Intro to hiking

Joel SwansonASM, Troop 939

Hiking Merit Badge Counselor,

Objectives

• Know Why you’d do this• Know what you need • Know where to get it• Know how to get ready

Why Hike?

• Easy, aerobic exercise• Eagle Required Merit badge• Adventure• Mental health

(it’s fun)• Cheap Date

The Merit BadgeShow that you know first aid for injuries or illnesses that could occur while hiking, including

hypothermia, heatstroke, heat exhaustion, frostbite, dehydration, sunburn, sprained ankle, insect stings, tick bites, snakebite, blisters, hyperventilation, and altitude sickness.

Explain and, where possible, show the points of good hiking practices. including the principles of Leave No Trace, hiking safety in the daytime and at night, courtesy to others, choice of footwear, and proper care of feet and footwear.

Explain how hiking is an aerobic activity. Develop a plan for conditioning yourself for 10-mile hikes, and describe how you will increase your fitness for longer hikes.

Make a written plan for a 10-mile hike, including map routes, a clothing and equipment list, and a list of items for a trail lunch.

Take five hikes, each on a different day, and each of at least ten continuous miles. Prepare a hike plan for each hike.*

Take a hike of 20 continuous miles in one day following a hike plan you have prepared.*

After each of the hikes (or during each hike if on one continuous "trek") in requirements 5 and 6, write a short report of your experience. Give dates and descriptions of routes covered, the weather, and interesting things you saw. Share this report with your merit badge counselor.

What do you need?

• Good Shoes & Socks• Appropriate Clothing• Essentials

Shoes & Socks

• Right shoes depend on the Trail– The rougher the trail, the sturdier the boot

needed

– The best socks are woolCotton is a bad idea fora long hike

Appropriate clothes

• Check the weather! Will it be warm, cold, rainy; hot?

• The new nylon Scout uniform pants are great for hiking

• Ensure you have clothes along to fend off the elements!

Weather dictates clothing choices…

• A great resource is www.weather.gov

Also, watch the weather on the news, or look at the newspaper.

The “Ten” Essentials

• Think of all the ways you can be miserable:– Cold– Hungry & Thirsty– Wet– Lost– Alone– In the dark

• Your essentials address all these problems except alone…

The Essentials

Outdoor Essentials per BSA Fieldbook

Classic Ten Essentials (1930)

Updated Ten Essential "Systems"

1. Map and Compass 1. Map 1. Navigation

2. Sun Protection 2. Compass 2. Sun protection

3. Extra Clothing 3. Sunglasses and sunscreen 3. Insulation (extra clothing)

4. Flashlight 4. Extra clothing 4. Illumination

5. First Aid Kit 5. Headlamp/flashlight 5. First-aid supplies

6. Matches and Firestarter 6. First-aid supplies 6. Fire

7. Knife 7. Firestarter 7. Repair kit and tools

8. Trail Food 8. Matches 8. Nutrition (extra food)

9. rain gear 9. Knife 9. Hydration (extra water)

10. Water 10. Extra food 10. Emergency shelter

Beyond the Ten• Insect repellent• Whistle• Extra socks/liners• Head covering (for rain/warmth)• Duct tape• Iodine tablets or water pump (carry extra water if water location is

a potential problem)• Trash bag• Rope• "In case of emergency" card (list name and number to call in an

emergency, medications, medical conditions and whether or not you are a contact lenses wearer). You may want to pack your driver's license and insurance card in a plastic bag for protection.

So, you need a map

• Traditional Topographic maps (often not detailed enough for a short hike)

• Computer programs (e.g., TOPO!)• Park District Web site (e.g www.ebparks.org)• Get a map from the park before you have your

hike (may order via web or snail mail)• If you’re doing an urban hike, you can use a

road map or City map

Where to get a map 2National Geographic TOPO! Is a common program – expensive though (about 100 dollars per state)

You can zoom in on a location, draw a hike, see what its mileage is, draw an elevation profile, etc.

Where to get a map - 3

www.ebparks.org has maps for all the parks in the East Bay Regional Parks District, with trail legs marked for mileage (usually) and water and sign posts shown (again, it depends on the park)

Where to get a map - 4

Another example of a downloaded map from ebparks.org.

This is Morgan Territory, and marked in red is a good introductory hike for visiting Webelos Scouts.

On this map, North is up. That’s not true of all park maps, so be careful!

Where to get maps - 5• Sometimes, you

can get a useful map from the national parks service website (www.nps.gov)

• Note that this one is a bit fuzzy, and might be hard to read unless reproduced at full size.

Where to get Maps - 6• Get a map if you’re there,

and save for future use (donate to the troop if you don’t think you’ll be going back)

• If you have an actual map of the location, see if you can get the use of of a scanner (try your public library). Then you can share maps with all the hikers

What to do if…• Injured

WRONG: Panic. The last thing you want to do is let a surge of adrenaline lead to hasty decisions.RIGHT: Sit down, breathe slowly, and focus on small, right-brain tasks (setting up the tent, applying a bandage). Think positive: Remind yourself of your skills, think of family and friends, or repeat encouraging phrases to yourself. Treat your injury or condition:Hypothermia: Put on warm, dry layers and get in your sleeping bag. If you don't have a bag, sit on top of your pack with your arms curled around your knees. Drink hot liquids and snack on something with fat and carbs. Do jumping jacks or squats to generate heat.Heat exhaustion: Get out of the sun, remove restrictive clothing, and spray yourself with cool water. Drink cool liquids and rest.Altitude sickness: Drink a liter of water and do light exercise to bring more oxygen into your body. Take an ibuprofen tablet. If you don't feel better within two hours, descend 1,000 to 2,000 feet.Injured ankle: Apply a bladder or zip-top bag filled with cold water or snow for 30 minutes. Wrap with an elastic bandage or tape and take ibuprofen. If it's very painful, can't bear weight, or you heard a popping sound, it's a more serious injury. Splint your ankle with a sleeping pad, clothes, and backpack straps or bandannas.

What to do if InjuredWRONG: Panic. The last thing you want to do is let a surge of adrenaline lead to hasty

decisions.

RIGHT: Sit down, breathe slowly, and focus on small, right-brain tasks (setting up the tent, applying a bandage). Think positive: Remind yourself of your skills, think of family and friends, or repeat encouraging phrases to yourself. Treat your injury or condition:

Hypothermia: Put on warm, dry layers and get in your sleeping bag. If you don't have a bag, sit on top of your pack with your arms curled around your knees. Drink hot liquids and snack on something with fat and carbs. Do jumping jacks or squats to generate heat.

Heat exhaustion: Get out of the sun, remove restrictive clothing, and spray yourself with cool water. Drink cool liquids and rest.

Altitude sickness: Drink a liter of water and do light exercise to bring more oxygen into your body. Take an ibuprofen tablet. If you don't feel better within two hours, descend 1,000 to 2,000 feet.

Injured ankle: Apply a bladder or zip-top bag filled with cold water or snow for 30 minutes. Wrap with an elastic bandage or tape and take ibuprofen. If it's very painful, can't bear weight, or you heard a popping sound, it's a more serious injury. Splint your ankle with a sleeping pad, clothes, and backpack straps or bandannas.

What to do Injured - 2

Bleeding: Apply direct pressure with a clean bandage, adding extra bandages on top of the first without removing it. When the bleeding stops, irrigate the wound with a stream of water from a bladder or zip-top bag, then close with a butterfly bandage or 1/4-inch strips of duct tape, leaving space between for drainage.How to tape a sprained ankleFirst, apply tape in a stirrup pattern: down one side of the ankle, under the heel, up the opposite side. Next, tape several figure 8s: Bring tape across the arch, under the foot and around the back of the ankle to return to starting position.

What to do if Lost/Preventing Lostness

1. PackingWRONG: Stash some water and an energy bar in your pack, then hit the trail. You're only going to be gone for a few hours.RIGHT: "When you're packing, ask yourself, 'Do I have enough gear that I could spend the night out if I had to?'" advises Christopher Van Tilburg, author of Mountain Rescue Doctor and a veteran SAR physician. Know and carry the 10 Essentials: Also pack a basic survival kit containing an emergency blanket or a large plastic garbage bag for shelter, an extra firestarter (flint and waterproof matches and/or butane lighter), a signal mirror, and an 8-by-8-inch square of heavy-duty aluminum foil for making a cup or cookpot.

2. PlanningWRONG: Test your brand-new navigation skills on a tricky route–alone. Many hikers who find themselves in trouble got there by overestimating their abilities.RIGHT: Know your limits and plan trips that feature mileage, elevation gain, and terrain that you can handle. Set out with a map and compass or GPS and a good description of your route. Before you go, determine a safety bearing: a direction guaranteed to lead you back to civilization should you lose your way.

What to do if LostLeaving the trailhead

WRONG: Head out for an impromptu dayhike without informing anyone of your plans. It's just a five-miler–what could go wrong?RIGHT: Always leave your itinerary with friends, family, or rangers when you go into the backcountry. Include your intended route, expected return, and what time they should initiate a rescue if they haven't heard from you. Even on a routine dayhike, at least tell someone where you're going.

Spending a night outWRONG: Obsess over how to get "unlost," wander around without a plan, and ignore your core temperature. Being lost doesn't kill you; exposure does.RIGHT: Put on a hat and extra layers, then build a fire and a shelter. Keeping yourself warm and dry is your top priority, followed by collecting water. Don't worry about food just yet–the vast majority of lost hikers are found within 12 hours, says Anderson.

How to improvise a sleeping bagUse this method when you don't have the materials or the time to construct a more elaborate shelter. Make a bed out of evergreen boughs, dry leaves, and/or pine needles. Put on all extra clothing. Poke a hole in a large garbage bag for your head and put it on like a shirt, stuffing it with dry leaves for extra insulation. Lie down and put your feet in your empty pack.

How to build a lean-to shelterUse branches and evergreen boughs to build the wall; prop it up with sticks or lean it against a rock. Lay dry leaves or pine needles underneath for insulation from the cold ground. A tarp, emergency blanket, or garbage bag tied between two trees can also be rigged to form the wall.

What to do if LostGetting Rescued

WRONG: Stay hidden in dense foliage and don't signal.RIGHT: Find an open spot and make yourself obvious: Lay bright clothing on the ground and build a smoky fire using green branches and leaves. Blow your whistle and signal your location with a mirror or another reflective surface, like a watch face, stove windscreen, compass mirror, GPS screen, or headlamp.

How to use a signal mirrorGrasp the mirror by its edges (1). Holding it near your face, aim the glass toward the sun while looking through the sighting hole. Move the mirror until you see a glowing ball ("fireball") on the reflective mesh on the mirror's back (2). Find your target in the sighting hole while keeping track of the fireball. Adjust the mirror until the fireball appears on top of your target (3). Tilt mirror slightly to flash (4).

How to signal with any reflective objectHold the reflective surface near your face with one hand. Stretch your other arm (the "sighting arm") toward your target. Aim the reflection onto your outstretched hand. Move your sighting arm and the reflective surface together to focus the rays on your target.

How to do a hike with a group• Participant's Responsibilities

Each outing participant has the responsibility to:1. Acquaint themselves with the outing and verify with the scheduled leader that the outing is within the participant's capability and experience.2. Arrive on time at the designated meeting spot.3. Show up for the outing properly clothed and equipped.4. Leave all trails, camps and surrounding areas in as good or better condition than found (Leave no trace).5. Hike as a team – stop at all trail junctions to ensure that all of you are together and going the same way!