The Importance of Being Prepared: What avid hikers bring with them
The faint morning glow of the sun barely breaches the horizon. The birds have yet to start chirping. The crisp morning breeze rustles the trees. A scene that many people don’t experience while in their warm beds. But for an avid hiker, this is just an average morning.
In Colorado, hiking is a major part of the culture. Especially for college students. Lanie Freeland, a sophomore at Colorado State University, is no different. It isn’t uncommon to catch her bracing the chilly morning breeze to go on a new adventure.
Freeland regularly goes on hiking adventures on the weekends with her friends. This is no small feat though. It is essential to be prepared when going on a hike.
“I always get my gear ready the night before so that I don’t have to wake up earlier than I already have to,” Freeland said. “I would hate to forget something important because of my exhaustion.”
For every hike Freeland does, the first thing she always brings is her Camelbak, a small lightweight backpack equipped with a water bladder and straw. This allows her to carry whatever she deems necessary for the hike as well as carry a large amount of water. What goes in her backpack varies depending on how intense the hike is.
“For a shorter hike, maybe just a few miles, I don’t bring too much,” Freeland said. “I mostly just make sure I have my water, phone, a portable charger and some snacks for the trip.”
But for longer treks, Freeland will include things like a rain jacket in the event of a storm and other equipment that could be useful in a situation where she is caught off guard.
“Sometimes we go on spontaneous hikes,” Clarie Marie Killeen, a close friend of Freeland said. “For those ones we have to make sure we’re extra prepared because there’s no planning behind it and we like to wander.”
Freeland, Killeen and their friends typically enjoy hiking in Lory State Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. Both parks are very familiar to them, but when they occasionally venture south to Boulder or Evergreen, they’re in an unknown area.
Being in an unknown area when you’re prone to wandering around can be dangerous if you aren’t prepared. It’s important to always know where you are and be prepared for anything the mountains may surprise you with.
Nora Cheeseman, a frequent companion of Freeland’s while hiking, experienced one of these surprises.
“Last winter Lanie, Claire Marie and I all decided to hike to the top of a mountain,” Cheeseman said. “I can’t remember the name of it, but it was super snowy. If we stepped even a foot off the path we sank into our knees. At one point Lanie stumbled and next thing we know she’s stuck in the snow.”
Luckily, Freeland had been hiking with poles. These enabled her and her friends to be able to pull her out to safety. Freeland will never hike unprepared because she “doesn’t want to take any chances in the future.”
