This is One Smart Chick!

Michigan boxing pioneer and friend, SpringChick, offered some sage words of advice about hiking recently on the Great Lakes talk list. With her kind permission, we're pleased to offer her original post to the list.

Many of you who know me, know that I often hike alone, actually prefer to hike alone. I've posted this before to various lists, but thought I would share it again for those who are new and have not seen it before. While one can never completely ensure their personal safety while hiking, particularly alone, there are a few simple things I do to better my chances of having a safe trip or being located if something did go wrong.


1) This seems obvious, but always know where you are. Sometimes we follow the directions in the clues to get to a park and don't even know the name of the park or how we got there and thus could not accurately give a location if it became necessary to call for help. The more accurate information you can provide to a rescuer, the quicker somebody will be able to reach you if you need help.


2) Carry a charged cell phone -- you may not be ensured service, but it certainly is not going to hurt to have it ... remember the guys who were rescued off Mt. Hount based on the signal of a cell phone?


3) Let somebody know where you are going. Before I leave, I try to leave a list of the letterboxes I was planning to look for, in the order I am planning to do them (to the best of my knowledge before getting there.) Make sure the person you are leaving this with knows how to access the clues for these letterboxes or if they don't, make them copies of the clues.


4) Let somebody know where you are en route. As I move from box to box, I call home and leave messages on the answering machine as to my location -- where I've just been, where I am headed next. This information along with the rough itinerary I've left would make it much easier for somebody to zero in on my whereabouts should I fail to return.


5) Always carry water and a basic first aid kit at minimum.


6) Be aware of the conditions around you -- terrain, weather, etc. This can be especially important in areas that you are familiar with as we tend to not be as observant in familiar areas as we are in new areas. If the weather in your area can change in an instant and present an unsafe situation where you are (i.e. lightening storms, flood waters, etc.,) know the forecast and be observant.


7) Make noise while walking. Most wild animals are just as scared of you as you are of them. But it is instinct for a wild animal to attack if they are startled and feel threatened. While hiking with people, we generally carry on conversation and this is enough to warn of your presence and not take an animal off-guard. But when you're out alone, you don't have this (unless you use your hiking time as therapy and talk to yourself ;-). So shuffle your feet, hum, whistle, etc. just to make a little noise.


8) When you encounter other people, don't come across as a victim. The way you carry yourself, whether or not you make eye contact with another person, if you speak, even your own internal feeling of confidence -- these things all send non-verbal messages to a potential perpetrator and can make you more or less likely to actually become a victim of foul play.

Be safe!

SpringChick