Hot, heat and hiking! We walk the paths safely!
When the temperature rises, even trail enthusiasts “thin out” their hikes. For some, hiking in the summer may sound like a bad joke, but for others, hot summer days are no obstacle. In the summer, the choices we make in relation to our hikes must be adapted to the hot conditions, even for experienced hikers because sunburn and heatstroke make no exceptions.
In this article, you’ll find some helpful tips on how to hike the trails safely.
Before the hike
- As a rule, we avoid walking on very hot days. In any case, we make realistic choices when choosing a hiking route to suit our abilities. Especially on hot days we choose shorter and shadier routes, ideally not isolated.
- We plan the hike during the hours of the day with the lowest temperature, such as early morning or late afternoon.
- We get informed about the specifics of the route we choose: distance, degree of difficulty, altitude difference, water supply/purchasing points, weather conditions, road exits where a taxi/relative/friend can pick you up.
- We keep a hiking map with us. See the map of Andros Routes here.
- We are equipped with:
- Mobile phone
- Suitable closed shoes
- Light, preferably light-colored cotton clothing
- Rucksack, enough water for the whole trip, whistle, a small first aid kit with gauze, iodine antiseptic solution, cream for stings / burns, adhesive plasters and what to know to use
- Baton or stick, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen
- We inform someone of our own, if we are guests, the owner of our accommodation, even one of our own who is far away, about the route we choose to walk and the time of our return. We ideally ask this person to look for us if we have not informed of our safe return by the scheduled time of arrival
- We know the number of the nearest taxi stand
- We know the pan-European emergency number 112, and how it works even if there is no mobile phone signal – see more here
- Although sometimes desirable, avoid going hiking alone! Walk with a small and good company! If you decide to do so, however, we consistently follow the rule of informing our own person, as we describe above.
During the hike
- We drink plenty of water. We don’t wait long until we’re thirsty to drink. We make sure we have water until the end of the route.
- We do not stray from the boundaries of the path and we do not cut ourselves off from our fellow travelers without informing them.
- We don’t put our hands and don’t step on bushes, grasses and holes where we don’t have visibility, staying safe from snakes.
- We respect the flora, fauna, monuments, local population and other walkers.
- If we are not used to exercising in a hot environment, we start slowly and increase the pace gradually. If physical exertion in the heat makes our heart pound and causes us to pant heavily, we stop all physical activity.
- We recognize the symptoms of heat stroke: headache, dizziness, muscle cramps, nausea, disorientation or confusion, lack of sweating. In this case we stop all physical activity and call 112 or a taxi if we are near a road.
- We recognize when to stop! When conditions become difficult or when we cannot continue, we stop immediately. The routes and hiking on them are not a field for showing off and satisfying ambitions.
