The unfortunate death of a hiker in the White Mountains made me ponder the title "experienced hiker".
The news reports of the tragedy described the deceased as an "experienced hiker". This simple description seems to satisfy many (the press at least) that it was not a case of a foolhardy misadventure, but more of an unfortunate accident.
But at what point do we call someone experienced? I have over 5000km of hiking in the last 3 years and I would think that in a similar circumstance the same title would be bestowed upon me. But for a true winter hike my experience is zip. Nada.
Similarly a German hiker was recently walking the Bibbulmun Track in the middle of our summer. He has hiking experience from all over the world but I became aware of him because a local hiker on a local forum described rescuing him at a hut, suffering severe dehydration and without his pack which he had dumped a few hours earlier. He was clearly not experienced with our summer. If he had been he wouldn't have been here to begin with. Summer is not hiking season here.
So I ask for suggestions on what constitutes "experience"? For me, I have to say that it is something that only applies to what you have done and if what you are about to do is new to you, you should acknowledge your lack of experience and not allow any complacency into your plans. Too often we are caught out by our own egos assuming we know what we're doing.
The news reports of the tragedy described the deceased as an "experienced hiker". This simple description seems to satisfy many (the press at least) that it was not a case of a foolhardy misadventure, but more of an unfortunate accident.
But at what point do we call someone experienced? I have over 5000km of hiking in the last 3 years and I would think that in a similar circumstance the same title would be bestowed upon me. But for a true winter hike my experience is zip. Nada.
Similarly a German hiker was recently walking the Bibbulmun Track in the middle of our summer. He has hiking experience from all over the world but I became aware of him because a local hiker on a local forum described rescuing him at a hut, suffering severe dehydration and without his pack which he had dumped a few hours earlier. He was clearly not experienced with our summer. If he had been he wouldn't have been here to begin with. Summer is not hiking season here.
So I ask for suggestions on what constitutes "experience"? For me, I have to say that it is something that only applies to what you have done and if what you are about to do is new to you, you should acknowledge your lack of experience and not allow any complacency into your plans. Too often we are caught out by our own egos assuming we know what we're doing.
Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.