Hiking Habits and Safety Concerns
For the past several months I have talked about the hikes we go on, but not much about what we do on our hikes. Mostly we hike just to get outside and enjoy the sights and sounds of Arizona, but we are not just casual tourists when it comes to hiking. I can’t tell you how many times we have met people on the trail whose only concern is “did you see any snakes?” In Arizona, there are many safety considerations to keep in mind, the least of which is snakes. After all, most self-respecting critters hide when people walk through. The most important thing to remember in the desert is to carry plenty of water. (The recommendation is a minimum of one gallon of water per day per person.) We are so conscious of water needs here that we even carry water in the truck and van when we go out for a ride. When we hike, we tend to go for some time between two and three hours. We go first thing in the morning because after about 9:30 the sun gets hot enough that we just don’t want to be out there. It isn’t that the temperature is so high that early, but since Arizona is so far south, the sun is extremely hot as it beats down on you (remember: no trees or short trees = no shade). In the fall and winter, the sun moves further south and as the temperatures drop you can be outside comfortably later in the day.
In addition to water we have learned to wear hats. In the desert, shade is something you make, not something you find, and usually a hat is the only shade you can make. We even have emergency baseball caps in each vehicle as well as one of those silver “space” blankets. You never know when you will need shade. As far as miscellaneous items we carry when hiking, here is a list of the items we carry in our hiking fanny packs.
Gary’s Pack | Adrianne’s Pack |
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In addition to the above items, we can strap our rain ponchos onto the packs whenever we think they might become necessary, and we have a GPS for use in unfamiliar areas. Fully loaded with water and poncho, the packs weigh about 7 pounds. The pack part is about seven inches square by about four inches thick, and there are a couple additional outside pockets for small things. We may eventually add some kind of |
Another concern in the desert is flash flooding. For most of the year, many stream and riverbeds are dry. You can hike through them without ever seeing a drop of water. When it does rain, we frequently get a violent downpour that can last up to an hour. The hard baked desert soil doesn’t soak up water fast enough so what happens is streambeds (or washes, or arroyos as they are known in Spanish) can go from what looks like a road to a raging river in minutes. The hidden danger is that it may not even be raining where you are, or where you can see it. As long as it is raining somewhere that drains into that wash a flash flood is likely. Always be aware of the weather forecast. If you are here during the monsoon season (July - September) it is safe to assume that it could rain any day. During that time of the year, use extreme caution if you plan to hike through a wash. |
power bars when we start hiking longer distances in more unfamiliar areas, but for now, when we go out we usually take a quart ziploc bag about half filled with trail mix. We will probably add some water treatment tablets (iodine or chlorine) some day. Right now it doesn’t seem like a particularly pressing concern as we tend to hike where there is no water to be found. But for the future, especially when we start backpacking, it will be much more important.