In brief: Hiking: Not just a walk in the park
In brief
Hiking: Not just a walk in the park
Especially in the Northeast, late summer is a great time of year to go hiking. The bugs aren’t as bad as they were in midsummer. The weather is cooler. Soon there’ll be fall foliage.
But some of us who hit the trail end up in trouble. In 2004, University of Pennsylvania researchers published a study of search-and-rescue operations by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. About 40% of rescued people had been injured (most of the rest had gotten lost). As you might expect, fractures were the most common type of injury. Proper footwear and a walking stick or trekking poles (they’re like ski poles, but for hikers) will help you stay on your feet, while sparing you some knee aches and pains.
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