WALKRIGHT, Second Edition – CHAPTER FOUR Part 3: Backpacking

CHAPTER FOUR:  Backpacking

            “Politeness [is] a sign of dignity, not subservience.”
            ― Theodore Roosevelt

 

            Trail Manners

 

            This is an important but sometimes overlooked subject in many outdoor books.  A good definition of trail manners is that you leave as little evidence of your passing as possible.  Thus you should take nothing except keepsake photographs, make nothing except pleasant memories, and leave nothing except foot prints.

            While on the trail or in camp, keep your radio, cell phone, and other electronic devices off except for necessary weather reports.  Even then it is better to use headphones.  Your fellow trail users want to experience the sounds of nature, not your favorite music.  While I love A Cruel Angel's Thesis from the 1995 television anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, I will enjoy that music at home and not on a trail or campsite.  Above all, respect the rights of other trail users.

            Except in emergencies, you should never wander off the established trails.  You might cross into private property, twist or break your ankle, fall off a cliff or into a sinkhole, and/or encounter many other potentially dangerous situations.  “Trail Breaking” also contributes to soil erosion, making ugly scars on the landscape.  For all these reasons, you should always walk on established trails.

 

 

            Wilderness Use

            The Seattle Mountaineers, one of the oldest and largest organizations devoted to outdoor events, have written and published “The Eight Principles of Wilderness Use.”  These eight principles are:

 

1.  Stay on established trails; do not cut switchbacks when traveling cross country.  Tread lightly to minimize damage to vegetation and soil slopes.

 

2.  Camp in established campsites whenever available.

 

3.  Use a camp stove instead of building a fire.

 

4.  Properly dispose of human waste away from water, trails, and campsites.

 

5.  Wash well away from camps and water sources.  Properly dispose of waste water and avoid the use of non-biodegradable soaps.

 

6.  Pack out all of your parties litter, and a share of that left by other parties.

 

7.  Leave flowers, rocks and other natural features undisturbed.

 

8.  Keep wildlife healthy and self‑reliant by not feeding them.  Pack out all uneaten food.  Leave pets at home.

 

 

            First Aid Kits

 

            When group day hiking or backpacking at least one member should carry a first aid kit and be knowledgeable in its use.  Simple, but practical, first aid kits can be constructed from household supplies, or bought as a kit from a local pharmacy or sporting goods stores.

 

            The American Academy of Emergency Physicians has suggested these basic items for a first aid kit.

 

            Carry an analgesic such as aspirin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, and/or acetaminophen to treat headaches, fever, and pain.

            Please contact health professionals as soon as possible should poison is ingested.  The rationale is that different types of poisons need different treatments.

 

            Elastic wraps for wrapping joint injuries.

 

            Triangles bandages for wrapping injuries and making arm slings.

 

            Compact scissors with rounded tips to cut bandages and clothing if necessary.

 

            Use tweezers with blunt tips to remove ticks and splinters.

 

            Carry a waterproof box of bandages of assorted sizes per person.

 

            Also carry adhesive tape for bandaging wounds.

 

            Gauze in rolls and pads for bandaging wounds when on hikes.

 

            Antibiotic ointment or cream to apply to any cuts, scraps, and burns to prevent infection.

 

            Butterfly bandage closures to tape cut edges together.

 

            Safety pins to fasten splints and bandages.

 

            Rubber gloves to protect your hands from the risk of infection, when treating open wounds.

 

            A must is a first aid hand book.

 

            A notebook with phone numbers of local hospitals, doctors, ambulance companies, poison control centers, and rescue squads.

 

 

            Why your trek leadership should walk the trail before the day of the main event

 

            If possible, in order to brief the hike participants on what they might expect on the trail based on personal experience.  Thus, it is a good idea for the hike leaders to walk the entire route taking notes along the way shortly before the group hikes the trail.  We recommend this because trail conditions are sometimes subject to sudden and drastic changes, such as floods that wash out sections of trail, or areas where high winds or heavy snowfall have blocked the trail with downed trees.  While personnel at local recreational resource management units, such as ranger stations, are sometimes able to provide some current trail information, providing such information to the public is only part of their work assignment.  So, verifying the condition of the trail with first-hand experience is always advisable.  Also, having the hike leaders scout the route beforehand gives the group confidence in their leadership.

            Additionally, keeping alternate trail routes (Plans B & C) in mind is always advisable in case the first trail choice (Plan A) turns out to be impracticable.  Switching to an alternate trail is better than subjecting group members, especially novice hikers, to a negative hiking experience.  Group hikes are supposed to be safe as well as fun!

            Backpacking leaders should have intelligence, experience, and good communications skills.  Nevertheless, group members should beware of an ego driven leader who is determined to get to a distant campsite, regardless of trail conditions and end up setting up camp, after dusk.  For example, your group should stop and set up camp between one and three in the afternoon.  This allows you to find a great camping spot without the risk of darkness and group safety.  Determination is a desirable quality in a business person or athlete.  However, stubborn determination to continue on in the face of deteriorating weather conditions, darkness, or hiker fatigue has sometimes resulted in humiliation, suffering, and even death.

            Select leaders who know the limitations of the hiking group and know when it is wise to turn back to a place of safety.  “Macho” men, and the people who blindly follow them, sometimes die on the trail.  For example, a man and his two teenage sons started off on a weekend backpacking trip into the mountains of western Washington State.  In the face of a rapidly developing spring blizzard, the father refused to return to safety, saying that “Real men never turn back!”  Although his sons survived their father’s determination, the father did not.  It would have been much better for him, and his family, if he had turned back and lived.  In other words, think carefully before you act; your life and the lives of those around you depend upon your clear and rational thought.

            Risking your own life by following this type of rigid behavior is bad enough, but too often outdoor recreationists place themselves at risk when they surrender important trail decisions to those leaders who are long on machismo, but short on common sense.  This is why you should never hesitate to speak out or even take charge yourself when you see your group’s leadership (including professional guides) making potentially dangerous decisions.  Mutiny is always justified to protect lives.

            If weather conditions are becoming increasingly unfavorable, or darkness is approaching, or party members are showing signs of distress such as fatigue or hypothermia, it becomes your duty to speak up and demand that the party immediately seek shelter or turn back to safety.  Your actions could prevent you and your party from being forced to set up camp after dark or perhaps save a life!  In the wilds small mistakes and misjudgments can lead to big troubles, some of which can be fatal.  When in doubt, you’re best to error on the safe side.

            Every spring and fall, outdoor recreationists die as a result of not being prepared to meet the rapidly changing weather conditions of these two transition seasons.  Quite often, but not always, the victims are teenagers who are inexperienced in coping with the sometimes lethal effects of high winds, precipitation, and sudden drops in air temperatures.  Nature can be unforgiving to the uniformed.

            Some people may have years of outdoor experience, but may not have the wisdom to use their experience to make good judgments as outdoor recreation leaders.

            Outdoor skills are not difficult to learn.  Good leadership judgment, however, is the result of a combination of outdoor skills.  These include weather prediction, one-to-one and group communication skills, conflict management skills, knowledge of plants and animals that they might encounter along with the ability for two-way communication, and common sense.  Outdoor books and outdoor recreation courses can teach the value of making good judgments, as well as teaching outdoor skills, but due to the constraints of time and space, often leave out the former in favor of the latter.

            On an episode of Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock, one of the characters found a book on the rules for exploring.  One rule of the book was, “Once you put on your pack, you can never turn back.”  The episode’s moral was that rigid rules should never replace clear thinking.  Never let any set of written or unwritten rules, including the ones in this book, replace thinking for yourself in the situation that you are in.

            Tragically, school children have perished in mountain blizzards and avalanches while on field trips led by adults, including professional guides, who were well aware of the hazards, but for a number of irrational assumptions chose to ignore them.

            We should not allow children to participate in any structured hike or outing unless the adult event leadership has filed a trip plan complete with schedule and itinerary with the appropriate agency.  A parent, or legal guardian, of each participating child should be issued a copy of this plan several days before the event.  Equally important is to make sure your children have extra clothing, such as rain gear, for protection from rain or heavy fog.

            For longer treks, such as backpacking into remote wilderness areas, give the personnel of one or more managing agencies your trip itinerary showing where you expect to be hiking or camped each day and the date of the trek's completion.  Inform the agency that you plan to check in with them on completion of your trek.  This way if you do not check in with an agency shortly after your hike's completion date someone with a copy of your trip itinerary knows where to start looking for you.  If you leave a vehicle at a trail head, list its make, model, color, and license number on the trip itinerary.  After completion of your hike contact the agency and give them your impressions of the trail.  Most recreational agencies welcome trail user input to help plan future developments.