Intermountain Region

Recreational Activities

Hiking and Backpacking Safety

Plan Your Trip
Before you hike, study maps of the area and learn the terrain. Be familiar with all options; time, alternate routes and weather. Be sure to tell someone where you are going.

Help Preserve Natures Ground Cover
Limit your grip to a small size. Wilderness Areas have group size limitations. Bring tent poles and a ground pad. Pick a camping site where you won't need to clear vegetation or dig a ditch around your tent.

Pack It In - Pack It Out
If you can carry it in, you can carry it out. Go one step further and carry out trash that less thoughtful people have left behind. Leave your National Forest better than you found it.

Campfires
Fire permits are not normally required. However fires in Wilderness Areas are discourages and lightweight gas stoves are suggested. If you must have a campfire in a Wilderness Area, please keep it safe and small. Shelter your fire from high winds and keep away from logs, brush and tree trunks and clear the ground to mineral soil to prevent an accidental wildfire. Make sure fire is dead out before leaving. Be aware if there are any fire restrictions. If you have any questions call your local Forest Service Office.

Keep the Water Supply Clean
Please do not wash dishes or clothes in natural water sources. Do all necessary washing away from and below all sources of drinking water. Dispose of water waste away from streams and springs.

Giardia
Persons who must use streams as a water source should boil the water for 3 to 5 minutes before drinking or using in food preparation. After someone has ingested contaminated water the incubation period of the disease is 6 to 15 days. Common symptoms include nausea, abdominal cramps, flatulence, lethargy, diarrhea and weight loss. Giardia can be readily transmitted between humans and animals. Feces (human or animal waste) should be buried six to eight inches (16 to 20 centimeters) deep and at least 100 feet (30 meters) away from natural waters.

Insurance Items
Travel with a first aid kit, map, compass, whistle and guidebook. Carry extra warm clothing and gloves. Keep high-energy foods like hard candies, chocolate, dried fruit, energy bars or liquids accessible. Don't overload yourself so you can be prepared for emergencies.

Getting Lost
Stay calm and try to remember how you got to your present location. Look for familiar landmarks, trails or streams. If you are injured, near exhaustion or it is dark, it is best to stay where you are; someone may be looking for you. If you decide to go on, do it slowly and carefully. Try to find a high point with a good view and then plan your route of travel. When you find a trail, stay on it. A good tip, if you are still lost, is to follow a drainage or stream downstream.

When backpacking with children, be sure they stay with you or near camp. Discuss what they should do if they become separated. Children should also know the international distress signals and when to use them.

In Case of Injuries
Prevention of injury is the best first aid. Have adequate first aid knowledge and equipment. If you can, treat the injury and make the victim comfortable. Send or signal for help. If you must go for help, leave one person with the injured. If rescue is delayed, seek shelter or make an emergency shelter. Don't move until help arrives unless there is more danger in remaining where you are. Use extreme caution in moving the injured.

Dehydration
Adults require a half gallon (two liters) or water daily, and up to a full gallon (four liters) for strenuous activity at high elevations. To avoid dehydration, drink water as often as you feel thirsty. Higher elevations require more water to be drunk than lower elevations.

Hypothermia
Combinations of cold, wetness and wind cause hypothermia and it is aggravated by exhaustion. It is the number one killer of people who recreate outdoors.

Insects
Mosquitoes, Deer Flies and Horse Flies are plentiful during most of the summer. Insect repellent is a must.