Safety Tip - Bring Your Flashlight!
Although I covered the topic of safety and being prepared to survive the night in Safety Tip #5 given the events over our recent holiday weekend I think I have to go back and revisit it. In the Adirondack Park at least three groups over Columbus Day weekend needed to be reminded that all groups, whether going out for an hour or a long day hike should have a flashlight. New York State Forest Rangers had their busiest weekend of the year over the Columbus Day weekend and can attribute at least three of their calls due to groups that got caught with no way to find their way out of the woods because they had no flashlights. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise Dave Winchell, spokesman for Region 5 of the state Department of Environmental Conservation stated, "The number of people who still don't bring flashlights when they go on hikes, just don't realize, with fall, it gets dark a lot quicker and don't plan ahead that well," Winchell said. "We had three different searches, which it was late in the day, and people did not have flashlights with them."
So….what’s this week’s tip? Bring a flashlight! The nice thing about today’s LED flashlights is that the bulbs will live longer than you will and quality batteries will last years. So pack at least one away in your day pack and never hit the trail or the water without it. I pack two. One headlamp and one tiny back up like those pictured below. I was hunting for the last four days and you can be sure I was glad to have them with me.
To See Tip #7 click here
Adapted from The Camper’s Guide to Outdoor Pursuits by Jack Drury and Eric Holmlund published in 2006 by Sagamore Publishing
Although I covered the topic of safety and being prepared to survive the night in Safety Tip #5 given the events over our recent holiday weekend I think I have to go back and revisit it. In the Adirondack Park at least three groups over Columbus Day weekend needed to be reminded that all groups, whether going out for an hour or a long day hike should have a flashlight. New York State Forest Rangers had their busiest weekend of the year over the Columbus Day weekend and can attribute at least three of their calls due to groups that got caught with no way to find their way out of the woods because they had no flashlights. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise Dave Winchell, spokesman for Region 5 of the state Department of Environmental Conservation stated, "The number of people who still don't bring flashlights when they go on hikes, just don't realize, with fall, it gets dark a lot quicker and don't plan ahead that well," Winchell said. "We had three different searches, which it was late in the day, and people did not have flashlights with them."
So….what’s this week’s tip? Bring a flashlight! The nice thing about today’s LED flashlights is that the bulbs will live longer than you will and quality batteries will last years. So pack at least one away in your day pack and never hit the trail or the water without it. I pack two. One headlamp and one tiny back up like those pictured below. I was hunting for the last four days and you can be sure I was glad to have them with me.
To See Tip #7 click here
Adapted from The Camper’s Guide to Outdoor Pursuits by Jack Drury and Eric Holmlund published in 2006 by Sagamore Publishing
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