planning for your next adventure
Plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead!
This article ties in with “What to pack for your next Adventure”.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. The value and importance of planning is priceless! It can save you a lot of money, time, and hassle on your trip. You don’t want to be stranded with faulty gear, stray off your route, or wind up with a major injury and no chance for help.
Unplanned accidents happen on, and off the trail, the important thing is to stay calm, and plan ahead for potential hazards. I realize its hard to know what to plan for if you have little to no experience, but there are lots of forums and outfitters who have seen and heard stories that may be helpful for your trip. Research the area you are traveling to, many forums have great info, or the AllTrails app. about areas you want to visit, hazards along the way, and advice of what to bring, or not bring.
Having survival skills are vital, especially when out alone. If you are stranded and are awaiting rescue, do you know how to stay alive? If the weather turns sour, are you prepared? If your gear fails, do you know how to utilize the “tools” around you? Do you know which plants are poisonous or edible? These are some very important questions to ask yourself before going on a trek.
Finding your way out could be simple, or as difficult as you make it. Do you know how to read a map? Use landmarks? Use a compass? Can you tell direction in a foreign place?
The sun is a very simple, yet valuable tool for understanding direction, even in the opposite hemisphere, the sun still rises in the east, and sets in the west.
What do you do if its overcast and you have no sun for guidance? If there are no shadows, you can sometimes use the vegetation around you to understand direction. The color and size of plants from the north and south side may vary, depending on amount of sun and water. Traditionally, the same plants on the north side, that are shadowed, will produce larger leaves for collecting sun rays, the colors on the north side are generally darker. The direction the plants are leaning can be an indication, if they are reaching for light, etc. (direction is reversed in the southern hemisphere)
Plants grow heavily along waterways, if you know anything about the water systems in the area you are traveling, that will help your navigation.
Snow or ice in spring/summer are traditionally on the shadow side of a hill or mountain. Obviously you have mountains that retain snow year round, but in areas like high desert, you may find remnants of snow on the north facing side, or the most shadowed side. That is…in the northern hemisphere, its reversed in the southern hemisphere.
