Following a trail is often the best way to reach the places you want to go. Staying on trails helps you avoid trampling plants or adding to erosion with your footsteps. It is hard to get lost if your feet are on a pathway. Whether or not your backcountry hikes are on trails or across open ground, watch where you place your feet to avoid slipping or twisting an ankle. Use bridges to cross streams. Wade through water only if there is no other way to go, and only if the water is shallow and the current is not too swift. Unfasten the hip belt of your backpack before crossing a stream. If you slip, you'll be able to free yourself from the backpack before it can weigh you down in the water. Detour around areas that appear to be dangerous, or go back the way you came. Your safety is always much more important than reaching the destination of a hike.
(For more about hiking, see chapter 8, "Hiking," beginning on page 197.)