When I first started to get into backcountry hiking and backpacking, my family thought I was absolutely crazy. Actually, some of them still do. Each year, there are media reports of unfortunate hikers who run into trouble in the backcountry and are either lost, injured, or tragically perish. I have explained to my family that, while even seasoned and prepared hikers do sometimes have accidents in the backcountry, a majority of the tragic stories you read about concern hikers who enter the backcountry unprepared.