Surviving the Wilderness, Lessons 1 thru 3

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Ok, so today, my family and I went on a Father's Day trip to the Snowy Mountains, a range of eternally whitecapped mountains that exist to the west of Laramie, towards the small town of Centennial. We went up to a trail that followed the North Fork of the Little Laramie River. It was drizzling when we got there, but it was mostly a sunshower, so we didn't really think much of it. We hiked the trail for about 2 miles; however, soon my asthma started acting up on account of the combined high altitude, chilly air, recent showers, exertion, and being out in the allergen-infested wilderness. Since I lost the one inhaler I brought with me to Wyoming, and since I haven't yet gotten around to getting refills, I was pretty much out of luck. I managed to stick it out until about 1.5 miles down the trail, at which point I decided to turn back and wait for my parents at the trailhead. So I left my group and continued back at a somewhat lesiurely pace... that is, until the storm came. Which brings me to lesson 1 on Surviving the Wilderness:

1. Weather changes quickly in the mountains.

At first it started to drizzle a little. I had a sweater jacket that was tied around my waist, so I simply put that on for the time being. Then I heard the thunder. Knowing that lightning strikes were much more common at high altitude, and knowing that I was surrounded by towering trees, with a metal hiking pole that made an all too effective lightning rod, I decided it was time to book it. And book it I did: all the way to the trailhead at a pace that fluctuated between power-walking and flat-out sprinting. When I finally made it to the truck, I decided to implement lesson 2:

2: When caught outside in a thunderstorm, seek shelter at all costs.

One small problem existed, however. Dad had locked the truck before we left on the trail, and had kept the keys with him when we had separated. All of the survival equipment was inside: knives, matches, cooler filled with sandwiches and drinks, and my iPod. What was worse, it was starting to rain heavily, and I couldn't access the inside of the truck. Since there was really no other option, I kicked into survival mode and found shelter in the only place viable - by crawling underneath the truck, which had just enough of a ride height to accomodate a fairly slender adult.

So I lay there, underneath a Toyota Tacoma at a deserted trailhead in the middle of the mountains in a thunderstorm, waiting for my parents to return from the trail. I figured that it wouldn't take them any more than an hour, considering they turned back at the first thunderclap and booked it through the rain. And just as the storm passed and the sun peeked out, I heard my dad yelling for me as they returned. And let me tell you, all three of them - mom, dad, and sis - were SOAKED. I was a little wet from the rain, but for the most part hiding underneath the truck helped to keep me somewhat dry, whereas everyone else looked like drowned rats. Which brings me to lesson 3:

3: ALWAYS COME PREPARED FOR THE WORST CASE SCENARIO!


PS: If you have a cool wilderness story, please share it here!

That is the most important of the leasons!! !!, I ALWAYS make sure I at least have a light pull over, light rain jacket, and first aid kit in my pack, these things dont take up much room, so even on a short hike it is worth taking them with you. I also never go without my GPS, extra batteries, and a backup map and compass and flashlight.

The other week I was out hiking, hiked to the top of a mountain to take some photos, had a pack full of camera stuff, and the stuff I listed above. I got to the top after 3 hours of hiking, slipped on a rock and my heal came out of my shoe and got cut pretty good on a rock. I was wearing hiking shoes, not boots, and my foot just pop out and ran right across the sharp boulders I was navigating across. So I take my pack off and look at the damage, nothing to serious, but I knew it needed some bandages to be able to put my shoe back on to be able to hike back out. So I am digging threw my pack, and guess what, I didnt have my medical kit with me! Figures, when you actually need it you forgot it, lol. So I had to take my shirt off and cut a strip off to wrap my foot. Got my shoe back on then and shot the photos I wanted then started my hike back out, using my tripod as a makeshift cane/cruch. It hurt like hell with everything rubbing around in my shoe!! ! so I was hiking pretty slow, but since I couldnt hike my normal pace and the sun was going down I knew I was going to run out of light soon. I had to hike the last 45 minutes or so in the dark with my flashlight. No problem, was really no big deal.
Now the reason I am telling this story, that I dont think was such a big deal is, well because if I was just some noob who did not know any better and went on the hike with only my camera and nothing else (and I see people doing this all the time) things would have been much different, and I wouldnt have made it out of the woods and would have had to spend the night, with just my camera, and I was wearing a t-shirt, so if it started to rain and was cold that could equal hypothermia real quick. You get the idea I am sure, you really dont need to be a expert survivalist, you just got to use your brain!

^^ What he said. Read the map of the area before you go, take the essential equipment with you, don't be an idiot, and don't lose your footing and injure a leg! That'd put you in a world of hurt. That's pretty much it. Have fun out there!

All those folks in the evening news getting "lost" in the "mountains" (well marked well travelled trails near populated areas) are clueless.

I carry a small MOLLE pack with navigation (map, compass, GPS), communication (cell, 2-way radio, flashlight), survival (multitool, knife, rope, flint, jacket), water and food (canteen, water filter, MRE, powerbars) and a first aid kit. Everything else is optional (binocs, camera, whatever).

We have some pretty rugged mountains over here. I've been up on Mt Rainier, by myself, several times, and came back just fine.