Recognising your own group's tracks

A shoe sole has three features that make it distinguishable: the pattern, the size and the wear. The pattern differs for every shoe model. The size shows in the length of the print. And the wear shows how someone walks – some people wear their soles down more on the outside, others at the heel.

On soft ground these features remain visible as a print. This is especially clear in damp sand, mud, snow or on wet paths. On hard, rocky ground or on paths where many other people have already walked, you will hardly find a clear print.

If you know your group's sole patterns, you can check at a junction: are there fresh prints with a familiar pattern? Then you know fairly reliably which way the others went. This is particularly helpful when a group moves at different speeds.

Before the trip, photograph the soles of all participants, ideally with name and shoe size. If you like, also make a test print on soft ground and photograph that too. Everyone in the group should have the photos on their phone, not just one person.

Clear agreements are even more important. Who goes first, who last? At which points do you wait – at every junction, at every hut, every half hour? And what does someone do who loses the group? The proven answer is: stay put, signal with the whistle and do not walk on alone.

Whoever goes ahead can leave a pre-agreed temporary marker at a junction, for example an arrow of twigs on the path. It is removed again on the way back. No paint, no cuts in trees and nothing that could confuse other hikers.

Reading tracks never replaces staying together. Most separations happen because fast people run ahead and slow ones are left alone at the back. Do not leave anyone alone at the end of the group, and wait at every junction until really everyone is there.

If someone is missing and cannot be found after a short search along the path, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU) early. Better once too early than too late. Do not keep searching alone off the trail – otherwise you may end up with two missing people instead of one.

Then give the rescuers everything that helps: sole photos, a description of the clothing, when and where the person was last seen and which route was planned. The actual search is the job of rescue services, who are trained for it.

A family is hiking, the children have run ahead, and at a fork no one is in sight. A quick look at the damp ground shows the small, familiar soles on the left-hand path. That saves shouting, searching and worry. Even better would have been for the children to wait at the fork – which is exactly what you practise beforehand.

This works especially well in snow because prints are very clear there. However, sun and wind change snow tracks quickly, and on popular paths many tracks overlap. So look especially for fresh, clear prints with a familiar pattern.

With children you can practise this as a game: everyone presses a shoe into the sand, and the others guess whose print it is. Along the way, children learn the most important rule: if you lose the group, stay where you are, blow your whistle and wait.

Mountaineering textbooks such as “Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills” stress that groups should stay together, make agreements and stop when unsure. The sole photos are a sensible addition to this, not a substitute.

Anyone who is lost is commonly advised to stay where they are and make themselves noticed rather than wander aimlessly. A person who stays put is much easier to find for their own group and for rescuers.