Outdoors
Featured Articles:
Prepare Yourself For Nature And The Outdoors
by: Terrell James
Camping outside in the woods or forest with your family, friends,
and loved ones can be a very enjoyable experience. Whether sitting
around the campfire and telling stories or bird watching and
exploring nature, being outdoors can leave you with unforgettable
memories. Now what memories you will leave with depends on how well
you are prepared. If a camper is not knowledgeable about his
surroundings, nature can give some pretty nasty surprises. Below are
some advice and tips that will help you avoid certain situations
that can damper your trip.
Bugs go away.
Bugs are always a very annoying problem for a lot of campers. These
critters keep flying around your food, and buzzing in your ears.
Also let’s not forget about more serious problems from some insects,
like mosquitoes, which love to bite and give you itchy bumps. Then
there are lice and ticks which can pass on diseases. Here are some
tips to help keep the bugs away.
1. Try not to use fragrant lotions or products. Sweet smells attract
insects.
2. Try to stay cool. Bugs are attracted to sweat.
3. Bring bug repellant/ Sunscreen. Just don’t use too much,
4. Avoid eating bananas – this fruit secretes an odor through your
pours which attracts mosquitoes.
5. Use coconut oil – this repels mosquitoes
Beware of Ticks
Ticks can be a problem due to the fact they can spread diseases.
Ways to prevent yourself from exposure to ticks is to avoid grassy
areas, wear a hat, and do not wear shorts when you are on a trail.
You should check for ticks and if detected remove it as early as
possible. If you find a tick attached to your skin, use tweezers
close to your skin as possible and pull off the tick, but do not
squeeze its body. You should have the doctor check the bite as soon
as possible. Ticks can spread diseases such as Lyme disease and
ehrlichiosis to humans, which is fatal if not treated.
General Advice
Here is some useful advice that is good to know on every camping or
outdoor trip or vacation:
1. Bring and keep a picture of the travelers with you, in case
anyone gets lost.
2. When hiking remember to bring some water, food, a flashlight, and
bandages.
3. Never hike by yourself.
4. 80% of your body heat is lost through your head, so to keep warm,
wear a hat.
The advices I gave in this article I consider very important in
helping to keep your outdoors experience an enjoyable one.
About The Author
Terrell James is the webmaster and owner of the new website Costa
Rica Travel http://www.costa-ricatravel.com/ which is about his
backpacking experience in Cloud Forest in Costa Rica.
Camping and Outdoors Adventure Scenario
by: Donald Vanderlugt
GETTING LOST—CHANCES ARE—YOU COULD !
Camping and outdoors activities are a really great way to get in
touch with mother nature and to spend some “quality” time with
yourself and even your loved ones ; BUT ; getting lost is a scenario
you should always allow for in your mindset and basic preparedness.
This note is not meant to scare anybody, just to inform and possibly
make a difference.
Whether hunting, climbing, hiking, rescuing or just camping , in a
remote wilderness area , both your family members and friends could
get separated and ultimately lost; either individually or in groups;
so everybody needs to be prepared and be aware of the do’s and
don'ts in the wilderness and general common sense survival
techniques.
Before you go off on your journey , tell somebody where you are
going , how many are going, and the length of time you will be away
so there is an outside person who can sound the alarm bells if you
don’t arrive back
Never think it will not happen to you ! Getting lost is a milestone
event that even the most experienced bushmen can relate to and
remembers the time ‘they’ got lost; these folks know the roller
coaster of emotions you will experience from terror, to panic, to
hopelessness , to desperation , ad infinitum; I will always remember
the time I got lost and the chain of events that helped me get “out
of there”.
Always carry the basics for your outdoors experience, if you use a
g.p.s.; these are a fantastic piece of technology; maps, compass,
matches/lighter,knife , and then add on from there…tent, sleeping
bag, water, first aid ; but the basic compass and map and some
matches/lighter should always be carried.
Don’t panic, stay calm and show this to yourself and everybody else
around you as well ; just be ready to work it out when the time
comes.
A simple and handy idea especially with kids is to carry a whistle,
either in a safe pocket where it will not get lost or fall out or on
a lanyard around the neck although this is not my preferred .
Although kids are always taught about ‘stranger danger’, this is a
different position and that strangers could be rescuers [ some
children have been recorded as having hidden from ‘would be’
rescuers ]
Once a person realizes that they are lost; STOP AND WAIT ! Settle
down and think things out, stay calm.
Orientation methods are local to every location; such as ; the sun
comes up in the west/east ; finding the north star and so on.
My favorite is to follow the streams/creeks downstream; since if you
keep following the streams downstream , you will usually find
‘civilization’ and have drinking water along the way.
If nightfall approaches- get ready for a night alone [ except for
the creatures ] – both mentally and physically – you will hear every
little sound in the darkness and this could get freaky. You may
decide to find a campfire spot uphill from the creek away from the
mosquitoes and where rescuers could see you come daylight; organize
enough fire wood to keep it smoldering all night; a good fire is a
warm comfort at this time ; but don’t forget the saying ‘the bigger
the fire , the bigger the fool ‘.
Next morning; get the fire going steadily without starting a bush
fire and put on some green leaves to make enough smoke so the
rescuers can find you ; this is a long job but necessary. If you
hear any noises just shoot your gun , blow that whistle or yell.
So don’t worry—it happens—just stop/wait and be calm.
This way you can enjoy the great outdoors knowing full well that you
can get yourself out of there!
These are just some of my thoughts on this matter and there would be
plenty other great bush survival techniques ‘out there’
Happy trails to you !
About The Author
Donald Vanderlugt is the webmaster from www.campingandgear.com and
has a love of the great outdoors with years of experience hiking,
hunting and camping and generally getting about the wilderness; his
site has a comprehensive selection of quality camping gear for that
next great adventure, a free newsletter and real discounts; email
customersupport@campingandgear.com.
customersupport@campingandgear.com