly. What can a solo backpacker do to increase his or her chances of returning from the backcountry?

We are not supposed to backpack or hike alone, but some do. Here are some pointers to reduce the risks for those who have decided to go out alone.

“I can’t say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.”

Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer (1993) by John Mack Faragher, p. 65

Originally published at www.trailiac.com on August 26, 2017.

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I was introduced to the glory of backpacking several years ago. I spent a week on the Appalachian Trail and was hooked.

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