Hiking Australia: Volume 2 – On the Trail: A practical guide to movement, awareness, and decision-making in real conditions.
About this ebook
Hiking Australia: Volume 2 – On the Trail focuses on decision-making in motion, where plans are tested and the environment becomes an active participant in the hike.
This book explores how hikers move through terrain, interpret environmental signals, manage energy and navigation, and respond to the small changes that precede most incidents. It examines how weather, terrain, and judgement interact in real time.
Rather than focusing on extreme situations, it addresses the ordinary moments where decisions matter most, and where the outcome of a hike is quietly determined.
This is a guide to thinking clearly on the trail.
Discover more
About the author
Darren Edwards is the founder of Trail Hiking Australia and the author of Small Things Don’t Stay Small and its companion volume, which together explore how problems actually develop on the trail and how they can be recognised early.
His work is grounded in a simple idea: most hiking incidents don’t begin with a dramatic event, but with small changes that are easy to overlook. A shift in pace. A change in conditions. A decision that feels reasonable at the time. These signals rarely stay isolated. They build, interact, and shape what happens next.
Across both volumes, Darren examines how decisions are formed before a hike begins and how awareness, attention, and judgement influence outcomes once you are on the trail. Rather than focusing on gear lists or instructions, his writing explores how movement, environment, equipment, and decision-making function as an interconnected system in real conditions.
This perspective is reflected in his development of the Hiking Safety Systems Framework (HSSF), which underpins his approach but is presented through practical observation rather than theory.
Darren has spent thousands of kilometres walking across a wide range of Australian environments, from well-formed tracks to remote and less-defined terrain. His work is grounded in experience and focused on helping hikers think more clearly, notice earlier, and respond before situations escalate.
He lives in Melbourne, Australia.
