If you are going out for an extreme outdoor adventure, being prepared can make the difference between thrills and disaster. You may have heard about or even seen the movie 127 Hours and were impressed by James Franco's intense performance. The best lesson to be learned from this story is to tell your friends and family of your plans before you go out into the wilderness alone.
Mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing, camping, hunting, or off-roading in your four-wheel drive-preparedness makes the difference. If you have a vehicle, either for off-roading or to take you to your destination, pack it with the necessities. Fill your backpack with essentials such as water, a sharp knife, energy bars and other snacks, a cell phone, and possibly even a flare gun.
Why water, you may ask. If you need to ask, stay home. A sharp knife is good for those times when you need to clean a fish or cut your way out of the jungle. While energy bars are not the greatest nutritional food, they will supply you with an on-the-run emergency energy source. You may need to ration them in the extreme case that you need to survive for a long time before help arrives or to sustain you while you laboriously seek your way to safety.
Extra changes of clothing are good if you can fit them into your backpack. Wherever you go, weather is apt to be unpredictable. If you are in the mountains or desert, the daytime temperatures can be extremely hot, while the nighttime temperatures can be extremely cold. Suppose you are off-roading it in your Jeep Wrangler among the fantastic rocks of Utah's national parks and you run out of gas? Of course, emergency situations are unplanned and you try to avoid them, but should one arise, you better know what to do and have the necessary supplies on hand to get you on your way.
Say you brought everything you could possibly need. Say it is in your car and you are able to get to you car, but the battery is out of juice. So that means it's just you, your Jeep, and the setting sun on a mountainside. Then you should be able to endure the night, but what happens the next morning? You have to start planning an escape route. You'd use your cell phone's GPS, but it lost power overnight. Hope to high heaven that you remembered to pack the paper maps your dad gave you back in high school. Pray you know how to read it, too.
You cannot depend wholly on technology, no matter how neat it is. Batteries die, signals aren't heard, and satellites go down. Just like the maps, you need to be able to read weather patterns if you intend to do anything in the wilderness at all. Having a good idea as to where the local authorities are can't hurt either.
Of course, if have a car care kit in the car then you shouldn't have to worry about such things because you would have the necessary tools. Extra gas, motor oil, and a fully charged battery charger and first aid kits are high priorities. Wrenches and other tools should be handy, as well.
If you are serious about avoiding life-threatening situations, plan and prepare before you go off on your trip. Map out a route and mark down rest stops and landmarks. Know the terrain you will be covering. Having done all that, stick to your itinerary, the one you gave your friends and family before you left. You can always discover new paths to take if you have the time, but never veer from your appointed route just because time is yours for the taking. It is quite possible that you will find yourself falling into a deep crevasse from which you will never return.
Mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing, camping, hunting, or off-roading in your four-wheel drive-preparedness makes the difference. If you have a vehicle, either for off-roading or to take you to your destination, pack it with the necessities. Fill your backpack with essentials such as water, a sharp knife, energy bars and other snacks, a cell phone, and possibly even a flare gun.
Why water, you may ask. If you need to ask, stay home. A sharp knife is good for those times when you need to clean a fish or cut your way out of the jungle. While energy bars are not the greatest nutritional food, they will supply you with an on-the-run emergency energy source. You may need to ration them in the extreme case that you need to survive for a long time before help arrives or to sustain you while you laboriously seek your way to safety.
Extra changes of clothing are good if you can fit them into your backpack. Wherever you go, weather is apt to be unpredictable. If you are in the mountains or desert, the daytime temperatures can be extremely hot, while the nighttime temperatures can be extremely cold. Suppose you are off-roading it in your Jeep Wrangler among the fantastic rocks of Utah's national parks and you run out of gas? Of course, emergency situations are unplanned and you try to avoid them, but should one arise, you better know what to do and have the necessary supplies on hand to get you on your way.
Say you brought everything you could possibly need. Say it is in your car and you are able to get to you car, but the battery is out of juice. So that means it's just you, your Jeep, and the setting sun on a mountainside. Then you should be able to endure the night, but what happens the next morning? You have to start planning an escape route. You'd use your cell phone's GPS, but it lost power overnight. Hope to high heaven that you remembered to pack the paper maps your dad gave you back in high school. Pray you know how to read it, too.
You cannot depend wholly on technology, no matter how neat it is. Batteries die, signals aren't heard, and satellites go down. Just like the maps, you need to be able to read weather patterns if you intend to do anything in the wilderness at all. Having a good idea as to where the local authorities are can't hurt either.
Of course, if have a car care kit in the car then you shouldn't have to worry about such things because you would have the necessary tools. Extra gas, motor oil, and a fully charged battery charger and first aid kits are high priorities. Wrenches and other tools should be handy, as well.
If you are serious about avoiding life-threatening situations, plan and prepare before you go off on your trip. Map out a route and mark down rest stops and landmarks. Know the terrain you will be covering. Having done all that, stick to your itinerary, the one you gave your friends and family before you left. You can always discover new paths to take if you have the time, but never veer from your appointed route just because time is yours for the taking. It is quite possible that you will find yourself falling into a deep crevasse from which you will never return.
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