Hiking Safety Tips - Are You Prepared for the Unexpected? Learn Simple Tips to Keep You Alive when the Worst Becomes Reality. | Win $500! Enter Contest Here or Scroll Down |
Sadly, Hiking Safety is the most over-looked of all backpacking topics, even though it is by far the most important.Of course it’s more fun to plan for the actual trip by getting the
best backpacking boots
or trying to find the
most lightweight camp stove
.
But the grim reality is that every year in North America, hundreds of people are injured and even die because they didn’t take the time to prepare for when things go wrong.
It’s a good thing you came to this page though.
Here, I’ll fill you in on essential hiking safety tips, such as,
how to properly pack a first aid kit.
Wilderness First Aid
A lot of people will get a first aid kit together and hit the trail without really knowing how to use what’s in that first aid kit.
I want to tell you how you will be able to handle almost any emergency situation in the backcountry, which includes knowing
how to use what’s in the first aid kit.
Don’t worry, it won’t take long and it’s worth looking into.
Getting Lost
You might not be worried about getting lost… until you’re lost.
This is the number one reason why people are injured or die on the trail.
Folks get panicky and they don’t think right, let themselves get dehydrated or don’t prepare for the night until darkness is already upon them.
I want to show you some very important things you can do and/or know to keep yourself from getting lost while backpacking.
Tips Include:
Wildlife
Wildlife is what everyone hopes to see when they go on a hiking trip, but wildlife can also pose a danger to hikers.
Depending on where you’re at, you can run into various types of critters that can inject deadly venom into you, rip your body apart with brute strength, or infect you with a passive virus that won't even show symptoms until sometimes years later.
Learn the tricks involved in keeping you safe from wildlife while hiking in the backcountry.
Tips Include:
Hidden Dangers
Sometimes, hiking safety means learning about how the things we do not see or notice can cause us the most harm.
Learn about the dangers of certain insects and plants and what you should do if you come into contact with them.Tips Include:- Ticks. How to avoid getting bitten. Proper removal of an embedded tick.
- Poison Ivy. What does it look like? Poison Ivy is the master of disguise. Learn how to identify this toxic plant in any form. Pre-treatments and post-treatments for Poison Ivy.
- Giardia. Why it makes you extremely sick. How it can be very easily contracted. What you can do to prevent it. How to treat Giardia.
Solo HikingAre you planning on doing some solo hiking? Most of the backpacking I do is solo, so I am certainly not going to discourage it here, but one must be able to admit to themselves that solo hiking requires more emergency planning and hiking safety prepardness, than if you were traveling in a group. Hiking safety is critical when traveling alone in the backcountry. There are a few things to take note and be aware of while backpacking solo. Tips Include:Stranger Danger. How to lose a weirdo in the woods. How to not get kidnapped and/or murdered.Emergecny Location Beacons. Why they can be the best asset to your fleet of backpacking gear. Where to find one. How they work.Travel Plan. Tips on leaving a travel plan with a trusted person. Utilizing the Trail Head Registry.When you make sure you’re prepared for all the **what ifs**, then you’ll truly have a wonderful and most importantly, safe, backpacking or hiking experience.
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More Pages Related to Hiking SafetyBest GPS Systems - Find the best GPS system for you. Big Camping Tents - Large tents for big groups and families. Brunton Raptor Review - Is the Brunton Raptor the best camp stove for you? Find out now!
Backpacking / Hiking Safety ContestWould a $500 visa gift card make you smile? Well I’m here to tell you about an opportunity to win one just by submitting your backpacking / hiking safety story. Have you or someone you know had an incident that others can learn from? It’s a piece of cake to enter and you only need a couple of minutes! Be sure you know the Terms and Conditions as well as the Rules for Entry. You don’t have to be an expert, just tell us what happened! Share with us wilderness incident or close call story and a picture to go along with it. The most thorough and captivating story with the best lesson gets the big cash prize! Did you get mauled by a grizzly bear in Canada’s Rocky Mountains and you ran instead of playing dead like experts recommend? Share your story to inspire others! Perhaps you or someone you know got lost in a remote Southwest desert with no water and no way out? Was there something that could have prevented this or something that would have helped faster? Give us the highlights about your tale and how others might benefit from learning from you! Here’s what you have to do. Fill out the following form and make sure you include a related picture. Each entry will be scored using points (100 total) on the following factors: Entry MUST be 200 - 500 words or more. This is roughly two paragraphs. Make sure you opt to enter your email address so we can contact you if you win! After you click Click to Win or Submit Your Contest Entry, the next page will allow you to enter your email address. (Your email address is always safe and will NEVER be shared) Use of Picture (40 points) – If you include a nice, well lit picture relating to your story, you’ll get lots of points! (a second picture (or more!) would be nice too! *hint hint*) Only original / non-copied pictures please! Quality and Organization of Entry (40 points) - This is important folks! Make sure that all the highlights of your story are in an easy to understand format with correct grammar and spelling of words. Original writing only, do not copy! We will know if you have copied someone else's work!Your Personal Flair (20 points) - This is the fun part! We want to see some creativity. Get descriptive. Don’t be shy. Tell us about your close call and about how you might do things differently if you had it to do over again. Share something interesting! A good way to do this is to tell a story. Facebook & Twitter (BONUS 20 POINTS!!!) - Using the buttons at the bottom of this page, you can Share this contest on Facebook and Tweet about it on Twitter. 10 points for Facebook and 10 points for Twitter. We’ll keep track of your entries and award you up to 20 additional bonus points!The winner will be announced right here on April 15th 2012. Enter the contest as many times as you'd like by April 14th 2012 at 11:59pm. The more times you enter, the better chance you have of winning!
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Have You Had an Incident That Others Can Learn From?
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