Wilderness Survival

For any true outdoors person one of the most exasperating experience has to be the sight of some television journalist on Dateline lauding the survival of some foolish person who put himself unnecessarily in danger in the first place.

Mother nature is not your friend. Whether you are a casual hiker or adventure traveler, observance of a few basic rules will insure that you are not the subject of one of those exciting documentaries.

Before you walk out the door arm yourself with a few tools: A weather radio that can turn itself on in the event of severe danger such as fast approaching thunderstorms, reliable communications such as a cellphone or combo cell and walkie-talkie, good maps (i.e. topographic map of the area) guidebooks, compasses, appropriate clothing (suited to climate, warm when wet), extra socks (from a fast-drying fabric), extra food, flashlight with extra batteries, sunglasses and sunscreen, pocket knife matches in waterproof container, candle or fire starter, first aid kit, companions and common sense. Obviously you can pare down that list a bit if your "wilderness area" is a 400-acre state park in Long Island, but in a real rural area you will need all of that and more.

Research the area and the current weather for the area.Weather.com http://www.weather.com/outlook /outdoor provides a host of outdoor-specific forecasts covering everything from marine conditions, through allergens and mosquitoes activity reports so that you can come back in one piece.

Before you enter a wilderness area, stop by the park ranger's office. They will be the one's looking for you if you wander off from the beginner's hiking trail into the great piney woods as happened to one unfortunate who spent several days lost among New York's Harriman State Park's 200 miles of hiking trails a few years ago. Never camp or hike alone in such a place either. What happens if you bust a ankle or are injured by an insect or animal? You may not be able to leave under your own steam.

Don't place too much confidence in your cell. Five teenagers died just off New York City's City Island a few years ago because they made the mistake of assuming that their cellphones protected them from risk. Unfortunately, they were in a dead zone between two cell towers when their leaky borrowed rowboat sunk in the middle of the icy Long Island Sound in February.

The situation may be even worse in the mountains. After all, the cell phone companies go where the money is. When dead spots exist even in wealthy, bustling New York City, imagine what the service is like in a low-income, sparsely populated rural market. If something is dangerous without a cellphone, it is dangerous with one as well. Don't borrow trouble.

Before you go into an unfamiliar area ask a local about unforeseen dangers. Be sure to let them know that you are from a very different environment. When I first visited New Mexico, a local's advice about not driving through apparently shallow streams running across the road may have saved me from being washed to my death. During monsoon season, New Mexico is subject to brief but violent storms and water that reaches high speed because it travels straight down the sides of ten thousand foot mountains.

Likewise, in Colorado I was informed about the perils of rattlesnakes and mountain lions, who have been known to fatally attack children and unwary adults from behind. These kind folks also let me know that my idea of driving the 14,000 foot High Trail Road was not a good idea "until Summer." Certainly an inexperienced New Yorker could be forgiven for assuming that Summer had already arrived by early July. But in mountainous regions, high elevations will be completely covered by ice for several more weeks.

Always bring ample water and some light, high calorie food in case of emergency. Make sure that you know how to identify some basic edible plants and know how to shelter yourself from the elements in case you have to wait out a mistake for a day or two. Should you become lost, stop walking. This will lessen the likelihood that you will fall off a cliff or wander into an even more desolate area.

With any luck, someone else's emaciated face will be featured on television letting the world know how he survived.

Sources:

www.wildsafe.com/
www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/wilderness-travel-basics.htm#CP_JUMP_30628