Hiking Safety Preparedness

[GunsAreFun]

The current situation reminds me of an article I read (linked below) originally found on hiking forums about how day hikers are much more likely to need SAR or to pass away than backpackers. It basically comes down to differences in preparedness. I read that right when I started having kids and so it really stuck with me. I’ve seen numerous examples in the last few years in the Ozarks of people passing away on very popular, well used trails less than a mile or two from their car because of an injury, getting lost, unexpected storm. It doesn’t just happen in the mountains.

NOTE: This is not a critique of what may or may not have happened with these two young hunters. We don’t know. Just a PSA to help folks in the future. I see a lot of people online and in the woods carrying little to nothing to be prepared for an emergency.

Here is the article:

Why some lost hikers live and others die

A new study looks at who lives and who dies when lost in the wild.

www.nationalgeographic.com

This is a hunting forum so I’ll share my hunting pack gear for day trips…which is 99% of what my group does. My day hiking gear is basically the same minus the hunting specific stuff, and I usually use a smaller pack like a KUIU 4000.

-Exo K4 5000
-2.5-3L Water bladder (day hunts/hikes at home I bring one or two one-liter smart water bottles depending on known availability of water sources)
-CNOC 2l dirty bag and sawyer squeeze
-Anker 10000 with USB-C and iPhone cables
-Compass
-Leatherman
-Whistle
-Inreach (IMPORTANT NOTE: 10-minute tracking activated and shared with someone and truck marked)
-iPhone with offline maps downloaded. If you have Gaia, you can download basically whole states on their topo layer, which has a surprisingly large amount of info, for a very small data size.
-Fire starting: Lighter, Waterproof matches, Ferro rod, vasoline soaked cotton balls
-Wool gloves
-Matty McMat Face (thin foam pad from Seek Outside). This is a sit pad, emergency blanket, emergency sleeping pad, and emergency shelter all wrapped in one.
-Warbonnet Ground Tarp and stakes or a 5x8 MOST tarp if solo. The Warbonnet can accommodate 3 + packs comfortably or 4 people but a bit cramped. My group has probably been saved by this tarp 15 times in the last 5 years from rain, hail, and thunderstorms.
-Trekking pole (recently switched to only carrying one for hiking in/out in the dark)
-First aid kit (steri strips, tick remover, finger nail clippers, gauze, super glue, ibuprofen, Zyrtec)
-Snacks
-Headlamp and backup headlamp
-Rain jacket (used to bring a Sitka Dew Point but if it is coming down hard enough to need the jacket we get the tarp out so it almost never gets used. I started carrying the lightweight Frogg Togg since it is only 5 ounces)
-Mid layer sweatshirt or puffy
-Spare D-loop string and spare release
-Toilet paper and Wet wipes
-Hand sanitizer
-Several diaphragm calls and one external reed
-Bugle tube
-Game bags
-Outdoor edge EDC plus 3 extra blades

During colder seasons, I may add a puffy jacket and pants or my 20° quilt since it is only 24 ounces.

It seems like a lot, but it really doesn’t weigh that much. I train with 60-80 pounds so this feels irrelevant in comparison. I can survive a couple days of any reasonable emergency or injury with this. I may not be comfortable or overly warm, but I would survive.

 

[mtnbound]

The current situation reminds me of an article I read (linked below) originally found on hiking forums about how day hikers are much more likely to need SAR or to pass away than backpackers. It basically comes down to differences in preparedness. I read that right when I started having kids and so it really stuck with me. I’ve seen numerous examples in the last few years in the Ozarks of people passing away on very popular, well used trails less than a mile or two from their car because of an injury, getting lost, unexpected storm. It doesn’t just happen in the mountains.

NOTE: This is not a critique of what may or may not have happened with these two young hunters. We don’t know. Just a PSA to help folks in the future. I see a lot of people online and in the woods carrying little to nothing to be prepared for an emergency.

Here is the article:

Why some lost hikers live and others die

A new study looks at who lives and who dies when lost in the wild.

www.nationalgeographic.com

This is a hunting forum so I’ll share my hunting pack gear for day trips…which is 99% of what my group does. My day hiking gear is basically the same minus the hunting specific stuff, and I usually use a smaller pack like a KUIU 4000.

-Exo K4 5000
-2.5-3L Water bladder (day hunts/hikes at home I bring one or two one-liter smart water bottles depending on known availability of water sources)
-CNOC 2l dirty bag and sawyer squeeze
-Anker 10000 with USB-C and iPhone cables
-Compass
-Leatherman
-Whistle
-Inreach (IMPORTANT NOTE: 10-minute tracking activated and shared with someone and truck marked)
-iPhone with offline maps downloaded. If you have Gaia, you can download basically whole states on their topo layer, which has a surprisingly large amount of info, for a very small data size.
-Fire starting: Lighter, Waterproof matches, Ferro rod, vasoline soaked cotton balls
-Wool gloves
-Matty McMat Face (thin foam pad from Seek Outside). This is a sit pad, emergency blanket, emergency sleeping pad, and emergency shelter all wrapped in one.
-Warbonnet Ground Tarp and stakes or a 5x8 MOST tarp if solo. The Warbonnet can accommodate 3 + packs comfortably or 4 people but a bit cramped. My group has probably been saved by this tarp 15 times in the last 5 years from rain, hail, and thunderstorms.
-Trekking pole (recently switched to only carrying one for hiking in/out in the dark)
-First aid kit (steri strips, tick remover, finger nail clippers, gauze, super glue, ibuprofen, Zyrtec)
-Snacks
-Headlamp and backup headlamp
-Rain jacket (used to bring a Sitka Dew Point but if it is coming down hard enough to need the jacket we get the tarp out so it almost never gets used. I started carrying the lightweight Frogg Togg since it is only 5 ounces)
-Mid layer sweatshirt or puffy
-Spare D-loop string and spare release
-Toilet paper and Wet wipes
-Hand sanitizer
-Several diaphragm calls and one external reed
-Bugle tube
-Game bags
-Outdoor edge EDC plus 3 extra blades

During colder seasons, I may add a puffy jacket and pants or my 20° quilt since it is only 24 ounces.

It seems like a lot, but it really doesn’t weigh that much. I train with 60-80 pounds so this feels irrelevant in comparison. I can survive a couple days of any reasonable emergency or injury with this. I may not be comfortable or overly warm, but I would survive.

On your Inreach, make sure the "send coordinates with messages" is turned on. For me, my puffy jacket is with me always. I will add pants during late season. The rest looks good.