activities

hiking

Although Costa Rica has been described as a Disneyland of ecological wonders, you must be aware that here you are dealing with Mother Nature in all her harsh reality. Every year several overconfident hikers get lost in Costa Rica's dense forests. For example, hikers were lost in unseasonal fog and rain for 11 days on Barva Volcano on the West side of Braulio Carrillo National Park. Their goal was a simple day hike around the crater lake, but landslides blocking the trails threw them off course. Two hikers became lost and died in the mountains of Talamanca in 1999, and in April 2000 a Canadian hiker ignored signs telling him to keep on the trail and ended up sliding into the crater of Volcan Rincon de La Vieja, where he was stranded for four days with only a water bottle and a camera. Luckily, the volcano was in an inactive phase, and he was rescued. Costa Rica's famous parks are victims of the country's budget deficit, and trails are not maintained with the same rigor foreigners are used to. Tropical weather itself makes trail maintanence a full-time job.

The Red Cross gives the following recommendations for solo hikers:

Prepare for the worst
Tell someone where you are going and when you'll be back
Wear boots and layer your clothing
Carry a canteen, knife, flashlight with extra batteries, candy, dried fruit or granola bars, a compass, a map, a pancho or plastic in case you need to make a shelter, a first-aid kit, matches, a small piece of rubber and a candle (for lighting fires), and if possible a machete and light sleeping bag
Pack everything in plastic bags
Don't touch anything without looking
Bring medications

Always stay on the trail when hiking in mountainous areas. The hikers who have gotten lost for several days - and - survived - have done so by drinking river water, eating palmito (the edible core of certain palm trees), and hunting wild animals. Rescuers recommend building a primitive shelter and tying a brightly colored cloth to if you think anyone will come looking for you. If no one knows you are lost, following a river downstream is probably the best way to reach civilization.