Three Essential Camping Safety Tips for Families

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Depending on just how daring you are, your camping trip with your family might or might not fraught with potential hazards. These hazards don’t necessarily refer to the minor inconveniences that come with bug bites or sleeping on a harder surface – instead, the more recklessly you camp, the more you expose your family to real danger. That’s why you’ll want to make sure you camp the right way from the first time on. These three camping safety tips will help you be prepared for camping hazards, hopefully leading to a safe and enjoyable camping trip for you and yours.

• Tip #1: Set clear rules for the campfire.
• One of the most obvious hazards involved with campfires. If you have smaller children who are in the stage of their life when their legspeed far exceeds their common sense and they feel like they have to explore, you’ll have to make it explicitly clear that the fire pit is not the place to explore. The campfire serves both practical and aesthetic purposes -it doesn’t need to be played with.

  Once you’ve established clear boundaries for your children, give them viable alternatives to enjoy when it’s time to light the fire. Toys, stories, and even a portable video game can help them keep their mind occupied – and away from the fire. Remember to be acutely aware of where your children are once you light the fire.

• Tip #2: Scout out water yourself first.

  If you’re near a new lake, pond, or river and aren’t exactly sure about issues like water depth, temperature, or potential hazards like animals or insects, you’ll want to take a dip yourself to make sure that everything will work well for your children. In destinations with higher traffic, this won’t typically be an issue. If you’re a little further out into the American frontier, however, you’ll want to make sure to act as the scout for your family.

• Tip #3: Make sure your children are aware of the dangers of provoking animals.

  Even seemingly harmless creatures might carry diseases, so it’s important to make sure your children know how to react when they come across an animal. Larger mammals like raccoons can be potentially deadly – don’t just leave these situations to nature. Even if animals are generally scared away when they detect human activity, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t let your children know about animals. Don’t send them into situations where they might confront a dangerous animal.

Photo Credits: Joi

Five Safety Tips for Water Crossings During Your Hike

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

When it comes to your water crossings during a hike, one fundamental rule should play itself out: safety comes first. When you’re hiking, your goal is to get from point A to point B. Even if you want to do it with a little adventure, that doesn’t mean you should risk your life. Here are five tips for handling water crossings safely.

Tip #1: Avoid a water crossing when possible.

If there’s a bridge two miles down the river, then you’re going to be hiking to that bridge. The only time you should even think about handling a water crossing yourself that is more than a flowing creek should be when it’s absolutely necessary. This means avoiding the crossing altogether until you can find a bridge or safer, shallower place to cross.

Tip #2: Don’t underestimate the water.

Underestimating the power is one of the most frequent errors of the traveler exposing himself to danger. Whether you’re talking about tides, undertows, or simply water current, water is a force to be reckoned with. Just because you can enjoy a light cup of water doesn’t mean you know the strength of a river. Being safe about a water crossing means having a deep respect for the type of control the water could gain over you if you made the mistake of getting in it.

Tip #3: Scout for a good location.

If you must make a water crossing by yourself, you’ll need to do some reconnaissance first. This means scouting along the river for a narrow, shallow place to cross that doesn’t pose as much danger as other parts of the river. This may cost you some extra time, but the time will be worth it if it saves your life.

Tip #4: If you get caught in the current, float on your back with your legs forward.

Having your legs toward any boulders or jagged rocks that you would potentially drift into will keep your most vital areas – your head and organs – protected. You’ll also be able to use your legs to soften the overall impact. Try to remain calm if you’re in a floating situation.

Tip #5: When you can, try to come up with a solution.

If you can situate yourself on a rock to try and evaluate a way to the nearest side of the water, be sure to do that. Don’t frantically try to outswim the current – instead, see if there’s a way you can get to the closest sure even by using the strength of the current.

These tips don’t cover everything there is to know about water crossings. Remember that the best solution is prevention: even if finding a bridge is an inconvenience, it’s better than crossing yourself.

Photo Credits: Josh Parrish

What is a Camping Vacation?

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

We might be familiar with the old-fashioned idea of packing up a camper and heading into the wilderness, especially because the premise offers so many opportunity for laughs in movies like “RV.” But when was the last time you actually thought this might be a good idea for you and your family and really considered trying a camping vacation?

Simply put, a camping vacation is what you make it – there are no set rules that make your camping trek any more or less legitimate than anyone else’s. All you have to do is have a plan of action, a plot of land to set up shop, and come prepared to enjoy the wilderness to the highest extent.

Here are some quick tips to preparing your next camping vacation, as well as how to get started today:

1. First, be a scout.

A good camping vacation starts with the idea of scouting – finding the right destination for your family to enjoy. You’ll want to consider a number of variables during this phase, and come up with as many different potential spots as possible. For example, if you have small children, a place with easy accommodations not too far from the campsite might be ideal. If your kids are older, they might embrace the challenge of a more “rustic” experience (of course, they’ll have to bring their cell phones with them). Know what you’re getting into ahead of time.

2. Decide what to bring with you.

If you’ve never been camping before, it can be a bit difficult to know what to bring with you, and it’s tempting to go a little overboard. Dropping a big chunk of change on an RV that you might not necessarily need isn’t the way to go.

Mentally run yourself through a typical day as you see it, and imagine the type of supplies you’ll need. Soaps that double as shampoos are great because they carry less weight. Tents that set themselves up will also take a lot of the edge of nature off. And don’t be afraid to splurge on a gizmo or two if you think it will really help you enjoy your experience.

3. Have fun.

This is an obvious one, but you don’t want to force anyone into a camping trip if they’re determined to have a bad time. Instead, make sure everyone in your family is okay with a camping trip, and ask them for their input. If they love water sports, make sure to go near a lake. You might even consider renting a cabin in the woods – it’s not quite “camping,” but it can be a lot more comfortable for city slickers.

Photo Credits: oskarlin