Feature Photo: Peter Maksimow.
When Good Trails Go Bad: Planning, Surviving, & Being Rescued From Your Worst Day on the Trail, by Stephen W. Littlewood. Littlewood, 2022. Reviewed by trail runner Laura Clark. Laura is an avid mountain, trail, and snowshoe runner who lives in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she is a children’s librarian.
As trail runners, hikers, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts, we have all experienced moments of temporary spatial disorientation, headed out without proper gear, overestimated our abilities or underestimated potential trail or weather hazards. Mostly, after a few moments of panic, things right themselves and we continue on our path. But we all know of experienced runners like Danielle Ballangee and Dave Mackey, who suffered freak trail accidents and owe their lives to the skilled response of Search and Rescue (SAR) teams.
While it is simpler to remain in denial, the truth is that there are myriad steps you can take to ensure that you return from your adventure happy and healthy. Author Stephen Littlewood, a retired US Marine, is currently a Wilderness Emergency Care instructor, Search and Rescue Technician and lead evaluator for the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR). A certified running and endurance coach, he is in tune with our mindset, and wants us to remain as safe as possible out there.
It would be easy for a book of this type to become heavy-handed, lapsing into a strictly cautionary tale approach, but Littlewood’s conversational manner, drawing you in without condemning choices, transforms him into your mentor and partner, rather than an overriding dispenser of life-saving knowledge. His discourse flows easily from how things go wrong, to who will be coming to help and to what you can do to help those searching for you. To this end, each section concludes with a Notes section, encouraging you to jot down any thoughts or questions you may have about the content of the previous chapter—no more chicken-scratches in the margins! Similarly, Littlewood inserts his own musings into casual “Side Trails,” providing related supplemental material.
An eye-opening portion for me was the detailed description of SAR procedures. Before your team even ventures out on the trail, they must determine what agency has jurisdiction over your presumed location, as well as interview folks who might know your route, departure time, ability level, etc. Most SAR personnel are volunteers, so it will take a while to round them up as well as to determine if your needs might be better served by canine, equestrian or air search crews. You might have heedlessly dashed off into the woods to run a familiar trail, but you can expect your team to be much more thorough. Littlewood loses his patience with survivors who demand, “What took you so long?” Search and rescue is a highly-skilled, orchestrated practice, not a hit-or-miss affair.
So what can we do to ensure that the above scenario does not play out during our adventure? According to Littlewood, the first piece is the critical thinking component. Review your route, anticipate potential hazards and plot what you would do if something went wrong. He suggests that you try this on a familiar trail at first, rather like a pilot continuously assessing where to land her aircraft in case of emergency. Obviously, a gear checklist is key, with first aid items and communication devices at the ready. But it is not enough just to have the necessities—you must know how to use them effectively. This brings up the continuing education component of what Littlewood terms “Adult Merit Badges” or pursuing courses on first aid, map and compass, GPS, shelter building, and other outdoor survival skills. At the very least, you can try some of his simple hacks. For example, after parking your car at a trailhead, tear off strips of aluminum foil, place on a towel and have all members of your party press down for footprints and pawprints. Then secure the strips to the windshield wipers. That way, trackers will know which prints to pursue!
Everyone should read this book –from serious adventurers to day hikers to school and scout leaders. At the very least, you will gain an increased appreciation for the elements of a simple walk in the woods; at most, you might save a life, perhaps even your own.
You can purchase this book on Amazon.com.
