Globe editor Aruna Dutt hiked the The Lost Waterfalls trail in Boquete, Panama with hiking guide Patricia Quiel and guide Jennifer Cabellos.Chase Harder/Supplied
At the beginning of an early morning hike in Boquete, Panama, I faced two paths leading in different directions. One was the Lost Waterfalls trail, a four-hour round-trip trek in a cloud forest that rises about 1,700 metres above sea level. The other is where tourists have strayed and ended up spending a night in the mountains, my certified tour guide Patricia Quiel pointed out. Neither trail had signs telling us which was which.
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Having hiked this trail daily for years, Quiel led me up the right path, a mostly leisurely, partly slippery, climb. She held still the ropes I used to bolster myself up steeper parts, pointed out any dangerous exposed roots or loose rocks, answered my questions about plants and animals, and occasionally detected the species of a bird by their song – out of the more than 300 species she has noted here. I could enjoy and learn, knowing I was in her capable hands.
As solo travel and outdoors adventure have skyrocketed in popularity, many take the reins of their excursions by relying on the vast availability of online information, blogs or guide books. I myself have relied on the popular hiking app AllTrails for solo hikes in the Rockies.
But experts say that no matter how comfortable you feel about venturing off in a new place, preparing yourself is key – and often that means considering the invaluable benefits of having a guide.
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“These days with the prevalence of map apps, people tend to get in trouble more often than not, because you feel like you’re not lost, but it’s easy to get in over your head and not know how to get out of a situation,” says Evan Stevens, who has been training and certifying hiking guides for 20 years, for both the American and Canadian mountain guide associations.
“You don’t learn until something bad happens,” he says.
Before Stevens spends a day guiding people in the outdoors, there’s a long list he needs to get through. It includes researching where he’s going, how strenuous and long the trip is and possible hazards, such as wildlife encounters or yellowjacket nests. He finds maps and navigation equipment and makes sure he knows the rescue resources available.
He always has an inReach or Zoleo communication device or iPhone 14 or higher, which has SOS satellite capabilities. He tells someone the details of where he’s going beforehand, finds out the weather and plans gear accordingly.
“Sometimes you wish it were as simple as getting out there and going for a walk,” he says on the phone from Squamish, B.C.; he just finished unloading a helicopter after spending five days in the mountains.
The reality of hiking and the preparation needed is not what’s often presented in social-media #travelinspiration, where influencers share a curated version of their trip, author and hiker Taryn Eyton says.
“You’re not seeing how they maybe got lost, got blisters or hiked a different trail by mistake – lots of things could have gone wrong,” Eyton adds. She’s just published Backpacking on Vancouver Island and has hiked “probably thousands” of trails in the past 20 years, but would have hired a guide for the more extreme trails she tried in her early days.
Hiker and author of Backpacking on Vancouver Island, Taryn Eyton.Steve Tan/Supplied
“Everybody learns the hard way a few times. When I did the West Coast Trail, I was very unprepared. I didn’t know what to bring, how to pace myself, the things I will step on – that was something I learned by falling over. But a guide would have told me the wood will be slippery even if it hasn’t rained for a week.”
Eyton says she was lucky to have the mentorship of her father and more experienced friends, but a guide can help bridge that gap for many who don’t have that access.
Stevens agrees: “They can also help you gain some skills and learn how to understand weather and navigation.”
Eyton and Stevens add they hire a guide themselves when outside of their home ecosystem, to explain local context, especially internationally where there is a language barrier: “It’s the right thing to do, to engage in the community in this way,” Eyton notes. She did so in Nepal, where guides are now legally required for tourists when trekking.
“Guides can add a ton of value to a trip if you’re not familiar with an area, or you’re pressed for time, or you want to learn more about the natural or cultural history,” Stevens says.
How to find a guide:
Evan Stevens on Association of Canadian Mountain Guides: “There are hundreds of certified hiking guides on the ACMG website (acmg.ca), where you can filter the list for people in certain areas,” says Stevens. “You know there are a core set of skills they hold since they’ve been trained to a certain standard. Tell them you want to get off the beaten path, and plan ahead – summer is a busy time of year.”
Taryn Eyton on seeking local advice: “As a beginner hiker, I really liked to take free guided hikes with rangers in National Parks. Finding guides for less popular places can be a bit of a challenge. … Asking in regional hiking Facebook groups for personal recommendations can be helpful. When I went to Newfoundland near Corner Brook, I went with Indigenous-owned company Ever Outdoor, which took me to trails I never would have found on my own,” says Eyton.
Good to know: Local tourism boards can put you in touch with guides and suggest routes for you, which is how I found the Lost Waterfalls tour in Panama ($50, booked with hellotravelpanama.com/tours). Companies such as G Adventures and Get Your Guide offer hiking trips in many countries. In Nepal, Eyton suggests Friendly Trekkers Adventurers: She spent 10 days with her guide Chandra Bhujel, who she says answered questions, translated when talking to locals and made sure they had the best rooms in all the tea houses.