An avid hiker is cautioning people to be prepared when hiking The Spout, a particularly difficult trail located outside Bay Bulls.

Jack Hickey is a retired member of the St. John’s Regional Fire Department, and he’s also a volunteer with Rovers Search and Rescue.

In that capacity, he says they have received around nine calls to different areas along The Spout hiking trail over the lats two years.

He says one of the main issues has been improper footwear. They have been called to instances of rolled ankles and other injuries. He says heat exhaustion has also been an issue.

Hickey says one of the more problematic areas of the trail is a 2 km stretch leading to the Miners Point campsite.

He says in the darkness, or in foggy weather, that area is especially tangly. Hickey states that in comes down to preparedness, because if someone has a proper GPS it could walk them through that 2 km.