Your Camping Trip Safety
While you’re away from home on your camping vacation, remember that safety and first aid becomes even more important. Accidents can happen during your camping trip that you may have to deal and being prepared for cuts, scrapes and injuries is very important, as well as knowing what to do in case of an emergency.
Every camper should have a first aid kit and survival aids packed alongside their tents and coolers, and it’s a wise thing to know something about handling injuries and the people that are suffering from them.
To increase your camping safety and keep your grounds as accident-free as possible, begin by walking the area and looking for hazards such as broken glass, sticks jammed into the ground at dangerous angles, slippery spots to avoid or rocky areas that could be dangerous in a fall. If there is deadfall on the ground, remove as much as possible and clear the area.
Accidents such as being jabbed by a branch during a fall could be avoided by a little prevention. During your stay, always try to keep safety in the forefront by making sure you’re handling your equipment carefully and clearly marking ropes that can be a trip hazard with colored fly tape. Another good way of ensuring safety around your campsite is putting things away once you’re done using them. A cluttered camping area has plenty of potential for small accidents that can cause a lot of grief.
If you’re planning on building camp fires for warmth, enjoyment or cooking, be smart, wary and safe. Find out if there are any restrictions for the time of year or dryness in the region – many areas don’t permit fires when there has been a recent dry spell and the spread of fires is a concern. Avoid building fires on a windy day, as the breeze can transport smouldering ashes and start them burning elsewhere.
If you know it’s safe to build a fire and it’s not a windy day, do make sure you have a proper fire pit dug out and ringed with stones. Containing and controlling your flame is extremely important. Always have a bucket of water handy, as fires can get out of control very quickly – and you’ll need to extinguish your fire properly before turning in. Letting a fire die down unsupervised is asking for trouble.
Wilderness camping can be one that holds a lot of risk for injuries. Accidents are never expected to happen but even the most cautious camper can end up in an emergency situation and needing quick help.
First aid courses can provide you with the know-how to deal with concussion or severe cuts, and the amount of time it takes from your schedule usually isn’t more than a weekend. The advantages to being able to provide quick, proper emergency care out in the woods, where qualified help and sometimes hospital resources aren’t available, is a must for anyone planning a camping trip.
While there are a lot of things you can do to keep your camping trip safe and pleasant for everyone, staying aware of potential hazards can mean the difference between needing stitches and bringing back good memories.
Learning good first aid skills and getting into the good habit of keeping your campsite clean and safe is never a wasted effort. No one wants to have accidents or emergency situations happen and avoiding them is the best prevention of all.
John Edmond runs and writes regularly for http://www.livingandcampingoutdoors.com/ where you can read many more articles on outdoor living and recreation. Also go to http://www.wellspokenaudio.com/ for entertaining audiobooks on camping and much more.
Creating A Signal For Survival
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and that saying goes double when you’re planning a trip into the great outdoors. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to leave word with someone before you leave about where you will be going and at what time you plan to return.
Should you find yourself stranded in the outdoors, the key to your rescue is your ability to create good signals for potential rescuers to see. The first thing you should do is light a fire. A large fire creates a signal in the daylight and darkness of night. At night, choose kindling for a fire that does not create a lot of smoke.
Create three fires in the outline of a triangle, because if these are seen from the air they will be recognized as the symbol for distress, and will be less likely to be mistaken for a simple campfire. When choosing the location for your fire, make sure it is an open location without a lot of foliage blocking the view. Also, have water on hand should the fire spread beyond your control. A raging forest fire would endanger your life and make rescue impossible.
If there is an isolated tree nearby, you can create a tree torch by setting it on fire. If it is a pitch-bearing tree, you simply have to ignite the tree. If it is not pitch bearing, pile dry kindling around the tree and ignite it. The kindling fire will spread to the foliage of the tree. Keep your tree torch burning by adding to it as it consumes the tree.
Keep the home fires burning; you’ll need fire night and day. At night, it’s obvious that the light will attract rescuers. During the day, when the firelight is less visible, you can still attract attention using smoke. Add green kindling or grass to your fire, or if they’re available, try using evergreen boughs, which will produce a thick, dark smoke sure to catch someone’s attention.
Another way to signal for help is to signal to low-flying aircraft. Using a mirror reflecting the sunlight, you can flash the S-O-S symbol at low-flying aircraft. Avoid flashing the mirror directly at the cockpit, as that will cause the pilot to have difficulty seeing. At night or in times when there is not a lot of sunlight, the same affect can be accomplished using a strong flashlight. Always carry a flashlight and extra batteries when venturing outdoors.
If none of these techniques work, use brightly-colored clothing to attract attention. Hang a bright scarf or coat from the top of a high tree, or arrange clothing in a pattern on the ground to draw attention from the air. Do not leave yourself too vulnerable to the elements by removing too much clothing though.
You can even create signals using natural materials, such as tree branches or rocks, that can be viewed from the air. Try spelling out S-O-S or HELP with rocks or branches. Remember to use a material that will stand in contrast to your surroundings. If there is snow on the ground, walk in the snow to form the letters, and fill in the path with dark material, like rocks or tree branches.
Creativity is the key. Use whatever resources you have available to create something that is out of the ordinary in the surrounding landscape. The idea is to get any observers to stop and take a closer look. Safety is still the ultimate goal, though. You don’t want to create a signal that will threaten the safety of you or anyone else. Do your best to find something to drink, food, and shelter from the elements, and create a good signal to attract help so that you can soon be on your way.
John Edmond runs and writes regularly for http://www.livingandcampingoutdoors.com/ where you can read many more articles on outdoor living and recreation. Also go to http://www.wellspokenaudio.com/ for entertaining audiobooks on camping and much more.
Which Is It To Be: Renting An RV Or Camping In Tents?
Camping is a great way to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. You can choose a destination you’ve never been to and discover the sights and attractions around it or get back to nature for some real rest and relaxation. Choosing what type of camping you’d like to do is part of your holiday planning, and you may find yourself wondering if you should be outdoorsy and use tents or go for comfortable accommodations and rent an RV.
Kitting yourself out with some good-quality, solid camping equipment and tents can set you back a few hundred dollars. The advantage to camping with tents is that you’ll be investing in long-term equipment that will serve you vacation after vacation and will last many years if well maintained.
Tents, sleeping bags and mattresses have come a long way and you’ll find the equipment light, easily transportable and quick to set up. The disadvantage to camping with tents is that you’re more at mercy of the elements, and a few days of rain can leave you slightly damp and humid. Space is also problematic, even though today’s tents have expanded to fit eight to twelve people.
Camping with tents also means that you’ll have to make arrangements for bathroom facilities and washing up. Most campgrounds offer public washrooms with toilets and showers, but many people consider the walk to the facilities an inconvenience. Also, the cleanliness of campground washrooms is important for personal hygiene.
With an RV rental, you’ll have good solid shelter, leg- and head-room, and you’ll have the comfort of tables, benches and proper sleeping accommodations. There’s very little set up involved with an RV, as you’re basically just parking the vehicle and hooking it up to the camping installation’s amenities.
The added advantage of having the conveniences of a shower, a bathroom and hot water at your disposal is often appreciated. However, RV rentals can be pricey and you’ll need to consider how you’re going to haul the equipment around. You may end up having the extra cost of a truck rental added on to your budget, and you’ll have twice as many worries about damages to equipment that you don’t own. Also, you can’t just set up an RV wherever you please and will have to find a campground with free space to accommodate your equipment.
It’s up to you to decide if you’re the kind of person that prefers all the creature comforts or that enjoys feeling as close to nature as possible. There’s a style of camping for everyone and trying to force someone who likes space and conveniences into a tent won’t work, the same way that taking someone who likes the outdoors and shuns modern life won’t enjoy being contained in an RV. Think over what each option can offer you and try to determine what type of accommodations are best for you on your camping trip.
John Edmond runs and writes regularly for http://www.livingandcampingoutdoors.com/ where you can read many more articles on outdoor living and recreation. Also go to http://www.wellspokenaudio.com/ for entertaining audiobooks on camping and much more.
Camping is Quality Family Time
A lot of families today are looking for a way to reconnect with their children. A great way to disconnect from the wear and tear of daily life is to pull up stakes, pack some tents and a cooler and head out camping. The break from electronics and the letting go of pressures to run free in the outdoors is a fantastic gift to give your children, and camping will most likely leave an impression of fond memories with your kids for years to come.
Camping is a simple, natural way of providing this quality time for your children. The fast-paced action of television and the video games that are played for hours at a time are gone, left well behind at home and replaced with the great outdoors, trees and sometimes even a lake or beach. The novelty of having absolute freedom a camping trip provides can often be exhilarating for kids, and more often than not, parents won’t hear much complaint as the camping site and its surroundings are scoped out and explored.
Changing environments changes behaviours and you’ll probably be surprised to see a different attitude from your children once the camping trip begins. Usually, kids are pretty thrilled to pitch in with daily chores and simple tasks they would have normally turned their noses up at home.
It’s amazing how we take things like dishwashers for granted and washing cutlery in a plastic pan with water hauled over in a bucket can become a novel experience for kids. Not only that, they’ll be learning that they certainly can make do without most of today’s luxuries.
Another thing that’s amazing about camping is that you’ll find your kids enthusiastic to visit places and scope out attractions. Walks in the woods become amazingly important, and trips to the grocery store a focused affair as kids try to help choose what would be interesting to cook for supper.
Your children will also learn new skills as you model practical independence by building a small campfire at night and make hot chocolate before their very eyes with water heated from hot cinders. They’ll be able to discover that not having electrical appliances isn’t the end of the world and that bed hair and no makeup is perfectly acceptable attire.
While camping, your children will discover facets of their parents they never knew of, and parents will also see that their children, away from home and in the fresh air and sun of the outdoors, really aren’t video-addicted creatures with no more motivation than the newest Xbox game or latest DVD out on store shelves. Camping trips can strip away the craziness of a fast-paced, throwaway society, revealing good natured people enjoying life and each other’s company just because they can.
John Edmond runs and writes regularly for http://www.livingandcampingoutdoors.com/ where you can read many more articles on outdoor living and recreation. Also go to http://www.wellspokenaudio.com/ for entertaining audiobooks on camping and much more.
What To Do If You Get Lost While Hiking
Ever have this feeling?: That tree looks a little familiar… or maybe not. Have you passed that bush already? Hey, where’d that rock come from? That wasn’t there the last time. You could keep going, but the sun’s sinking fast and it will be dark soon. Face it, you’re lost.
You may have even had this experience happen to you, but you have always managed to find your course again with no problem. This time, though, the fear is nearly choking and it is not the situation you hoped you would be in. Relax. There are still a few things you can do to get your bearings again. Take a deep breath, clear your head and follow these steps.
First, it is very wise for you to take every precautionary measure you can to make sure you do not get lost in the first place. It does sound overly simple, but hikers often get lost due to poor planning. Be sure that you take a map with you. Make sure that it is an updated map, as trails and landmarks often change.
Bring two compasses with you. Many hikers have doubted their compass, so it is a good idea to have another one to compare it to. If they are both saying the same thing, trust them! If you have no prior experience with a compass, you can most likely find out all that you need to know at a local community center or outdoor store. Before you embark on your journey, you need to study a map of the area you will be traveling. Get to know the trails, streams, and mountains that will make up the land you are traveling.
It is also vitally important to tell someone you know that you are going to be hiking. This is important because it ensures that someone will notice your absence if you are lost for an extended period of time. You do not want to be missing without someone knowing that you are missing! Tell your family or friends exactly where you are going, and how long you plan to be there.
As you hike, take notice of all of the topography around you. Pay attention to ridges, summits, rivers, etc. These natural reference points just may end up saving your life. Again, make good use of your map and compasses. You have them, so use them. If you find yourself even the slightest bit unsure of where you are, access your map. Hikers often dig themselves a deeper hole by thinking that they can fix the situation on their own. Use the tools that you bring with you.
If you do find that you are becoming disoriented, stop. Take out your map and search your surroundings for a familiar landmark. Most of the time, people are able to regain their sense of direction by taking five minutes to study their map and surroundings. Five minutes is all it can take to prevent the situation from escalating into a more serious, dangerous matter.
If you have already tried backtracking to locate familiar landmarks and have had no success, S.T.O.P. – stop, think, observe and plan. Don’t go any further and stay where you are. Getting distracted and changing your direction will only make things worse, so stay focused and calm. Panic will use up stores of energy that you might need later on.
If you have a whistle, blow it at timed intervals to alert rescuers. If you have to, start gathering materials for a rescue signal. At the very least it will keep you occupied and at the most you will have made something that rescuers could spot easily.
As with anything, the right amount of preparation, planning, and precautions will help you to avoid getting lost while hiking. If you do get lost, knowing what to do means you will have a better chance of being found or finding your way back. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best, as the saying goes. Knowledge is power and armed with that fact, you should have an enjoyable hiking experience.
John Edmond runs and writes regularly for http://www.livingandcampingoutdoors.com/ where you can read many more articles on outdoor living and recreation. Also go to http://www.wellspokenaudio.com/ for entertaining audiobooks on camping and much more