“While Wintergreen is a resort community, know that many of the mountain and valley trails here–like most trails in the Blue Ridge Mountains–insist on being taken seriously,” HikeWintergreen.org says on almost every page.
What does “taking the trails seriously” mean? For one, if you’re not careful you can get lost, as happened to one hiker on what would have been an otherwise pleasant March morning walk in the mountains.
Curtis Sheets typically leads the search operations at Wintergreen when there is a hiker in trouble. With over 20 years of public safety experience in the resort community, Wintergreen’s Fire & Rescue chief has some very specific suggestions for everyone walking Wintergreen’s trails.
Here are Sheet’s top ten “serious hiking” tips:
Get a paper map and read it. “The trails here vary in difficulty,” Sheets stresses. “Don’t rely on the internet while on the trails. Take a paper map on the trail with you. The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen has published an excellent paper map and they are easily available, 24/7, at the front desk of the resort’s Mountain Inn. They cost $3.”
Your hike will take longer than you expected. “Maybe hours longer,” warns Sheets. “Have some water and food with you. Our weather here is literally unpredictable, so carry some extra clothing. Going out in the afternoon? Take a flashlight, even in the summer.”
Tell someone who isn’t hiking with you about your plans. “Be specific in a simple email to a friend about where you plan to start and when you plan to return, telling them you’ll check in when you’re done hiking for the day. If you are overdue, this friend can contact authorities with some helpful information,” says Sheets.
Make sure your phone is 100 percent charged before hitting the trail. “Many of our trails have no cell signals so your phone’s battery can drain faster than usual searching for a tower. But don’t turn off your phone,” Sheets notes. “Learn how to “share your location” with others on your cell phone. Even if your phone does not have enough signal to make a call it may still be able to transmit your location. Also, lost hikers can text photos from an overlook and we may be able to figure out their location from the photo.”
Pay attention to trailblazing and signs. “Keep up with where you are the best you can. If a lost hiker can say something such as, ‘I noticed about a half hour ago that the blazing on the trees changed from yellow to red,’ that will help us,” Sheets explains.
Pack a small mirror. Mirrors can be useful in capturing the attention of a helicopter search crew when the sun is out.
Stay on the trail. “Trying to find a missing hiker who has wandered off the trail is exponentially more difficult,” Sheets says. “Unexperienced hikers don’t realize how easy it is to get lost in our mountains.”
LOOK UP! “There are many more dead trees in our forest than at any point in the past 20 years,” Sheets reports. “This has become a safety concern. Avoid walking under dead trees, especially during periods of wind.”
If you’re a smoker, please make certain your cigarette butt is completely extinguished.
Do you love to hike Wintergreen trails? If you would like to be notified about helping when Wintergreen Fire & Rescue is searching for a missing hiker, Sheets asks that you let them know now. “We will add you to our resource list so we can give you a call when we need your help,” he says. Email him at csheets@wtgfireresq.org.
“This is not a complete list by any means, but it provides a good idea of what we mean when we ask our hikers to take our trails seriously. With the proper respect, hiking here is serious fun,” concludes Sheets.