Bushwalking Mistakes Beginners Always Make

Outdoorsia

Sep 13

3 min read

Nobody gets rescued because the track was too hard. They get rescued because the sun went down, the phone went flat, and nobody knew where they were.

Every one of these bushwalking mistakes is free to fix - which is exactly why people skip them.

Bush walking track through Australian forest.

Sun going down + a draining battery is a bad situation to be in, and foreseeable enough to prepare for it.

Forgetting to Check Sunset Times

Darkness in the bush is absolute, and it arrives earlier than in town - valleys and forest lose usable light well before official sunset.
The fix: check sunset time when you check the weather, and set a turnaround time that has you finished with daylight to spare.
A head torch in the pack turns this mistake from an emergency into a story. It's on the list in Day Hike Packing List Australia: What to Take on a Bushwalk.

Not Downloading Maps or Charging Phones

Assume no reception

It's the default in Australian bush, not the exception.

Download the offline map before you leave home

The trailhead is too late.

Leave with 100% battery

Cold nights and camera use drain it faster than you expect.

The paper backup costs nothing

A photo of the trailhead map, or the park's printed walk notes.

How to Save Phone Battery on Track

Flight mode

The single biggest saver - a phone hunting for signal all day flattens itself doing it. GPS and offline maps still work in flight mode.

Dim and close

Drop the screen brightness, close the apps you're not using, and skip the video calls from the summit.

Carry a power bank

It weighs less than the water you'll drink in an hour, and it recharges your navigation, your torch backup and your emergency call.

Keep it warm

Cold kills batteries: on chilly walks, keep the phone in an inside pocket, not the pack lid.

Group of walkers on a forest track in early morning light.

You may be reading this feeling like you're quite a confident walker, but what happens if someone in your group gets lost?

Not Telling Anyone Your Plans

The most important free safety act in bushwalking: tell someone your track, your route, and your expected return time - and tell them when you're out.
Be specific: "the Grade 3 loop at the falls, done by 3 pm, I'll text you" beats "going for a walk somewhere".
For remote or long walks, use the formal version: park trip intention forms where offered, and consider a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). In NSW, Think Before You TREK lends them free and takes trip intention forms online.
Search and rescue starts from your plan. No plan means the search starts from nothing.

Underestimating Food and Water

"One bottle" fails on any real walk. Do the per-hour maths before you leave, using How Much Water Do You Need for a Bushwalk?.
Pack real food, not just a muesli bar - hungry walkers slow down, get cold, and make bad calls.
Carry a little more than the plan needs. The buffer is for the wrong turn, the slow leg, and the track that runs longer than the signpost says. Estimating it properly is covered in How Long Does a Bushwalk Take?.

None of this takes long. Ten minutes at the kitchen table covers all five. Start with Bushwalking for Beginners: How to Choose Your First Walk.

Link to downloadable resource: Prevent Getting Lost

You'll find the planning steps that keep you on track, and the most common reasons walkers get lost. Download or print the PDF with full details and keep it in your kit. The phone download version is a quick overview reminder list.

Source: this post is an Outdoorsia original. For your next step, see your state parks service's bushwalking safety pages - for example, NSW National Parks' Think Before You TREK.