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Posted by Tom D on July 9, 2007 at 5:37:50 pm EDT
In reply to Hiking emergencies posted by kutenay on July 9, 2007 at 8:44:32 am EDT

My two favorite quotes about adventures-
"Adventure is just bad planning." — Roald Amundsen (1872—1928).

"Having an adventure shows that someone is incompetent, that something has gone wrong. An adventure is interesting enough — in retrospect. Especially to the person who didn't have it." — Vilhjalmur Stefansson, my life with the Esquimo.

For all you newbies, I know that it seems like Bill, Kutenay and some others here harp on safety all the time. They do so for a reason. Backpacking and hiking are great ways to spend your free time, but your loved ones want to see you back safe and sound. There is a good reason guys like Bill and Kutenay are still around after all their years of adventuring and it isn't luck.

Although I do not have near the experience of those two, the time I spent hiking and climbing in NZ many years ago, plus the occasional experience here in CA,, plus my many years as a scuba instructor taught me the importance of being prepared and knowing your limitations.

Everthing Kutenay has said about BC applies to a place like NZ and I have given this same warning to new hikers asking about going there for the first time.

Maritime climates like NZ and, I presume, BC, cannot be trusted to be stable for more than a few days at a time. I've seen weather go from warm shorts and tee shirt "fine" to near freezing parka and rain gear "foul" in a few hours.

SAR reports from the Arthur's Pass area of NZ (available on the web)detail over and over, incidents involving tourists who were unprepared for bad weather. Most survived, but a few did not. The park literature and the rangers you run into down there emphasize being prepared. The consequences do not justify leaving gear at home just because it's "too heavy" or "I won't need that, I'm only going for a few hours."

I read and occasionally post on Views From The Top, a New England hiking website I found a few years ago. Even though I am in CA, I learn a lot from those guys. The experienced ones don't go anywhere without emergency bivy gear, food and a stove. It is just too easy to get benighted or hit by unexpected rain or snow back there. Until I started reading their posts, I had no idea how wild the weather could get back East.

One thing I learned the hard way-always carry a light in unfamiliar territory-even on a short day hike. If I know exactly where I am in a local park, no big deal-I know how far it is back to the car; but in a new place, it is too easy to go too far and wind up picking your way back in dwindling twilight. Once was enough for me.

As Bill and Kutenay have said, it doesn't take much to put together a small kit. And it doesn't have to be expensive. You can make your own alcohol stove cook kit out of soda and beer cans for virtually nothing-there are dozens of plans on the web. With one of those, or a small canister stove and pot, you have a way to make tea, hot chocolate or soup. Some of that, plus a few energy bars, jerky and dried fruit, will keep you going for an extra day or even two.

While PLB's are somewhat controversial, carrying one of them in the backcountry is not such a bad idea, as long as you don't use it as a substitute for common sense and experience.

Finally, I might add, don't rely on cel phones to save you- depending on where you are, you won't have coverage. In Yosemite, they only work on the Valley floor in my experience and sure don't work up around Badger Pass. A sat phone probably would, but even then, I wouldn't rely on one.

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• Re: Hiking emergencies - jeffrey 19:03:45 07/09/2007

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