I’ve been blessed to live all across the country. One thing I’ve noticed is that wherever I go, people are ill prepared for many conditions they encounter. Sometimes it is a simple fix…like me forgetting Chap Stick on my way to a hockey game. Other times preparation mistakes can be more costly. Hypothermia and dehydration are the most dangerous killers for people outdoors and are usually preventable if one plans ahead.
Each year, scores of people get lost for days in the outdoors. Although Mother Nature has a way of taking a prepared excursion and throwing it into a tailspin, many times people don’t even plan for the most basic needs before setting out into the world. I’m not just talking about road trips or vacations either. Hypothermia can easily occur with indoor or outdoor temperatures above freezing but most common with cold, wet, or windy conditions. Do you check on your elderly friends, neighbors, and relatives? How many of you have a stocked emergency kit in your car? Mine has an extra raincoat, packable pants, gloves, and street shoes…just in case I have to change a tire in bad weather while in dress clothes…again.
Many adults aren’t prepared but what about kids? How do we teach the importance of surviving Mother Nature to today’s youth – a generation who has never known a time without cell phones? On March 15 from noon to 3pm, youths ages 10-16 can join us for a 3-hour program on Wilderness Survival. We’ll start the program indoors discussing the importance of preparation. Outdoors, we’ll practice fire building and shelter building. Parents can attend but the class is designed to build outdoor and teamwork skills and increase self-esteem for the students. We will be practicing fire building and shelter building techniques so the age restriction is an important component to keeping everyone safe.
This class requires preregistration and students should dress for outdoor conditions with warm clothes. Parents can preregister by contacting Julie McDonald at 270-826-2247 or juliea.mcdonald@ky.gov .
Be like the Ant and plan ahead this winter.
• Pack one layer more than you think you will need. Hot hands or toe warmers are a wonderful invention for winter Owl Prowl programs.
• Layer in a wicking base layer close to your skin made of synthetic material, silk, or wool (not cotton). Next, plan on a warm but not hot insulating layer. Lastly, wear a shell layer to keep snow and rain off. Cotton holds moisture…your enemy in the cold.
• Drink lots of water. The cold atmosphere doesn’t hold as much moisture as warm air so you’ll dry out quicker.
• Have a plan for power outages…remember the ice storm of 2009.
• Don’t count on a cell phone to have a signal or that your battery will hold out.
• Have lights, radios and batteries charged and/or ready to go.
