Tip of the Week..

I've decided to add a new weekly post to my blog.. This will forever be known as the "Tip of the Week". It will mostly deal with backpacking/Wilderness living/Survival things, but if I make a particularly grievous mistake during the week, I may pass that along as a "don't do what I did" sort of thing.

So.. What is my first tip of the week?

"When headed out into a wilderness area, GET A MAP OF THE AREA AND COMPASS!"

This may sound somewhat silly if the area is only 1 square mile, you could technically walk out in ANY direction and get to a property boundary in 20 minutes.. But what if you have a Bay on one side, and an ocean on the other.. AND no compass? You could actually walk in circles for a full day and never know it!

AND NO.. A GPS DOESN'T COUNT! I have been out on missions with other Rescuers who didn't even know how to turn their freakin GPS on.. This is because they are SOOOOO good with a map and compass, they have NEVER needed the GPS. (Funny thing is, they are actually faster than the GPS!) And GPS units don't always work.. Depending on canopy coverage/thickness, you may never get a satellite lock.