Hiking Guide: A Few Things To Consider When Looking For One
The world was a dangerous place before we conquered and modified it to suit us. The structures of our residences and areas of work have minimized risk. On the other hand, going hiking means going out to those areas where natural elements and wild animals still rule. It is easy to fall and get hurt, to get sick, or worse, to die on the trails.
Weather can be extreme. Getting lost is a common occurrence. To enjoy your time outdoors, you have to be well prepared, equipped, and experienced. Sometimes, these requirements are easy to meet. Other times, especially for beginners, it is not easy. To bridge the gap, one may get the much-needed help form a guide.
Guides are useful for many things: planning, logistics, navigation, security, and general well-being. Let’s look in detail at the help that a guide can offer to help you enjoy your experience outdoors and how to find the right guide.
Research, Planning, and Preparation
Hiking is a form of travel, and choosing the right destination for your style and interest is key to enjoying it. Guides are well knowledgeable about trails and the needs of these trails, which makes them an invaluable resource in the research and planning phase of getting and staying ready for a hike (look at other aspects of preparedness for hiking here).
They will tell you about the accessibility of trails, whether there are entry charges and how much the fee is. They will inform you about the conditions on the trail: terrain, length of the path; duration of the hike; vegetation and wildlife; weather. They will also tell you about other activities that you can do along that trail, such as game watching, rock climbing, zip-lining, or swimming.
Guides can connect you with hiking equipment vendors. Remember that you might need fewer materials when you hike with a guide than when you are doing it solo (have a look at what equipment you will need in my other post here). They will help you choose high quality and high priority equipment that you will use not just for the hike they will be guiding you, but every other. Some guides offer a complete package that caters to all these small details, and all you have to do is avail yourself to hike.
Some of the hikes might be beyond your level of physical and psychological fitness. Guides can recommend trails that offer a simpler version of the same challenge to help you build up competence. A good example is when you want to hike a mountain trail. A guide might recommend that you try a steep slope terrain trail first, then a high-altitude path. If they think you are ready, you can go ahead. Otherwise, they will recommend that you keep practicing. Getting the help of a guide to prepare for your hike, even when they will not accompany you for the hike, goes a long way to seeing you ready.
En route
Let us assume that you have found your guide, and now you are ready to start hiking. Perhaps the most essential service of a guide is navigation because most trails are not mapped online and not well marked. Also, guides may show you routes alternative to the popular ones. Besides navigation, guides offer security from wild animals, thieves, con-men, and hostile locals who are common in high traffic trails.
When the terrain is steep, they may offer physical support or reveal a technique that will help you stay in good form leading to less fatigue and avoiding injury. A lot of beginners and some intermediate hikers have difficulty with the ascent and descent of steep slopes.
Guides have first aid training, which becomes useful in case of injury during the hike. They are also more capable of organizing emergency rescue than the mediocre person. They have a knack for identifying when your body starts to react to environmental factors. They quickly diagnose and remedy conditions such as dehydration, hypothermia, altitude sickness, and extreme fatigue, which can be fatal if left unchecked. In fewer words, they make it easier to manage your well-being in the outdoors.
Have you been in one of those situations where you do not want to go hiking alone, and all your friends are indisposed? How about hiking in a group with more inexperienced hikers than the experienced ones can handle? Guides make good company. They have a lot of stories to narrate, making sure that you are never bored. Furthermore, they are fountains of knowledge which they are always ready to pass. This is especially beneficial if you want to increase your aptness as a hiker. Most people hike in groups, and so guides have exposure to all kinds of individuals and groups. For this reason, team management is another skill that guides develop over time.
They are well versed with the local area. They know about the wildlife, vegetation, anthropology, political associations, geography, and sometimes, the local language. They can be a channel to relate with the locals on the trail, further enriching your experience. Consider a situation where you start on a trail only to remember something important like a piece of equipment or medication when you are already well into it.
Having a guide who is well networked may be helpful in that he could send for it or source for another along the way, which is difficult for most touring hikers to do. The subtle gains of having a good guide accompany you in a hike are too many to outline in one article. This is just a snippet.
How to find the right guide
You can find guides by searching online or visiting the local area near a trail and asking around. Travel agencies can recommend guides too. Some trails are privately owned or managed by parastatals. These provide their guides at the gate. Getting a recommendation from someone who has made the trail before is another easy way to find a guide. Guides can recommend other guides too.
Excellent guides, on the other hand, are a bit harder to come by. One way to find a good guide is to test the claimant on an easy trail to investigate his expertise. You could look for their profiles from their companies or institutions. Check whether they are certified. Question them carefully to find out what they know about the trail and hiking in general. As with every other activity, it will be easier to find guides as you advance in your journey as a hiker.
There are as many reasons to have a guide as there are trails and hikers. A good guide will know the trail, the clients' capabilities, equipment required to get the job done, and how to bring these elements together. For beginners, intermediate and advanced hikers alike, finding the right guide could move you from worrying about matters of life and death to only having to choose between delight and extreme bliss.
Mwenda Kinoti is passionate about Life in the outdoors and writes to inspire more people to do the same.
