The walk was great, but while we were on our way up, something scary happened: one of the girls in our group fainted. She was unconscious for over a minute and would not respond to us; not even a hand squeeze. We knew that she had not been feeling well and I stayed behind with her while the other two walked at their pace (which was not too much faster). We stopped whenever she wanted to, but apparently she had been pushing herself too hard. When I stopped to take a picture of something, she walked ahead and all of a sudden I heard the sound of someone falling into the bushes. Luckily she fell there and not on rocks or in the mud.

What this brings me to is to emphasize how important it is to be prepared when you exercise. We had made stops to take a drink because we could tell that she needed to stop, but we should have made more. Every time we stopped we offered a banana or an apple or something so that she could get some sugar in her, but she refused and said that she would get a stomachache. It does not help that she has a really sensitive stomach.

In the end, she had not had enough food to eat that day and we finally got her to eat an apple and biscuits after she fainted.

Please be prepared when you exercise. Drink water, eat plenty of food so that you have energy, and know what you are getting yourself into. Don’t test your body’s limits. Stop when you need to. Don’t push yourself to the point where you’re hurting yourself.

It is important to have the right equipment for your hike, as well. Choose the right footwear for the surface you will be walking on. If you aren’t sure what you need, it would be a good idea consult you local sporting goods retailer. As for clothing, you always want to check the weather forecast for the area that you plan to hike and dress accordingly. Layering is a good idea, especially at times of year or in areas where changes in the weather can occur without warning. You want to be able to add or shed layers as needed.

Provisions are often the most difficult necessities for the beginning hiker to gauge. Eating is very important whether on a short day hike or a days-long trip. Trail mix or energy bars are good supplemental snacks to take, as well as something salty, along with meals enough to replenish about 300-500 calories per hour hiked. Water is the single most important item to carry, but also the heaviest. Try not to carry so much that you are encumbered, but carrying too little is a hazard. As a rule of thumb, and especially if you are not sure about the available water supply where you are hiking, you should carry and consume about 3-4 quarts per hiking day.

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There are some definite safety measures that you should follow if you decide to go hiking. Before you ever hit a trail, you should learn about your local flora and fauna. Do some research and make sure that the places where you might be hiking aren’t fraught with dangers such as bears, mountain cats, coyotes, poisonous snakes, or poisonous plants. Now if you have stuff of that nature in your area, it doesn’t mean you can’t hike, it just means you need to learn about what to do in case you run across any of them.

The next thing you need to do before you actually take the hike is to make sure you have the right shoes. Hiking boots are best because they have thick non-skid soles as well as go above your ankles — that helps to support them, as well as give protection while you’re out walking. A word of caution, if you buy new boots, make sure you break them in beforehand. Otherwise you’ll get blisters.

Never, never, ever, hike alone, and always take a backpack.

Backpack checklist:

1.) water bottles (several depending on length of hike)

2.) first aid kit with antiseptics, bandages, ointments, plus cures for indigenous plant and animal life

3.) snacks

4.) dry socks

5.) sunscreen