A special message from Pine Mountain Search and Rescue: ATTENTION HIKERS AND ATV RIDERS -- With the spring thaw and warmer weather, many of you will be ready to shake off cabin fever and hit the trails. Observing a few simple safety guidelines will make your trip more pleasant, and help ensure that you dont have to be rescued. - Always tell someone where you plan to hike or ride and how long you will be gone. - Hike or ride with a buddy. - Plan your trip. Know how long it takes to reach your destination, and be sure to give yourself enough time to be out of the woods or at a camp site, with a fire, before nightfall. - Check a weather forecast before you leave in the morning and be prepared for sudden changes. - Be aware that elevation in Letcher County can change by more than 2,000 feet in the course of a day hiking, and it is much colder at higher elevations and in shaded hollows. Dress accordingly. - Even with daytime temperatures in the 50s, there are still lingering patches of ice and slippery mud in some areas. Use caution on narrow trails, especially around cliff lines. - Check a map, know how to read it, take the map and a compass with you. GPS is often unreliable in heavy tree cover and steep valleys. - Make sure you have the means to build a fire and put up an emergency shelter if needed. Even large, black leaf bags can be used to keep you dry in an emergency. Have fun, and please be safe.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 01:47:46 +0000
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