The Annual JMT Hiker Survey includes a series of about 40 listed common problems (the exact number differs slightly by year).
Respondents are asked to rate each listed problem as 0 (Not at All) or on a severity scale from 1 to 5. Severity 1 is defined as Minimal , 3 as Significant and 5 as Severe.?
Elizabeth Wenk, the Wilderness Press guidebook author, analyzed the impact of various potential risk factors for the listed problems in the 2015 survey. See .
One of the statistically most significant findings of Ms. Wenk's analysis was that older hikers, on average. report fewer problems, and a lower severity, compared to younger hikers. The age effect is especially strong for? women hikers. For 2016-20 relationship of age to problems see .?
Many other reports related to problems are found in .?
The problem set used on the 2020 Survey was (other years may differ slightly)
In the order asked
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Water availability
Cold
Stream crossings
High winds
Rain, hail or falling snow
Smoke from fires
Small animals (marmots, mice, etc.)
Snowpack or loose snow
Lightning
Personal sanitation on trail
Heat
Mosquitoes
Transportation to/from trailheads
*Keeping pace with hiking companions
*Inadequate preparation by my hiking companions
*Other on-trail problems for hiking companions impacted me indirectly
*Conflict within your group
Conflict with other hikers
Navigation errors
Hard to eat all the food I carried at times
Headache
Sleep problems
Gear failures / inadequacies
Loneliness or other emotional challenges
Excessive shortness of breath (badly "winded") on climbs
Excessive fatigue or hard to complete necessary daily miles
Hunger or not enough food at times
Altitude Illness (see detailed definition above)
Hypothermia (uncontrollable shivering)
Allergies/asthma/respiratory issues
Fall, tripping or other trauma on trip
Other illness starting on trip
Packstrap or hipbelt pain
Shoulder, back or hip pain
Knee or ankle issues
Other muscle pain or cramps
Blisters
Achilles tendon or heel pain (incl. plantar fasciitis)
Other foot pain (e.g., sore feet)
Sunburn
Other skin issues (dry, chafing, rash, irritation)
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*Problems inapplicable to solo hikers
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These problems use a different severity scale
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Bears
Mountain lions (cougars)
Rattlesnakes
Mountain Sheep
Deer
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Constipation during hike
Soft stool during hike
Diarrhea during hike
Diarrhea after hike