Backpack Safety Tips for Kids

March 16, 2010 by 1 Comment

Kids who carry backpacks that are too heavy risk having back, neck and shoulder problems in the long run. According to the experts, backpacks should not weigh more than %15 of your child’s body weight. Kids who carry heavy backkpacks tend to lean forward to balance themselves and this puts a lot of stress on their backs and necks. In the long term, the spine loses its shock absorbing properties.

If the backpack is carried using only the strap, the child might end up leaning to one side to make up for the extra weight. A good backpack for kids should have wide, padded straps that fit over the child’s shoulders, padded waist or chest belt that distributes the weight of the pack and a width not greater than the child’s chest. Internal frame backpacks like the ones used by hikers are great for children but might not fit the school locker.

Find out how parents can help prevent backpack-related injuries.

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One Dead and Search for Other Two Suspended

December 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment

At 11,239 feet above sea level, Mount Hood is the highest mountain in Oregon and a magnet for adventure seekers. Like many places like it, it’s also where many accidents have happened.

We mourn for Luke Gullberg who was found dead Saturday due to hypothermia. Two other hikers are still missing and search has been suspended due to heavy snow that cover most of the clues and the fact that the chances of finding them are very slim according to rescue experts. But for fear of avalanches, it doesn’t seem like the search will continue anytime soon.

Anthony Vietti, 24, and Katie Nolan, 29, are young, healthy, experienced and well equipped but they’ll have to make it on their own for now. Good Luck to them.

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Charging $25k for Rescue is Criminal

July 20, 2009 by Leave a Comment

New Hampshire -  I think it’s stupid to charge such a large amount of money to be rescued. Even though the cost of rescue last year due to negligence was $42,000. If these criminals were to charge $25,000 (like in the case of the Eagle Scout Scott Mason) per rescue and they make 2 “negligent” rescues per year they would be making a profit- Blood suckers!

This probably won’t reduce the number of “negligent” hikers. My guess is, it would increase even more so since negligence is not clearly defined. It’s wide open for debate. Not checking the weather could count as negligence. Not bringing the GPS could also be negligence. Even a small mistake could count as negligence.

Tax makes me sick. Why can’t the people tax the government instead? See how they like it.

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How did over 100 hikers get lost?

July 2, 2009 by Leave a Comment

This is funny..

“The outdoor climbers group “wind runners” was earlier formed spontaneously by some climbing amateurs by posting forum through internet. On June 28th at 8:00am, the 104 climbing group members, led by an employee of a shenzhen transportation company, rented two buses and headed for the Shitouhe Reservoir for climbing from Shenzhen Gymnasium. At about 21:00pm, the 104 members were lost and stranded in the Lovers’ Valley due the darkness.”

230 rescuers were sent by the Chinese authorities to rescue the 104. Pretty amazing what can happen today.

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“Dead Body” found was a Mannequin

June 12, 2009 by Leave a Comment

They sent a specialized ropes team down a cliff at West Rock State Park after receiving reports from hikers of a deteriorating body only to discover that it was a mannequin. Thank God.

The rescuers must’ve felt relief and annoyed at the same time for wasting their time. I just wonder how on earth did the mannequin get there?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jKjVlnHL3zhSOAuB3bYyFz51W4VAD98LVFI00

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What goes on in Damascus Virginia every May

June 1, 2009 by Leave a Comment

A celebration of the Appalachian Trail.

Trail Days takes place in a small mountain town in Virginia. The population in Damascus, Virginia in 2007 was a little over 1,000 residents. In one weekend in May, (Trail Days) over 15,000 people mostly hikers, come to pay a visit in what the “trail” calls the “Friendliest Town on the Trail”. See what Trail Days is all about.

This video was filmed by Broadcast Your Adventure Films and is the first documentary of it’s kind.

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Badass of The Week

May 21, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Backpacker Magazine dubbed him as the winner of Badass of the Week, jokingly of course, but what he went through was no joke considering that the guy is 90 years old.

Carroll Dubuar fell face-first down a 60-foot ravine in Oregon’s Columbia Gorge, suffering massive cuts and bruises, and a broken rib. The experienced hiker tumbled down off a steep hiking trail. Younger men would be lucky to look and sound as good as Dubuar did on Monday, just five days after the fall.

Dubuar was in good spirits and said that he felt pretty good considering what he just went through. “Gruesome-looking” was the worst thing he said about himself though he winced a little whenever he laughed.

No hospital bed can keep him down very long.

“If I get back on my feet I plan to hike some more,” he told reporters as his daughter, Jan Barkhurst, looked on with concern.He added that he’s not likely to stay in bed much longer and said that those hiking trails are still waiting for him.

The outdoor lover will likely be discharged as early as next week and will go to a care center until he is able to go home. As part of the over-70 group of hikers called “Hotliners”, Dubuar takes part in group hikes every Wednesday.

This weekly jaunt is what Carroll Dubuar is all about. He lives for it and even if you take away his trekking poles and make him wear a helmet, elbow and knee pads and everything, you won’t be able to stop him from going for his Wednesday hikes.

Inspirational!

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The Quest for Environmentally Friendly Sleeping Bags

April 26, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Last year’s Zero Impact Challenge by Backpacker Magazine focused on eco-friendly backpacks. The challenge was to “create a trail-worthy 3,500-cubic-inch midsize with materials and manufacturing that entail minimal environmental impact.”

Seems pretty simple right? Not so. If you knew anything about pack design you’d understand the enormity of the task. An eco-friendly backpack needs to be light, simple and made of recycled material. Five companies that rose to the challenge were GoLite, JanSport, L.L. Bean, Mountainsmith and Osprey.

Key = Lowest impact (1, Green); Lower impact (2, Blue); Business as usual (3, Orange)

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This year, the challenge is focused on something more interesting -  sleeping bags. The goal was to develop a dependable three-season sleeping bag with lower carbon emissions.

Five out of thirty companies rose to the challenge – Big Agnes, Feathered Friends, GoLite, Sierra Designs, and The North Face. The rules are simple:

“Send us a bag rated 20°F, plus an encyclopedia of data on materials, shipping, and energy use.”

This finished sleeping bags have to undergo a three-month evaluation by testers from Colorado, Vermont, Kentucky, New York and Utah. How much the bags impact the environment will be analyzed by Cooler, a pioneer in climate studies and product analysis, and endorsed by three major environmental organization.

Findings

  • Recycled polyester produces 35 percent less emissions than virgin poly and 50 percent less than virgin nylon
  • Goose down bags are not greener than recycled polyester
  • Contestants cut emmissions by 10 percent

The results in alphabetical order:

Big Agnes Tumble Down 20
Less bag where many hikers don’t need it makes a big difference.

Feathered Friends Blue Heron 20
A winning combo: Make it light and local.

GoLite Starlite 20
Recycled materials and fewer trucking miles trim carbon weight.

Sierra Designs Verde 20
No bag in this challenge incorporated more recycled components.

The North Face Green Kazoo 15
How do you replace a legend? Cut its footprint without cutting warmth.

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Falcons Closes Acadia National Park

March 31, 2009 by Leave a Comment

It’s not that any falcon can close a park but for the protection of the peregrine falcons, officials have closed hiking trails on Precipice Cliff and all around it. This coincides with the pre-nesting period of these falcons.picture-10

The Precipice Trail is a popular destination for hikers who also love to watch these birds. They’re also a very challenging climb of up to 1000 feet and recommended only for experienced and physically fit hikers who have no fear of heights.

The closure will be on the side of the Champlain Mountain and is expected to last until late July or early August which is about 5 weeks after the new born falcons will take their first flight. The trail will re-open sooner if the nesting fails.

The Acadia National Park is one of the selected places for the recovery program for peregrine falcons and has been going on since the 1980s.

It is listed as an endangered species in Maine.

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Still Hiking Strong at 79

March 23, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Jack Pomeroy is a 79 year old hiking leader who has taken at least 4,5000 people with him on hikes since 1989. Despite his age, he showed great energy and enthusiasm clambering over slippery boulders or scrambling on all fours up a steep granite boulder.

Many men half his age wouldn’t able to do what he did on that hike he did with a group of North County hikers on the way to the Bottle Peak Summit near Lake Wohlford. What’s special about this hike is that he only does it once a year and you need to have special permission because it’s on private land. Mr Pomeroy led 84 hikes to Bottle Peak and Bernardo Mountain. He also led 80 hikes with the Caballeros de Aventuras.

Pomeroy is a legend because he knows the place where he hikes really well. It’s like having a walking encyclopedia with you when he’s around. He is a U.S. Geological Survey retiree and spent most of his career mapping and spent 15 years making maps of potential landslide areas in the Appalachian Mountains.

While a lot of people in his age group would struggle going to the bathroom, Pomeroy is leading young men up mountains through the woods. He doesn’t believe in going the gym. Hiking is probably one of the best workouts you can do. When you get into the rhythm, you’d go further than you ever thought you could. The use of hydration packs like the Camelbak Mule can help you keep the rhythm while keeping you hydrated.

The old legend  is also a big promoter of protecting the environment.

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Dead Body, Aliens, Human Cloning related to death in Hiking Trail?

February 12, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Weird things sometimes happen on a hiking trip but in all my life hiking in the wild (fortunately) I have never come across a dead body much less a naked (almost) dead body.

On the morning on February 11, hikers found the body of a nearly naked man (he was only wearing a pair of blue underwear) lying across the Wahkeena Falls Trail near the junction with Multnomah Falls Trail in the Columbia River.

The man was described as a white male in his mid twenties, 5 feet 10 inches tall with receding brown hair and hazel eyes. Authorities are still trying to figure out the identity of this man.

No signs of trauma was found on the man but this incident is really suspicious.

One guy even went so far as to say that it might have something to do with aliens and the human cloning project that he says has been going on for many years in the BullRun watershed.

He suspects that there’s a deep underground facility somewhere near the gorge where genetic experimentations are conducted and communications with aliens are established.

But when he says that the poor guy was probably trying to escape from these ‘alien facilities’ or from some occult group that had made him a sex slave I began to laugh out loud.

Even if the guy was trying to escape from aliens there would at least some sign of struggle (which there were none). An escaped sex slave would probably show signs of trauma.

A more reasonable explanation would be that the guy was probably high on drugs. The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s office will establish a positive identity and perform an autopsy.

Anyone with any information related to this incident should call the Sheriff’s Tip Line at 503-261-2847.

My advice would be to avoid Wahkeena/Multnomah Falls until everything is cleared. Who knows? There might really be aliens or some weird cult working in the area.

Stay safe!

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Hiking Mount Washington

January 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment

I just read a lovely  article published by the New York Times.

It was written by Keith Mulvhill who tells a story about his experience hiking Mount Washington.

Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeast at 6,288 feet. It’s a popular destination for mountain hiking in the summer. Hikers usually start at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Pinkham Notch Visitor Center on the east side of Mount Washington. It’s a four-mile hike to the summit and each mile is about a 1000 feet of elevation.

It gets quiet in winter because the weather up there can get quite nasty. Mount Washington is famous for winds that reach 100 miles per hour and comes at least weekly. The fastest wind speed recorded was 231 miles per hour. It’s the fastest wind speed ever recorded on the earth’s surface. Winter season starts in October and ends in May.

Despite the nasty cold weather, hiking up Mount Washington in winter can be very satisfying. With less people and no mosquitoes to worry about, you truly experience what Mount Washington has to offer.

The weather actually enhances the experience and it was reported that many people come back disappointed when the winds were relatively gentle and the skies blue.

Keith goes on to tell his story about hiking up Mount Washington. You may learn something about mountain hiking if you go to the New York Times article.

Important tips to learn from the experience include the importance of the right clothing so you don’t risk hypothermia, how to conserve energy and what hiking equipment you should have. Crampons, balaclavas, goggles and sunglasses are a must.

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2 More Incidents of Lost Hikers in the New Year

January 7, 2009 by Leave a Comment

The Minkoffs

Lawrence and Diane Minkoff, of Lattingtown N.Y., had lost their way after having trouble crossing a swollen stream in Worthington State forest and was found at 7.17 pm the same day they had set out hiking, almost 2 hours after calling for help.

The couple had been hiking since early morning and was carrying a GPS device. The thing with technology is that sometimes it can make you too confident.

The Minkoffs tried a different trail which required them to cross a stream and it took them longer than expected to reach their car.

They were found when Worthington State Forest Officer Steve Franzone spotted a light in the woods, which came from a dying flashlight. The cellphone they were carrying ran out of batteries. At least a dozen officers took part in the search.

There are 2 things you can learn from this incident. The first one is to never trust a GPS too much that you would wander off the trail or use a different trail that you are unsure of.

Second, always use fresh batteries for your flashlight and cellphone when you start on a hike and only use your cellphone in case of emergencies to preserve battery life.

The Trio from El Paso County

The three hikers started hiking around noon in Waldo Canyon, a popular hiking spot along Highway 24 between Manitou Springs and Woodland Park. They got lost after taking a wrong turn on the trail.

Luckily they had a cell phone and called for help at around 5 pm. The trio were found at approximate 9 pm and escorted to safety.

The three were lucky to be rescued as they were not equipped with winter hiking gear and probably would not have survived the night if they were not found.

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Even Experienced Hikers get lost – The Kekekabic Trail

January 6, 2009 by 1 Comment

Anyone could get lost on a hiking trail especially when the parts of the trail is masked by blown-down trees and fire. It happened to two experienced hikers on the Kekekabic Trail and the lack of trail markings were to blame for the incident.

Dozens of rescuers and volunteers joined the search including 4 aircrafts. In the end the hikers were found safe, but this is not the first time anyone got lost on the Kekekabic Trail. In 1970, a skier lost his way and died of hypothermia.

Following the latter incident the Forest Service marked the Kekekabic by tacking small, blue diamond-shaped signs to trees but nearly all the signs are gone now, and Forest Service officials have been reluctant to replace them.

Hiking clubs have renewed their appeal to the Superior National Forest officials to make the Kekekabic trail easier to follow.

The problem is, rules governing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness prohibit signs and many other man-made objects.

However, Forest Service officials acknowledges the fact that the overgrown condition of Kekekabic presents a public safety issue and are willing to discuss a possible compromise.

The 2006 Cavity Lake fire didn’t help matters. The forest burned down to bare rock in many places and with no tree canopy, the terrain and landmarks are obscured by overgrowth.

The argument has been made that in order to go back to the basics of the wilderness, you need to remove all signs of the presence of man and placing signs take away the experience.
While I agree that the wilderness should be kept looking like the wilderness but looking for lost hikers with helicopters and dozens of people are more disruptive than putting a few signs on the trail.
An option would be to publish satellite GPS coordinates to assist hikers with GPS devices. Some hikers have proposed using cairns – conical piles of rocks like those that have been to mark pathways for thousands of year.

Officials are working hard to come up with a solution to prevent hikers from getting lost and endangering their lives again.

The full story can be found at http://www.startribune.com/local/37071654.html?page=1&c=y

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