Are You Lost? Staying Alive Until You Are Found!

No, I’m not referring to being lost in the holiday rush!

In most wilderness areas, a compass is more useful than a cell phone! *

This posting is about getting lost — in the wilderness – or being  separated from your group while skiing – or when stranded in your vehicle, far from help.

What Matters Most?

Being surrounded by shopping malls, gas stations and take-out restaurants, few of us think about how easy it is to die while waiting for rescue!

Did You Know?

• We can survive without air for about 3 minutes!
• We can survive without warmth for about 3 hours!
• We can survive without water for about 3 days!
• We can survive without food for about 3 weeks!

What Can YOU Do?

Believe it or not, admitting that you are lost is an important first step!  Why?   Think about the last time you were lost, and “somebody” refused to stop to ask for directions.

Until a human admits to being lost, he/she wastes precious energy and resources trying to get ‘UN-lost.’

Once they admit to being lost, the instinct for survival seems to ‘kick in’  and folks are more likely to make better decisions.

When You Are Lost … STOP!

Each letter in the word ‘STOP’ stands for some clever tips!

S = STAY PUT:

• Moving wastes energy
• It’s harder to find a moving target
• Moving around increases our anxiety!

T = THINK:

• How can you help yourself?
• What do you have around you that you can use?
• What do you have with you that you can use?
• What can you do for yourself to assure your safety & comfort (until you are found)?

O = ORGANIZE

• Activities (starting a fire, finding shelter, etc.)
• Your time (Keep busy with useful tasks, not energy wasters).
• Things you have (blanket, compass, wood & tinder for a fire, etc.)

P = PREPARE:

• For changing weather conditions!
• For the night-time
• For your safety and comfort while lost
• How can you signal to those trying to find you?

These Tips … Help you help yourself!

Instead of increasing your problems (and becoming more frightened), these tips will help you to focus your energies into useful actions!

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* Since few 4 legged animals  ”phone home,”  there are precious few cell phone towers ‘in the wild!’

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This blog is a companion to my website: EasyOnlineOrdering.com

Part 2: Wildlife Dangers in the Wild

Most of us look at hiking, camping and hunting in the woods as “a walk in the park.”   However, if you run into a hungry bear or angry snake, you need to know how to handle yourself!

Tips for Staying Alive Around … Bears                           

Bears don’t require engraved invitations to cause you grief!  Bears have learned that man travels with many things that will satisfy the bears’ love of sweets & natural curiosity.

You Should…

• Keep your campsite clean.
• Bears have learned to follow man because a meal is “such easy pickings” at dirty campsites, near refuse cans and trash dumps, etc.
• Be cautious near berry patches.
• Bears are especially fond of streams and lakes.

Things That May Cause Bears to Attack

• Being startled;
• Wanting food;
• Being wounded;
• Having their cubs in tow.

How You Can Stay Safe

If you are a hunter, hiker or camper in bear country, avoid putting out the “welcome mat” by:

• Keeping your camp clean;
• Hanging food or “sweet-smelling items” at a distance from your tents and camp. *

Other Ways to Stay Safe

• If you’re not hunting, make noise while moving
• Stay away from their feeding areas, and
• Never get close to bear cubs!

When A Bear Seems Ready to Attack

• Stop, then move slowly away
• Talk quietly
• Do NOT make eye contact
• If the bear attacks, fall to the ground, curl up and protect vital organs
• Yelling, hitting and kicking are your (poorest choices and) last option

* Take a look at a great article – “Hanging Food & Bear Camping Tips”

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Staying Alive Around … Snakes with Venom

Any snake worth his venom would rather run than bite!

You Should…

• Keep your eyes OPEN in the woods.
• Snakes can be sunning themselves or hiding or hibernating.
• Watch for them in woodpiles, rock piles, in areas with dead, rotting leaves, trees, etc. **
• They lie in grassy regions, around rim-rock, in shallow water and in woody areas near water. In other words, they’re just about anywhere!

Things That May Cause Snakes to Attack

• Startling a snake
• Bothering a snake
• Not allowing a snake to escape

How You Can Stay Safe

• Make noise as you walk, if you aren’t hunting
• Use a walking stick
• Wear snake leggings or tall leather boots

When A Snake Seems Ready to Attack

• Stop and allow the snake to slither away.
• Walk around the snake

If Bitten … Get medical attention ASAP.

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** Try my “snake finding” test: “Be Careful – Surprise in the Leaves!“

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This blog is a companion to my website: EasyOnlineOrdering.com

Dangers in the Wilderness

A Reality Check on Wilderness Dangers                                 

Drowning: Major danger

Sliding & Falls: Biggest danger in the wilderness!

Rockfalls, Avalanches, Landslides: Rare danger

Lightening Strikes: Rare danger

Freezing, Cold Winds: Major cause of problems

Sun & Heat: Major cause of problems and distress

Wildfire: Extremely rare

Wildlife: Very rare

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With all we hear about the dangers of wild animals, it is hard to imagine that interactions are rare.  What if you meet a (card-carrying) member of the wildlife community?

Tips for Staying Alive

Deer

You might be amused to see ‘deer’ included in dangerous wildlife.  However, they can be extremely dangerous.

See my previous story: “Amazing Info of 2008: Published by (Gasp) Others!”  Read about Randy Goodman (bottom half of the article), who learned  about “UN-dead” deer the hard way!

You Should…

Be cautious around a deer that is down.  Make sure he is really dead.  After making various other tests … the gold standard is:  If you can touch a deer’s eye, he’s dead.

Things That May Cause Deer to Attack

• Being startled
• Rutting

How You Can Stay Safe

• If you’re not hunting, make noise while moving
• During rutting,  stay out-of-the-way and near cover

If a Deer is Coming AT You

• Stop because he will run away if he can
• If you’re attacked, run and find some cover
• Hitting, kicking and yelling is a  (poor 3rd) and least-helpful choice

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Mountain Lion

You Should…

• Avoid areas where mountain lions are known to live
• Be careful around areas with steep, wooded land
• Watch yourself in bushy, rocky land

Things That May Cause Mountain Lion to Attack

• If their young are nearby
• If the cat is wounded
• If the cat is hungry
• If you are running away like his usual prey would

How You Can Stay Safe

• Don’t approach a lion kill (unless you want to be dessert)
• Don’t approach ANY mountain lion
• Don’t decide to break in your new jogging shoes in lion country!

If a Mountain Lion is Coming AT You

• Stop
• Do NOT make eye contact with lion
• Make yourself look “big” and yell loudly (Your TARZAN yell might work). Be sure to beat your chest!
• If attacked, this is no time to fight back …
• Instead, curl up to protect your vital organs
• Yell, hit and kick … only as (a poor and) a last choice!

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Next week: We will take on bears, snakes and other wildlife!

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This blog is a companion to my website: EasyOnlineOrdering.com

Wilderness Survival Checklist

For the next few posts, I’m going to talk about strategies for helping yourself when “all goes wrong” while camping, hiking or hunting.  The items included here could help you survive getting lost in the wilderness.

Items to Include in Your Pack                                                

• Clear plastic sheet – about 6 ft square
• Complete first aid kit
• Emergency food
• Filter pump

• Fishing line & hooks
• Flashlight
• Insect repellent
• Large folding knife

• Lip balm
• Metal cup
• Metal match or waterproof matches
• Mirror to use for signaling

• Poncho
• Small roll of wire
• Sun block
• 30 foot of nylon cord

Items to Include in Your Pockets

• Bandanna
• Compass
• Leather boot lace
• Pliers

• Safety pins
• Small first aid kit
• Small map of area
• Small pocketknife

• Space blanket
• Water purification device
• Waterproof matches
• Whistle
• 10 feet of heavy twine

You will note that no cell phone is included.  I believe they give a camper/hiker/hunter a false sense of security.  In my experience, they rarely work in mountainous or sparsely inhabited regions.

3 Ways to  Avoid Getting Lost

A Map: Have a  map of the area you are hunting in  or hiking through/to and be able to read it.  Understand the land features the map is illustrating — before you set out.

“Back Trail:” Look back often, to get a feel for what the way back will look like.

Landmarks: As you are walking, make note of land features or oddities that will help you make your way back.  Make notes, if necessary, so you can remember the landmarks in the right order.

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Tomorrow: Dangers in the Wilderness  & What to Do When You Meet a Mountain Lion, etc.

This blog is a companion to my website: EasyOnlineOrdering.com

Campers, Hikers & Hunters: Building an Open Fire

A Fire is One of the Great Joys of Being Outdoors!

With the cooler weather coming our way,  now is a great time to review how to build an open fire — safely!

Some Terms to Know

Tinder – pine cones,  leaves, dry grasses, dried pine                                 leaves, etc.

Kindling - small tree or brush branches, twigs, etc.

Fuel - larger tree branches, logs,  etc.

Before You Get Started

When  we start a fire, we are accepting the responsibility of protecting the animals and their habitat on the land we are using.

• Collect wood as you are setting up camp.
• Get your wood and kindling collected before dark.
• Collect enough to last until the next daylight.
• Include your wood needs in your plan for a good camp site.

• To protect your wood from dampness, put 2 poles parallel on the ground and stack wood crosswise on top of them.
• Keep your stacked wood at least 10 feet from the fire.
• Use a poncho or tarp to cover the wood.
• If  you get to a campsite and all the wood and kindling is wet, find logs, split them and chop out bits of the inner log for kindling.

Building a Fire

• Clear an area of about 10 feet.
• Find a collection of rocks to form a tight circle — to contain your fire.
• Heap your tinder in the center of your fire ring.
• Add kindling on top of the tinder; pointing to the center of the fire.

• The kindling should be placed close enough to each other to catch fire but sparsely enough to allow air flow.
• Start your fire at the bottom of the tinder pile.
• Add larger sticks, logs, etc., as the fire catches and burns.

When You Are Finished                                                     

Make sure your fire is out before leaving.

Take your trash with you. Leave your campsite in as-good-as or better condition than when you found it!

Remember, thousands of acres of land are burned each year — by carelessness.  When land burns … animals die!

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This blog is a companion to my website: EasyOnlineOrdering.com

Part 2: Finding Deer in Farmer’s Fields & in Brushy Areas!

If your hunting area is near agricultural fields, count your lucky stars! Deer head for farmer’s fields in the late afternoons and start their exit during the early morning hours.

Deer Move to Heavy Cover As Daylight Begins!

After Feeding in the Farmer’s Fields

Because a farmer’s agricultural lands are favorite eating places, deer generally spend their non-feeding hours (daylight) in heavy cover, near those fields.

If you can locate the deers’ bedding and feeding areas, you will want to set up a tree stand or deer blind.  This way, you can watch for deer moving from the fields where they feed to their bedding areas.

You will see the most activity in the early mornings and late afternoons.

Deer Hunting During the Daytime

Since you know that deer generally hide during daylight hours, you should use a different strategy.  You and a partner can stir up some action by walking parallel to each other through thickets.

With luck, you two can push deer out of their hiding places.  Deer on-the-move are easier to shoot than deer that are hunkered-down until dark.

Deer Hunting in Brushy Terrain

Deer like to eat and hide in dense vegetation.  This is another area where you can use the “drive” technique with other hunters.

You will need hunters to act as ’standers’ or ‘blockers.’  Standers are located where deer are likely to bolt and run.  Where?  On frequently used trails and along saddles.

Drivers carefully work an area.  It’s a good idea to have the drivers zigzagging through the brush, as a means of confusing the deer.

Stay Safe While Driving Deer

• All the hunters involved in the driving-and-blocking maneuver should  wear hunter’s orange clothing.
• Hunters should  pick their shots carefully because of the number of people in the field at the same time.

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Next time: More hunting tips for forest regions!

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* “When Color is King” – from the Wild Wings collection of Vantage Point Graphics.  Used with their permission.

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This blog is a companion to my website: EasyOnlineOrdering.com

Hunting Accidents are Preventable!

This is Veteran’s Day — Let Us Give Thanks!

'Thank You' for Keeping Our Skies Safe!

Before starting today’s article, I’d like to thank all veterans for the sacrifices they have made for us!

I cannot fathom the grief of the mothers and fathers who lost their adult sons and daughters in the tragedy at Fort Hood! Just as they were thinking how great it was to have their children safe in the US, they had to face such unspeakable and shocking grief.

'Thank You!' to each Member of our Army!

America doesn’t just have heroes on foreign soil!  Fort Hood reminds us that heroes are everywhere!

If you see a serviceman or woman today — in a restaurant, a coffee shop or convenience store -- how about picking up the tab for their meal, coffee, newspaper or coke?

We Thank the Folks who Protect our Shores!

YOU will feel better for having done it!

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How Hunting Accidents Happen

Here’s a list of the most common situations that cause hunting accidents:

• A loaded firearm in a vehicle

   

  

  2 Words That Say it All: 'Semper Fi!"

• Unsafe loading or unloading of a weapon
• Horseplaying with a gun
• Shooting a weapon from a vehicle
• Hunter swings to shoot game and shoots victim instead

• Victim is mistaken for game

   

  

  Our Navy -- Protecting Us on the Seas!

• Firearm or ammo is defective
• Crossing an obstacle in an unsafe manner
• Victim moves into the line of fire
• An obstruction in the barrel of a weapon

• Shooter is unsure of what is beyond his shot
• Victim is out-of-sight
• Using an unsecured gun rest
• Shooter stumbled and fell

How to Prevent Hunting Accidents

Before you shoot, be sure of your target and what lies beyond it.

Have your weapon pointed in a safe direction at all times.

Every gun is loaded UNTIL you check it yourself!

Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot!

Shooting from a vehicle is against the law (in most states) and unethical!

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This blog is a companion to my website: EasyOnlineOrdering.com

River Tubing: Repairing a Recreational Inner Tube

A Short History of Recreational Inner Tubes

When I was a kid, back before dinosaurs strolled the earth, goin’ tubin’ meant finding an old, used inner tube.  Since cars, trucks and tractors still used inner tubes, finding one was easy!

Keeping an inner tube from summer-to-summer wasn’t so easy. I never seemed to remember that an inflated inner tube left in the hot sun deteriorated quickly.

I didn’t worry about cracks in my recreational tube, after all – inner tubes were cheap and they were everywhere!

Inner Tubes Today

1 Person Towable

Finding any large inner tube today for river tubing isn’t so easy.

Generally, most folks have started buying “towables” — clever float-ables that can move one or more people at the same time.

However, this post is about keeping and repairing a large inner tube.

Tips for ‘River Tubes’

• Keep inner tubes covered and out of the sun,
• Keep them away from moisture and deflated,
• Keep a repair kit with you while tubing,
• Keep a spare inner tube with you,
• Learn how to repair your tube  ”on-the-fly”
• Carry a small roll of duct tape while river tubing

Duct Tape & Other Repairs

Yep, duct tape will make quick, temporary repairs. However, duct tape must be applied to a dry tube.

Learning to repair an inner tube was a ‘rite of passage’ when I was a kid.  Here’s the process of a “cold” patch repair:

• Scuff up the area around the tear — with the lid of the repair kit.
• Apply cement to the area to be patched (cement is included in kit).
• Cut a piece of patching material and round the edges,
• Peel off the backing of the patch piece,
• Apply the patch piece with both hands,
• Press into place,
• Turn the repair can on its side and roll repeatedly over the patch.
• Let things rest for a few minutes.

Other hints:

• Roughing up the area around the tear is necessary for a firm seal.
• Use the tip of the container to smooth the cement around the hole or tear.
• For large tears, make sure you cut and round the edges of the patches.
• If you don’t, the patch may peel off while brushing against rough stuff.
• Instructions on the can will indicate how long the patch should “rest” before use.

Finally

I still remember how much a “cold patch kit” cost (when I was a kid) — 29 cents!

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This blog is a companion to my website:  EasyOnlineOrdering.com

Choosing the Right Water for River Tubing

This is part of a series on River Tubing:

• The danger of snakes and river tubing
• Things you need to take river tubing
• Choosing the right water for river tubing

The Goal of River Tubing

The Joy of River Tubing!

The goal of river tubing, as practiced by most Americans,  is to hop on a tube and float down a meandering river, enjoying the scenery.

Unfortunately, some consider this too tame a pursuit — and search for whitewater adventures. River tubing and whitewater don’t mix well.

The Grim Story

Tubers watch groups of folks in canoes and kayaks having fun in rivers and think they can too.  There are a couple of problems with this idea.

First, the folks in canoes and kayaks work the river together. They watch out for each other and assist, as needed.

Tubers, in contrast, cannot usually come to another person’s assistance because they have absolutely no control over their tube!  If they have a paddle, it usually only causes the tube to spin around. Often the tube tips over.

The body of the watercraft protects the adventurers inside. You only have to see the mangled body of a tuber that has been separated from his tube or raft — to understand the difference.

When a river tubist is thrown from his tube, there is nothing between his body and the hard rocks that he’s likely to “meet” on the way down the rapids — or over a waterfall!  Finding a person alive after such a beating in whitewater is the exception, not the rule!

Protecting Yourself

Verne  Huser, author of River Running (Henry Regnery Co., Chicago, 1977), urges all tubers to use a personal flotation device in any waters.

“Many river drownings occur because someone in the water … catches a foot or leg in an underwater crack or beneath a … log or something that holds the person down while the river continues to play against the person. It may be impossible for the person to hold his head above water against the force of the water.”

Another protection can be a wet suit. Many rivers have deep pools or are fed by springs.  The water temperature can range between 45 and 50 degrees.

The body loses heat so rapidly that hypothermia takes over and a person can die.  Cold rivers call for a wet suit for each tuber!

Water           Loss of Ability to                    Loss of                       Expect to

Temp          Perform Useful Work          Consciousness__Survive___

50 degr.      *under 15 mins.                     under 60 mins.            1-3 hours

40 degr.         under 7.5 mins.                   under 30 mins.           30-90 mins

32 degr.         under 5 mins.                        under 5 mins.             15-45 mins.

This graph was adapted from p. 13, Tubing, by Whit Perry (Greatlakes Living Press, Matteson, Il., 1977).

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This blog is a companion to my website: EasyOnlineOrdering.com

 

River Tubing Safety & Tips **

Can there be anything more fun than floating down a river in a tube? I don’t think so …..

This is part of a series on Tubing:

The danger of snakes
Things you need to take
Choosing the right water for tubing
Repairing a Tube — ‘on-the-fly’

Goin’ Tubin’

Tubing is a wonderful way to spend time; however, it requires some planning

Tubing -- a Great Summer Sport!

& preparation.  Here are a few safety tips to help get you on the water in record time!

An ideal tubing locale is a shallow, warm body of water with no obstructions.  The idea is for the water to be  moving quickly enough to offer a “moving experience,” but slow enough to keep the tuber safe.

That combination is a difficult one to achieve. First, a tuber has no control over the tube. Using a paddle usually only causes the tube to spin around.

Second, most rivers have parts that are not navigable.  It is important for tubers to know where those places are. Contact the state’s “fish & game” office for a map.

Must Haves

A pair of tennis shoes – to protect feet from sharp rocks, etc.

Sunburn protection – plan to reapply it often

Sunglasses and/or eyeglasses - to be strapped or tied on

Jeans – cut-offs to full length – for sun protection and to protect your backside  from obstructions poking up from the river bed

Rope – 5′ to 8′ long for emergencies, plus knowledge of some quick-release knots

A Hat – Some use a crash helmet (bike riders’ helmets, for example) or at least a baseball cap (for sunburn protection for the head)

Tubing items: a knife, duct tape (temporary tube repairs), patch kit, a small air pump, a valve core remover, extra valve cores and stem caps.

Personal items: set of dry clothes, waterproof matches, a first-aid/snake-bite kit, food and drinks, extra water (Don’t plan on drinking river water; most waterways have some pollution), personal flotation device (also known as a  ”Mae West”) and insect repellent.

Possibles: If the water is below 60 degrees, you may want to have a diver’s wet suit ready to protect you from hypothermia (a potentially lethal condition, when the cold water chills the body below a tolerable temperature).

** Added ‘head gear’ info

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Tubing is a great way to spend a lazy, summer day. We have a few more ideas to share in the coming days. Check back often!

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This blog is a companion to my website: EasyOnlineOrdering.com