Three Tips to Avoiding Quicksand While Hiking

Ian Oldaker has worked on various production projects. For three years, he served as a freelance carpenter, technical director, and electrician at the New York City Broadway theaters. Ian Oldaker’s hobbies include soccer and hiking.

Even the most experienced hikers encounter quicksand while on a hike. It is almost inevitable. Quicksand is an area where the sand has been liquified by water saturation. This makes the ground semiliquid and weak such that it sinks when there is any weight on it. Here are three tips to avoiding quicksand while on a hike.:

1. Become familiar with quicksand danger zones. Be on the watch for quicksand over moist terrain near riverbanks and other bodies of water such as lakes, swamps, and marshes, as well as on tidal flats and glaciers.

2. Be aware of your environment. If you notice water rising from the ground, you may have come across some quicksand. If the terrain looks rippled, it’s probably quicksand.

3. Use trekking poles or a walking stick. You can use a walking stick or trekking pole to test the ground ahead of you for quicksand. If the ground seems weak, do not risk stepping on it.