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Intro to Backpacking Lecture #4: Safety

Parisa Jahangirizadeh, Lexi Caruthers, Jack Lamb, and Katie Lyon

Faculty Sponsor: Nicholas L. Swanson-Hysell

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Wilderness vs. Urban first aid

Golden hour rule does not apply, could take days to get to a hospital

Main focus is on sustaining life (stopping bleeding etc.)

Should always be more careful in the wilderness

Always look for secondary or tertiary causes (dehydration, exertion etc)

Assess whether it is safe to give help

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General safety tips

Always tell at least one person where you are going and when they should expect to hear from you

Travel safely to and from the trip, most injuries/fatalities occur here

Always check the weather before you head out

Have at least one source of navigation

Read up on the area before you go there: know the specific dangers.

Hike in a group

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Personal safety when hitchhiking

Trust your instincts! ! !

Wear visible clothes, look friendly, stand in a safe area of the road. Be aware of your surroundings. Try to hitchhike during the day.

When the driver pulls up talk to them before you get in the car. Ask simple questions (where they are going) to get a feel of character.

Never get in a vehicle if the drivers are intoxicated or you do not feel comfortable. Saying no can be hard and uncomfortable, but it is an important life skill.

Options to consider if you are uneasy:

Hitchhike with a buddy!
Write the license plate or car color/make down and text it to a friend.
Keep backpack on your lap if possible for quick exit of vehicle (also less likely to forget belongings if they are on you)
Consider carrying pepper spray, but also be careful using it in closed spaces because it will affect you too.

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Safety for Women

Common statements or thoughts:

It’s not safe for a girl to be out alone on the trail
What about creepy guys?
Hitchhiking as a female is too dangerous
A girl should never hike alone.

While it is good to consider these statements, they also instil fear and discourage many women from going on solo trips.

Your risk of being a victim of a violent crime (murder, rape, or aggravated assault) is thousands of times lower in a national park than in the country as a whole.

It is good to be aware of your surroundings. Don’t hike with headphones. Greet people you see so they know you saw them. Hiking alone is more dangerous because if you get hurt no one can help you.

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Altitude Illnesses: HAPE + HACE + AMS

AMS - Acute Mountain Sickness, aka altitude sickness, fairly common

Feels like a hangover: dizziness, headache, muscle ache, nausea
Avoid it by acclimating gradually, Address it by eating ginger chews + giving it time

HAPE - High Altitude Pulmonary Embolism - caused by lack of air pressure in lungs

Signs: Hurts when coughing, having weird thoughts/statements (high thoughts), wanting to sleep, water in lungs, severe headache, cannot catch breath
Can be deadly, get down the mountain to lower altitudes ASAP

HACE - High altitude cerebral Edema - caused by lack of oxygen to the brain

Signs: Cannot make sense of the situation, does not know where they are, headache, cannot form complete sentences
Can be deadly, get down the mountain to lower altitudes ASAP

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Other concerns

Lyme disease (transmitted by ticks on the East Coast, not a big CA concern)
Giardia and other waterborne illnesses
Water/Flooding
Driving to where you are going
Hypothermia
Dehydration
Plants and Animals (see next slide for California)

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California plants and Animals to be aware of:

Rattlesnakes
Black Widows
Poison Oak → → → →

Leaves of three, leave it be…

**But know that poison oak is still poisonous even after its leaves have fallen, so avoid touching the stem, too.**

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Identify a rattlesnake by its rattle (duh) and triangular head wth a narrow neck

Identify a female black widow by its signature red marking on its abdomen.

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Driving is the most dangerous part of your trip!

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What to bring

What to bring -- First Aid kit essentials

Satellite phones - could help save your life if you go alone but $$$
Medical Items you should always bring while backpacking:

Advil and other painkillers
Bandages/Gauze/Medical Tape → The fall-and-scrape-your knee stuff
Neosporin or other antibiotic ointment/wipes for cuts
leukotape if you get blisters → The blister stuff
A needle to pop blisters

Some items you might want to bring (depending on you / your trip)

Emergency blanket or extra layers (maybe) → The *ITS FREEZING* stuff
Glucose pills, hemostatic gauze, prescriptions → The personal emergency stuff
Ginger chews (maybe) → The altitude stuff

What not to bring in your medical kit:

Scissors, sewing machines - best off having a friend run back
Splints etc.

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You and your friend are in

Kings Canyon National Park and are 20 miles from a road, all of a sudden your friend slips and breaks their leg...

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What to do if...

I broke a leg or got a cut and cannot move/walk

0. Stay calm and assess the situation, make a plan, think over options
1. Have a friend head back to trailhead to get help
2. If you have service, see if you can send a text or make a phone call
3. Most backpacks have a whistle on the strap to alert others
4. Get to the most open area (no trees nearby) possible. There are S + R teams that fly over for patrol regularly - if they see you, they will not ignore you.
5. Sit down, take some breaths, and relax. You may not be able to walk, but the rest of your body is functioning well.

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You and your friend are climbing a peak, and

all of a sudden your friend has a life threatening allergic reaction

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