Hiking and Backpacking Safety Tips

Dan, great stuff as always. Here are my top 3
1. Research the trail or area. There are a bunch of websites and reviews of trails and I always search YouTube on the area I’m hiking just for some quick tips.
2. Pack a extra meal and a water filter, even for a day hike. You never know if you or someone you are with or meet may be in a situation. I was a Boy Scout so I am always prepared.
3. Bar in InReach or equivalent satellite GPS for emergency communication and tracking. It sets my family’s mind at ease and my own. Just knowing if an emergency arises, rescue is one button away.

Oh and for fire, I bring a bic and a fero rod.

Keep up the great work –

Great video, Dan! Just a couple ideas: (1) add a large clean bandana (or a shemagh) to your first aid kit to use on large bleeders, as a tourniquet, as a sling, etc. The wound or injury will help you determine its use. If a tourniquet is applied make sure a notation is made on the victim’s forehead if he or she is unconscious. A visible “T” is sufficient. Keep a large magic marker in your first aid kit. (2) I carry a small burlap sack with various fire tinder including trioxane, fatwood, magnesium shavings, etc.in case natural resources are too moist from rain or even dew. Ignition sources include a Bic, storm-proof matches and striker board in a waterproof container, ferrocium rod and a magnifying glass (mine is on a Suunto MC2 compass). I always include a well maintained survival kit in my pack. On occasion I do carry a Simple Shot sling with 3/8 ammo or a Ruger but only for protection or warning device to the two legged idiots who seem bent on destruction. I’ve encountered numerous wild animals but only once did I feel threatened by a mountain lion. During hunting season either wear something bright orange or at least carry it on your pack. On a set of trekking poles I wrapped two inch orange duck tape on each one. If you hike solo never wear earbuds but stay “tuned” to your environment; hard to hear a charging animal if you’re rocking to Bon Jovi!

Hay, i like your Channel, great Information and tipp´s Thanks from Germany. sorry my English is Bad

Hello my hiking friend, thank you for sharing another fine video. I use the 5 P’s procedure: Prior planning prevents poor procedure.
I always bring a fire kit which contains the following: fero rod which also includes a magnesium strip, regular matches, waterproof matches, cotton balls with vaseline, a zip lock with dryer lint, small chips of fire starter, alcohol fuel from my alcohol stove. Depending on fire conditions and weather, I bring an emergency highway flare (as a last resort).
You take care out there. Look forward to see you on the next one. ��

I always bring a whistle. Sometimes I will also bring and emergency blanket, ways basically nothing and it’s good peace of mind.

I have a compact flashlight style torch for doing… erm… concentrates and a small bottle of butane. The spark the torch gives even when empty will light a stove and also light petroleum jelly soaked cotton fibers.

Hey Dan….I’m subscribed to a few channels( yours included) about hiking and backpacking and your the only one the makes me laugh on a regular basis. Thanks for the humor and all the good tips you give to us fellow backpackers. ����

one thing i always do with out fail is bring my cooking pot and spoon in my tent, clean for sure.and yes the bear will almost kill its self trying to get away when i start playing the drum like a mad man…i even had one run and jump in to the lake and swim to the other side at 2am…Im in the tahoe forest ca. where bears are part of your trip…LonnieRay

Fat wood is a great fire starter and really inexpensive. I usually bring a stick or two along. You can get a big 3 lb bag at Menards for like $7.

Number ONE tool to have with every one (especially if you have kids in tow)… A whistle!!.. Every one needs a whistle!!.. A LOUD one!!

I hope you and the kids rock those fanny packs in the backcountry! Thank you, Dan!!! ������

BRINGIN’ IT BACK FROM THE 80’S!!!!

I like to bring a blow dryer and extension cord to start my fires �� Works like a charm

I keep one page of the free newspaper from the grocery store folded into some wax paper for getting wet wood going if I need to. I can tear off a little at a time and get several fires off of one newspaper page for a few pennies worth of wax paper. The wax paper burns very well especially when folded over with newspaper in several layers.

I also keep one small firestarter stick with a matchtip built onto it. I never use it. It’s my guaranteed emergency reserve fire starter that will burn for several minutes by itself. If all goes well I will always carry that hopefully unnecessary weight.

I forget where I heard it somewhere on YouTube I’m sure that you don’t need to carry an emergency survival kit with you when you go backpacking. Your whole backpack is, and should be, your survival kit. A spare lighter, a backup light or batteries, a few extra snacks, and at least two water containers (in case one fails) should probably be in your pack already. I know that I already have my shelter and a place to sleep, extra layers of clothing, water filter, etc. Everything I need to survive comfortably is already in my pack. The limiting factor is water and food before real discomfort sets in.

That said, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, if at all possible, is to bring a buddy. If you do break your leg where there is no cell phone service and you don’t have a satellite connection, your buddy is your best hope. Your buddy can set up a shelter for you, or around you without moving you and go get help. Hike with a buddy. The buddy system is a tried and true safety measure. I’ve done lots of solo backcountry adventures, but it’s much riskier going solo than it is to simply bring a buddy along. Bring a buddy.

I also always keep an emergency fanny pack inside my emergency fanny pack that I use if my main fanny pack blows out. �� NOT REALLY!!!

Those were really nice looking fanny packs, buddy ��

Here are 2 safety tips. 1. Practice. Get out there and learn some basic outdoor skills such as making a fire. Inspect and test out your gear, such as your first aid kit. 2ndTIP! Don’t do Stupid Shit (mitigate risktaking) when you’re way out in the wild. Ask yourself, should I jump over to that other rock and maybe twist my ankle? No, straight up No. Be smart. Great vid, Dan.

My first First Aid kit weighed over a pound. Now it weighs about 3-4 ounces and has all I need. I always have a few Vaseline soaked cotton balls and slivers of Fatwood to start a fire with one of my two BIC lighters. Shove a nice fatwood sliver through the cotton ball for nice smelling hot tinder that has never failed me. I always carry a compass, and mainly use it to determine where the Sun/Moon will rise or set, and a paper map. I also carry a small Victorianox Swiss Army knife with the tiny little scissors-great for clipping off a broken fingernail or trimming a piece of dyneema repair tape for a patch. Always comes in handy.

I carry an Inreach, I send a message to my wife from where my truck is parked, and again from camp each night so there is a pattern of my movement in case something happens. In addition to messaging and emergency messages, it also gives me weather and allows my wife and others to track me. I also enjoy having a track of my trip for later. Paired with my phone I can leave it in my pack and access it with my phone via Bluetooth. This day and age, I would consider it irresponsible not to have some type of satellite communicator or PLB in the backcountry especially if you have young kids with you. In the case of an emergency, it will reduce response time exponentially.

Bic lighter always, carry a magnesium firestarter in hip pocket, also doritos chips double as a fire starter.

Fire starter for me is dryer lint with a good squeeze of alcohol based hand santizer on it. Burns good and strong enough to catch alite even mildly damp twigs.

You forgot to talk about how to stay safe from crazy serial killers that hide in the woods. ;-). Great video again Dan!

Great video; I’ve just subscribed to your channel.

I’m always amazed when I’m coming down the trail from a high ridge or summit by noon, with clouds already building above me I’ve seen a mere wisp of water vapor turn to a full-on storm in less than 30 minutes while others are on their way up, oblivious to the gathering clouds. I once told a meteorologist friend that I’m so careful about lightning above treeline, it probably constituted a full-on phobia. His reply was that lightning is so dangerous above treeline, there’s no way to be phobic about it, lol.