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Outdoor Safety

Summary: Preventive steps are the first line of defense when it comes to outdoor safety. Avoiding disaster when confronted with sudden weather changes and knowing what to do in t crisis can make outdoor adventures safer and more fun.

| by Kristi Nielsen

No matter where you travel, the great outdoors beckons with parks, forests, wilderness areas, mountains and streams for exploring. Hikers, campers, backpackers, canoeists, kayakers, ATV riders, snowmobilers, boaters, skiers, snowshoers, and hunters just want to enjoy the outdoor paradise.

None of them venture out with crisis or tragedy in mind, for if they did they would likely not go. A few may prepare for the unexpected, but most don’t. A few precautions can prevent a trip into nature from becoming memorable for its crisis.

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Although it may seem like a negative perspective, imagine the worst case scenario and prepare for it. How will you survive, what will you need? Tracy, a 17 year-old girl, went to a park by a small lake to walk her dog. It was intended to be a twenty minute walk.

However, inattention left her disoriented and she was unable to find her way out of the forest. Even though she had a cell phone, the battery was nearly dead and she had to limit the length of her calls. A team searched until dark, but she was forced to survive the night not dressed for the chilly spring evening. Often events that seem harmless and even short trips close to home need to be approached with due caution. Similar problems may occur as easily as slipping on a rock and spraining an ankle. Lucky for Tracy she had a cell phone—the bare minimum safety device.

Know as much as you can about an area, before you venture out. Make sure a friend knows where you are headed and your expected time of return. It is not paranoid; it is merely wise. Bring a good map, check the forecast. Never travel alone, and always stay together in a group. Wear the proper clothes and footwear. Ensure that you take enough food and water to enable yourself to survive if a problem arises.

Take appropriate clothing for any possible sudden change in weather or carry a waterproof reflective survival blanket. They are cheap, easy to carry and reusable. Carry a whistle so you can let people know your location and a flashlight in case you are still on the trail after the sun goes down. Invest in a survival kit—a must for any outdoor enthusiast. Your survival kit should be relative to your adventure level and risk ratio. If you have special concerns such as daily medications, insure you carry them even if you plan to be back before your next dose. It may be crucial to your survival if you need to spend a night or two, stranded.

Today’s backwoods hikers have the distinct advantage of having Global Positioning System (GPS) units and mobile phones. All hikers should invest in these devices or at least rent them before going out. The chance for survival is better than ever if you go armed with GPS and a map; you should be able to find your way out. With the addition of a mobile phone, you can call for help and relay your exact whereabouts. That however, is not an invitation to up the risks. Unfortunately, every year outdoor enthusiasts get in situations that result in Search and Rescue personnel and volunteers risking their lives to execute daring rescues. It is the responsibility of the adventurer to take the necessary precautions.

If you are lost, stop. Staying in one place increases the possibility of being found. Build a shelter and do not try to transport an injured person out yourself. It can lead to exhaustion, or risk further injury of both the victim and yourself. If you are stranded with a vehicle, such as an ATV, snowmobile, or aircraft, do not leave the vehicle. The vehicle is much easier to spot than is an individual lone hiker.
About the only legitimate reason to change locations is to move to higher ground, if you can do that without incurring additional risk, in order to signal for help. Aerial flares, signal mirrors, smoke flares, whistles, and distress flags – provided in survival kits can attract the attention of rescuers – saving valuable time.

Whether you are stranded or just enjoying a walk in the forest, the dangers of bears and other dangerous wildlife must be respected. Bear behavior is unpredictable and the strategy that works in one instance may prove ineffective in another. Do not prepare, eat or store food in your tent or close to your tent. If you are hiking, make noise and stay in a group. Bears are attracted to scents, so keep garbage in airtight containers, and avoid perfumed toiletries. Showering with Wild Berry shower gel just before going hiking is going to make you smell like bear-lunch. Be informed about recent bear sightings and confrontations in the area before leaving.

Be weather wise. Winter or summer, postpone your trip if a storm is predicted. Humans are no match for the powers of nature. Winter storms can be life threatening if you are unprepared or exposed to the elements. All winter travelers—or for that matter, people who live in areas where it snows in the winter -  should have a safety pack in their car. It should include candles.

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 Candles can produce enough heat to prevent hypothermia without using up the oxygen in a vehicle too fast. Summer storms are no exception.

When lightening strikes, you do not want to be in the forest. If you are caught in the forest in a storm, seek shelter, but do not choose large trees—making yourself part of a natural lightening rod. When lightening strikes, it travels down the trunk of the tree through the roots into the ground.

The voltage of a lightening strike produces a very strong shock and can exceed human tolerance levels with heat up to 60,000 degrees. Buildings are a preferable source of shelter, as is your car. Move your car out from under tall trees and turn off the engine. Do not touch any metallic part of the car in case it is struck by lightening.

This protects you from becoming a conduit for the current of the electrical shock. Wait out the storm. Severe electrical storms are usually short-lived. The one-thousand and one, one-thousand and two count between lightening strike and thunder clap can give you some idea how far away lightening is.
Light travels at 186,000 miles per second, so you see the lightening immediately. The sound travels a mile every 5 seconds.

Therefore a lapse of 10 seconds means the lightening strike was only two miles away. It is not uncommon for each successive lightening strike to strike two or three miles from the previous strike. Therefore any lightening strikes within 5 miles are a serious threat. Do not retreat from your safe haven until 30 minutes after the last strike.

If you cannot reach a car, or building, next safest is a depressed area such as a ditch or a cave – of course not a ditch full of water as water is a strong conductor of electricity. Crouch and keep your feet together and head down. Minimizing your contact with the ground can reduce your risk of being electrocuted.

The great outdoors is the best playground there is. The opportunity to be close to nature is truly a spiritual experience. It can heal our hurts, calm our minds and restore us. Visiting your favourite part of this big playground is something that you want to do often and the opportunity to enjoy every breath of fresh air and breathtaking moment is to drink of youthful enjoyment—it never grows tiresome. Go prepared, and go often.

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