Hikes can be great fun or they can be a cause of misery, injuries, and death. At least 90 percent of the problems are avoidable. In this section I'll discuss things you can do to make your hike safer and more enjoyable.

Two important skill sets for wilderness hikers are (1) reading and using topographic maps and (2) understanding coordinate systems including the global longitude-latitude system and UTMs. If you don't have those skill sets, check out my two YouTube playlists that go over the basics.