Tips for Helping Hikers Psychologically

Video Transcript

"In addition to physical support, sometimes we need psychological support from our co hikers. I'm not the world's most physically confident person. I learned this a long time ago. I think it was back in the seventies. One time I was walking a narrow place like this, and I was petrified, and a friend of mine, he was down on the ground he just reached up his hand and offered it to me for contact. It wasn't real support, it was just a little human contact, and that made all the difference in the world. And sometimes that's what we need to do on hikes. People have different kinds of phobias. Unreasonable of course. I have them. You can be on a steep little rock, but you you've got level ground all around you, it's no problem. But when that steep rock, there's nothing between you and the ground forty feet below, it's a different story, isn't it. So, sometimes we can help each other psychologically. Edges do bother a lot of people. If they bother you, it might be a good idea to tell your hiking leader that, just so they, just so they can stay mindful of that. But when you're walking along an edge, and there's somebody who is afraid of that, Deb, come on over, Deb happens to be an edge, she doesn't like edges. So, would it be a comfort to you, Deb, to just have a little physical contact with the hiker in front of you as we walk along? Most definitely. OK. Most definitely. Just put your hand there, and we'll take it together. Here we go."