Hiking during the winter is quite the experience. You will get to experience the trail blanketed by snow with a different feel and atmosphere, even if it’s the same trail you’ve hiked for the past months.
However, these snowy trails may also be fraught with dangers that you don’t usually see in the other seasons. For this reason, adequate preparations and knowledge is required about what you might expect to see while on the trail to ensure a smooth and enjoyable hike.
If you’re one of those people who want to try your hand at hiking, then read on. This article will expose you to some hazardous things that you should keep an eye out while hiking in the cold.
Cold Temperature
As soon as you step out of your warm home, you would likely instantly notice that the temperature is freezing cold, if the snow outside your yard didn’t give it away already.
This temperature will be a constant during your hike, and it might even drop lower on certain situations. This means that it would be in your best interest to prepare for it. Wear lots of layers. Your first line of defense against the cold is your clothes, as it will cushion you from everything that wants to freeze your body up.
Snowstorms
Make sure to read the weather reports on snowstorms or other weather contingencies! Ideally, the report is as recent as can be just before you’re heading out.
Snowstorms are exceedingly dangerous, and you don’t want to get caught outside while in the middle of what should have been an enjoyable hike. Frostbite and hypothermia are just some of the injuries that one can obtain in such a situation.
While you can also experience them if the temperature is cold enough, your chances increase highly if you’re caught in a snowstorm. Plus, it makes things more difficult for you to move around, thanks to the winds blowing you and your equipment in random directions.
If the weather forecast calls for a storm, it might be a good idea to call off the hike for a couple of days. Snowstorms are no joke.
Avalanches
The good news is that avalanches only occur in specific places. This is usually mountainous or elevated regions that have at least a 30-degree slope. The bad news is that if a trail is avalanche-prone, it can get really nasty for the unprepared. If you wish to avoid avalanches entirely, ask some of the locals or do your research about the trails so that you can find out which ones are prone and which ones are relatively safe.
Snowed in trails
It’s not uncommon for trails to be knee-deep in snow, especially after a lot of snowfall. These places might require better footwear, such as snowshoes, and other equipment like trekking poles, to cross through them.
The path might be difficult to see, especially if it’s a trail you are unfamiliar with. Signs might also be blanketed with snow or ice, meaning that you would need to wipe them to see what information to give, or you might even miss them entirely!
If you end up on a trail that seems snowed in, be alert of your surroundings and double-check on the path you are taking. It will also take some time to trudge through the snow, meaning that you’ll be taking a lot more time than usual to get through the path.
One thing you should be extra careful of though: Ledges and cliffs. These places become exceedingly dangerous during the winter months, as the length of the platform can be very deceiving to the average hiker. It is not uncommon for snow piles to exceed the length far beyond what a ledge or cliff extends to, and if a hiker decides to step there, the snow will give way. It’s not going to be a good fall.
If you can, try to avoid trails that require going through ledges or near cliffs, especially if it is particularly snowy.
Slippery trails
Slippery trails aren’t uncommon either, as the ground may have frozen over at some point. This might not be too obvious at first, but if a path might seem suspiciously shiny…
Well, just make sure you watch you step while you walk. Injuries from slipping are far from the worst that a winter trail might give you, but they are certainly much better than most of the situations listed here.
Less daylight
Hiking during the day even with the sun out is still quite cold but imagine how cold it can get when the sun isn’t around. Couple that with a shorter day time due to it being winter, and you’ve got yourself a problem.
This means that if you want to go on a winter hike, it is essential to do it as early as possible if you don’t want the chilly night to reach you.
Wild animals
Most wild animals actually hibernate during the winter. Bears are an example of this, as they are one of the most encountered animals on the trail. This is good, as you will not have to worry too much about potentially running into dangerous animals while out on the trail.
Still, not all animals do, and some of the ones that hibernate might occasionally wake up. It’s best to be prepared and on your guard at the very least for any potential recent encounters with wild animals.