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Four First Aid Tips for the Hiking Trail
Although people usually take up hiking for the exercise, the natural sights, or the companionship, it’s important to remember that there’s more to hiking than walking up a trail. This is even more true the more seriously you take your hiking: any time you’re out in the wild by yourself or with a limited group of people, it helps to know some basic first aid tips. Safety is the name of the game, and with the right mindset and knowledge, you can do a lot to help someone in need.
Tip #1: Remain calm.
It doesn’t take long to do, and if you’re mindful of being calm, you can spread that to other people. If you have the most first aid knowledge of your group, many people will probably be looking to you for a clue about how to behave. If you panic, they will believe that it’s time for everyone to panic. Don’t. Remain calm – you can still administer first aid, but do it with a sense of purpose and not panic.
Tip #2: Ask the injured person what’s wrong.
If something is seriously wrong, the person might not be able to answer you, but if someone was bitten or tripped, they should be able to tell you what they felt and where on their body the injury occurred. Note: It is important that you make sure that the threat of danger has passed. For example, if someone was bitten by a snake, it’s not wise to go administer first aid before the danger is gone and get bitten yourself.
Tip #3: Check for vital signs.
You’ll want to see that the person is breathing and has a pulse. You can tell they’re breathing simply by looking at them and watching for exhalation. Even if there’s not much you can do about these vital signs, you should be able to give medical personnel some answers when they arrive on the scene.
Tip #4: Send for help as soon as possible.
If the victim is in danger, use your own cell phone or ask someone nearby if they have one, and call the nearest medical response team. Oftentimes, the best thing to do for first aid is simply to gather the details and wait until medical help arrives. The less you know about medical emergencies, the more you’ll want to leave to the professionals.
First aid is a very important thing, and it pays to know the basics. It’s not always guaranteed that you’ll be able to help someone in medical need, but the knowledge that you can help someone helps build confidence. If you really want to learn about first aid, try taking a certification course.
Photo Credits: Yai&JR
Republished by Old Post Promoter
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Three Steps for Packing Your Backpack
Unbeknownst to casual or first-time hikers, the weight and quality of your backpack – not to mention what it contains – can be one of the most important predictors as to whether or not you’ll have a good time hiking. Why is this? Because backpacks that are too heavy or drag on the shoulders will wear you down, making you expend more energy than you need to and ultimately making it an uncomfortable experience. Here are three steps for packing your backpack in a way that won’t slow you down.
#1. First, make sure you have a decent backpack.
For the hiker, the backpack is the best “expense” to take an opportunity to really splurge on something of high quality. Backpacks with steel frames that rest on your back, distributing the weight of their contents can be highly helpful, and it might feel like you’ve got some extra support from somewhere as you carry it. A simply school backpack that only drags on your shoulders, pulling them tight and hurting them, simply won’t do here. If you’re going to overspend at any point here, spend more money on quality on a backpack.
#2. Plan in advance.
Planning in advance to fill your backpack with the essentials will help you make sure you cover your bases. Do a mental walkthrough of your planned hike and ask yourself what you feel like you’ll need. A cell phone or not? How much water? Some emergency food, or a meal? Depending on the length and quality of your hike, these answers will be different for everyone.
Planning in advance will also help you to pack more tightly, as you’ll be able to fit items better if you plan them out rather than simply “stuffing them in.” Stuffing them in will lead to an uneven weight distribution and will drag you down while you’re out on the hiking trail.
#3. Review and remove.
The key is to pack as light as you can, while not sacrificing any of the materials you know you’ll need. Water is kind of heavy, so that might be a necessary evil for you (unless you carry your own water filters). Do you want navigating electronics, or can you do without the technology? Review what you’ve got, try out your backpack and see how heavy it is. Try not to imagine how heavy it is now, but how heavy it will be after an hour of hiking. What can you afford to lose? These are important questions to consider – the key is to do most of the preparation and thinking before you take your hike so that later you don’t have to.
Photo Credits: richardmasoner
Republished by Old Post Promoter
