1. Visibility
Clear visibility is very important in hiking trips. When the visibility on the mountain/valley is poor, your hiking experience could be unenjoyable and risky. First, low visibility makes the beautiful view unclear and you won't have a chance to take pictures of high quality. Second, poor visibility would make you fall into obstacles and barriers, for example, a hole in the ground. Third, low visibility could lead to not seeing the path clearly and losing track. More seriously, you will have difficulty in finding your partners and lose contact with them.
The factors that lead to poor visibility are as follows:
Fog is the most common factor that reduces visibility and it could limit your visibility by 1 km, which means you would have difficulty in seeing things further than 1 km from where you are standing on the mountain/valley. The types of fog that might be seen include radiation fog, advection fog, freezing fog, and valley fog.
How to avoid: Check the visibility distance on the website "Government of Canada - Canadian Weather ". The distance of visibility which is equal to or larger than 10 miles indicates good visibility and you can go hiking.
Figure: The valley fog settles in a valley near Andalsnes, Norway.
Photograph by: George F. Mobley
accessed by Mar. 23
Heavy rain can reduce visibility by increasing turbidity in the environment. Snow reduces visibility because the surroundings would all become white, and hard to identify what places you are at, also the signs/maps on the mountain might be covered by heavy snow. In addition, if you wear glasses, the water/snow falling on the glasses would also impair your visibility.
How to avoid: Check the "Government of Canada - Canadian Weather " to see the rain/snow condition of the day. If you still want to go hiking on a rainy or snowy day, make sure to bring an umbrella to prevent water/snow falling into your eyes.
Moreover, snow and snowstorms might lead you to snow blindness, which is caused by the reflection of sunlight off the snow. Your eyes will get dry and feel like a lot of sand. This illness could significantly damage your visibility.
How to avoid: wearing sunglasses with goggles or side shields during a snow day.
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2. Temperature
Hiking at a safe and appropriate temperature is essential. Hiking at extreme temperatures could result in illness and even death in the worst scenario. Generally, the temperature at about 50-55 degrees F is ideal for hiking. However, it's not necessary to follow this range, but please do NOT go hiking in extreme weather and temperature. To consider as extremely hot weather, the temperature is about 85 degrees F or above. And for extremely cold weather, the temperature is about 32 degrees or below, in which things could be frozen outdoor. Some hazards that could occur during extreme temperatures are as follows:
Frostbite- refers to the actual freezing of a body part. When you get frostbite, your skin will feel cold and painful, and then feel numb. Your skin will also look inflamed and with an abnormal color. As the illness deteriorates, your skin becomes hard and looks like wax.
How to avoid: Wear several layers of warm and loose clothing. Wear waterproof and windproof outwear to protect yourself from rain, snow, and wind.
Hypothermia- refers to when your body temperature falls below 35 degrees C, while normal body temperature should be around 37 degrees C. The symptoms might include shivering, weak pulse, and even worse loss of consciousness.
How to avoid: wear enough warm clothing and don't stay in the cold for too long.
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Overhydration- refers to a person having excess water in his body. When you hike in very hot weather, you have a high chance to drink too much water which results in overhydration. The symptoms might include headache, muscle weakness, and spasms.
How to avoid: eat sweet and salty food daily.
Sun Stroke- usually happens when you don't wear a hat when hiking under the sun. The symptoms might include dizziness and fast breathing.
How to avoid: drink lots of cold water and pour cold water on your skin. Wear a hat to protect you from the ultraviolet ray.
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3. Avalanches
The avalanche refers to the mass of snow rapidly moving down a mountain. The avalanche is usually a huge amount of snow sliding down the mountainside without any signs or warnings. If hikers plan to go hiking during the winter season, they have a chance to encounter the avalanche, which is extremely dangerous. Avalanche can easily destroy houses, forests, and people.
Avalanches usually follow a pattern. Most avalanches occur during heavy snowfall in the winter and early spring, especially around the time of storm breaking out. The snow at this time of year is very soft that it has little cohesive force, and once one piece of it is destroyed, the rest of it will be like scattered sand sliding down in a chain reaction.
How to avoid:
1. Check the avalanche condition of the day hereLinks to an external site. before going hiking, and cancel the hiking trip if it's too bad.
2. Not hiking in the winter-early spring season.
3. Try your best to get out of the way when you see an avalanche coming.
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