WHEN, are people going to realize

[Grayfox]

Another of my favorite stories. years ago I had a group of Cub Scouts out on a camping trip. Quiet afternoon, I'm chillin' in camp, boys are playing in the woods. Suddenly two of them run into camp yelling "Snake! Snake!" I tell them to show me where. Sure nuff, about a 2.5 ft Timber Rattler was quietly laid out in a nice sunny spot. I took advantage of a teaching moment. "This is a Timber Rattlesnake. Common to this area, etc, etc." Then I turned to walk away. One of the boys asked "what are you gonna do?" I replied " I'm gonna leave him alone. I strongly suggest you do too."

During my tenure as a Boy Scout leader, one of the things I always tried to stress to the boys was that when out in the woods, we are the guests in the animal's home. When you run across the indigenous critters, be a good guest and don't make any trouble.

 

[Shibadog]

Word. And given the fact that in many of the wilderness areas and both state and national parks, the weather can change drastically in a matter of minutes, many are caught unaware and suffer grave consequences for it. I have been places where the temperature suddenly dropped nearly 50 degrees in a matter of minutes when a front suddenly rolled in. Hypothermia is not your friend. When I do hike anywhere, I have a little pack that has a canteen, a fire starting kit, a first aid kit, one of those reflective emergency blankets that folds down to almost nothing, a waterproof windbreaker that does the same, snacks, a small fixed blade knife, a multitool, and of course my phone so somebody can find my happy *** in case I die on the trail. One thing the military survival courses taught me was to be prepared, at times to save your own life.

Exactly. Just a little emergency gear can make the difference between an “ uncomfortable day or two and dying-yet folks are continually going into unsafe situations with zero preparation in case something happens. For decades now we have a basic emergency y survival kit carried in a 50 cal ammo can in every vehicle we own. Plus a small pack for when we going hiking or into the toolies for any reason. Failure to plan is planing to fail.