This spring, Tristan and I headed out west to hike the desert terrain of Colorado and Utah. Along the way, we had the amazing opportunity to hike Arches National Park. Being no strangers to hiking—or even desert hikes—we chose one of the furthest and most difficult trails, the route to Tower Arches.
This hike turned out to be the hardest we have ever done, not because of the terrain or altitude, because those were easy. It was the most dangerous hike because it was the one time we got lost in the desert right before sunset, miles and miles away from our car. Like I said, we’re no strangers to hikes or danger, so we made it out in good time despite our natural fears to the contrary.
However, this is often not the happy ending for hikers who bite off way more than they can chew in the unforgiving desert terrain. So, if you ever get lost on a desert trail, here are a few easy tips to help you safely find your way back.
Ask Strangers for Directions
As children, our parents always told us: never speak to strangers. As adults, we especially distrust strangers in strange places we never visited before. When it comes to desert hiking, however, you may want to consider breaking this rule. If you’re lost in the desert and hear voices, seek them out and ask for help. Often times, you will run into locals or more seasoned hikers than yourself.
If you’re still wary of depending on strangers in your moment of despair, the safest people to ask for directions on trails are usually groups being led by tour guides and families with children.
Check the Map
If it is not a popular hiking spot, or you strayed far away from the trail, then it’s possible you won’t run into anyone. When this happens, your next best option is the map. Never ever get on a desert trail without a map, no matter how straight-forward the route originally seems. Get a physical one if possible, download one from the park’s website, or take a picture of one if you pass it on a sign.
When checking the map, pay close attention to:
- Major landmarks
- Visitor centres and parking lots
- Overlaps with other trails
- The shape of trails
- The terrain you will be crossing over
- The estimated level of difficulty
- The distance of the trail or different sections of it
Being able to identify these features on a map will help you figure out where you are and the best route for finding your way out.
Look for Footprints
The frightening thing about being lost in the desert, however, is that often everything looks pretty much the same. It is a large stretch of sand and rocks and rocky mountains. This makes it difficult for parks to put up markers. When this happens, following footprints are helpful. You can either follow your own footprints back the way you came, or follow the steps of heavy traffic to find the way that loops out.
If the way back is longer than the way forward and light is fading fast, you will have to make a tough decision. You can either take the shorter but less sure route out, or the surer but longer route. When we got lost at Arches National Park we chose to keep going and make the loop.
Find the Balanced Rocks
More reliable than footprints are the balanced rocks called cairns which are often used to mark trails out west in the US. For this reason, hikers are usually prohibited from erecting these on their own, since they may set lost hikers further astray. We came across a few of these in Arches National Park, but saw way more when we hiked Corona and Bowtie Arches the following day.
Go Higher
If you have lost sight of the trail or you aren’t sure you’re headed in the right direction, consider moving to higher ground. You can either hike to the top of a hill, or if you’re as desperate as we were, climb to the top of a large boulder. Be careful when doing this as a fall can lead to serious injury and may worsen your chances of getting out before dark. Keep this in your pocket as a last-resort option only and use at your own risk.
RELATED POST: 5 Tips for Hiking in the Vegas Desert
Hiking in the desert is fun, especially in the springtime when temperatures are milder. However, it can also be dangerous. Accidents happen and sometimes we overestimate our abilities or underestimate Mother Nature. If you ever plan to chance the rugged desert terrain for yourself, keep these tips in mind. Also, stock up on plenty of water, research the snakes in that area and bring a hiking buddy.
I’m glad you made it back with out too much difficulty. I love to hike and it is so easy to go off trail to go exploring. Great advice and so true!! Always make sure someone knows where you are going and stop when you still have enough energy to go back because what ever you hiked you have to go back 🙂
We did not follow the advice of stopping when we have enough energy to go back yesterday. 😂 We picked a trail that even now says 3.4 miles to see a glacier. The hike turned out to be 5+ miles each way and was uphill with some full-on climbing, but we were deadset on seeing it! We just made a few stops to regain our strength. Great advice, but we are stubborn. 🤣
Yeah I can relate. I give good advice but rarely follow it myself…lol!!
LoL! That’s probably not a good thing. 🤣
Awesome, life-saving tips! Thanks for sharing (:
You’re welcome! 🙂
Good advice. I believe most people you meet on hiking trails are friendly and happy to help a fellow hiker; we often struck up friendships with other walkers and exchanged information about other places to visit, etc and never had a problem. This ‘stranger danger’ is overrated, for adults at least. They might even give you water if you were unlucky enough to run out!
I agree with you completelely. My mom is always terrified when she runs into a man on the trails and tells me all the time I’m about to get kidnapped. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but constantly worrying about those things takes away all the fun from it. I’ve only ever met friendly people on the trails. 🙂
Having spent a night in Paria Canyon, in 1980, I can say that if you run out of daylight, devise a makeshift camp and wait for the sun to rise.
Thankfully it didn’t come to that for us! Was the spent night deliberate or accidental??
Accidental.
Well glad you made it out safely. I haven’t had one of those incidents, so far.
I would be the worst person to ever get lost on a trail! Thank you so much for the tips!
Haha, I never get lost in the woods but frequently get lost in the desert. This was the first time that I was fighting against time to beat daylight though. It was not a pleasant feeling!
Thanks for reading. 🙂
Eeeeek! Hope I never ever come close to something like this happening.
We hope we have no repeats! We have definitely been more careful since then.
Not that I have any intention of getting lost in the desert in the near future, but the tips are worth beating in mind in case I do.
We certainly didn’t plan to get lost, but it happened anyway. 😂 Glad you found them useful all the same!
Great advice. It’s easy to get lost hiking especially when there are so many beautiful rock formations to explore. Arches is amazing ❤️
It really is! What ticked me off was all the signs saying “Stay on the trail”. Where?? What trail?? 😂
What trail did you hike at Arches? I really want to go back to see the Delicate Arch.
I did the Delicate Arch trail (you have to come back to see it), Devil’s Garden Loop Trail, Double Arch Trail, Landscape Arch Trail, and many more! I tried to do the fiery furnace (only a third before my body gave up on me 😂) I was so tired. We tried to do so much in a day!
And yes! on the way to some we had to stop and ask other hikers if we were on the right path. My friend had this idea that we had to do some rock scrambling to get to the Delicate Arch (Thankfully I did not listen to him!!)
I skipped it because it was the obvious trail to do, but now that I’ve hiked something else, I would definitely want to try it. Did you get one of the maps when you went in? It usually has some description of the trail. Not that it helped us any… 😂
We also want to go back to the Iron Mountain Hot Springs. That was amazing, but we only had 45 minutes of it before fleeing to the airport!
Yes but I left it in the car by accident. My friend was so annoyed with me 😂 We drove all the way from LA. Good times and totally an awesome adventure. 😊 I’ve never been to Iron Mountain Hot Springs – got to add that to the list 😊
You definitely have to go there. Sooooo relaxing. I hear it’s least busy in the later hours. They’re open until around 9 or 10.
That’s the one thing I’m unlikely to leave in the car, because we get lost in the desert so often. 🤣 hopefully she forgave you!
He kinda forgave me 😂 But we did get a little lost!
Thanks for the tip – I hope I get to visit soon. So many places to explore so little time.❤️
I was just thinking that today! Because we want to come back to Alaska, but there are so many other places I want to see.
You’re welcome. I know you’ll enjoy it. Very relaxing. Bring the friend as an I’m sorry 🤣
Hello, I wont to say, enjoy life and let us know. like.
Also remember to bring the Ten Essentials. I have seen way too many rescue helicopters in my day. https://www.recreation.gov/outdoors/Explore_Go_Lists/10-hiking-essentials.htm
Thanks for sharing that!