Before You Hike

• Plan Ahead!
• Research your route and check the weather forecast.  Ensure you have adequate information to assist with route-finding such as maps, guidebooks or a GPS file of the route.
• Make a trip plan and let a friend or family member know where you are going and when you plan to return. Canada’s AdventureSmart website includes excellent trip planning resources.
• Ensure that you are carrying a safety communication device such as an emergency personal locator device or a cellular phone.  However, note that cellular service is limited in many areas including the mountains.
• Pack appropriate equipment for your outing. Items to consider include: proper footwear, extra layers of clothing including a hat or toque, protection from the sun, wind and insects, a flashlight or headlamp, adequate food and water, and an emergency shelter.
• Carry bear spray year round and know how to use it! Watch this how-to video.

While You Hike

• Stay on established trails and avoid trail braiding.
• Share the trail with other users. During breaks, step off the trail so others can pass.
• Do NOT pick or collect wildflowers or other vegetation including deadfall. Picking or collecting rocks, fossils and artifacts is NOT permitted.  Take a photograph instead!
• Do not litter.  This includes cigarette butts, seed shells and tissue.
• Occasional shouting will warn wildlife that you are in the area.
  • This is especially important near noisy creeks and in dense forest.
  • Shouts are more effective than a bell, whistle or horn.
• If you decide to take your dog into the backcountry
• Your dog must be kept on a leash at all times.
• Your dog's waste must be packed out or buried.
• Wildlife regard your pet as either prey or predator.

Disposal of Human Waste

• When hiking, urinate at least 50 metres from trails and water sources.
• When hiking, defecate in a cathole (catholes should be 15-20 centimetres deep and 50 metres from trails and water sources). Bury your waste then replace the topsoil.
• Pack out toilet paper or dispose of it in an outhouse.
• If you are travelling on snow or ice or in the high alpine, please pack out your waste.
• While at camp, use the outhouse to urinate or defecate.