Sian shares about some of the early mistakes she made when she started hiking in the desert.

For starters, she could have done better in avoiding the spikey vegetation. Desert plants are often heavily-defended, the spikes can be hard to remove, and these injuries can easily lead to infection. Wearing adequate clothing is a good means of protection, as is situational awareness of your surroundings.

Secondly, Sian shares about her experience of getting to this beautiful place with its bright sunshine from the comparatively much darker UK, and failing wear good quality eye protection in terms of sunglasses. She now has sun damage to her retina.

She suggests that our relationship to the sun in the desert is as a whole worth thinking through. Wear a hat on the trail, and have a plan before you hit the trail about what level of sun exposure you feel is right for you. We need to protect ourselves from too much sun exposure, but we do also need sunlight for our bodies production of Vitamin D. Try and pick products that actually provide the protection they claim to, and that have ingredients you are comfortable with. The Environmental Working Group has good searchable database of commonly available sunscreens, at www.ewg.org/skindeep

Sian has been diagnosed with Lyme disease, and a co-infection, Babesia. She feels that it is very likely she contracted these tick-borne diseases when in Arizona, probably when she was in her barefoot, shorts-wearing phase. When these illnesses become chronic, these are difficult to treat or eradicate. Many believe that government estimates of the prevalence of tick-borne disease are hopelessly out-of-date. She suggests you protect yourself with sturdy clothing, including trousers that tuck into your socks, good walking boots, and a repellent that you trust. She uses Incognito spray - effective but non-toxic.

All that said, she’s off on her hike. This land is too beautiful not to enjoy. But there’s no reason not to ensure you minimise any risks to you or your family.

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