Travel

Etiquette: the conduct or procedure required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be observed in social or official life.

Probably when you hear the word etiquette, you think of something like a tea party or special dinner. How often would you think of etiquette when it comes to hiking? This post will get you up to speed on all the tips Ranger Bryn Harmer gave us just for that! I had never thought of some of these. Maybe a few will surprise you too.

• Hike quietly. Speak in low voices and turn your cell phone down, if not off. Enjoy the sounds of nature and let others do the same. Also, since reception for service is so bad in the mountains, you might want to put your phone in airplane mode to conserve your battery. You can still take pictures with it, but your battery won’t get drained by searching for service.
•  If taking a break, move off the trail a little ways to allow others to pass by unobstructed.
• Don’t toss your trash – not even biodegradable items such as banana peels. It is not good for animals to eat non-native foods and who wants to look at your old banana peel while it ever-so-slowly decomposes?I know I am guilty of this. I have always looked at it as compost. I throw it into the woods and not on the side of the trail but Bryn pointed out we don’t need things growing in the woods that aren’t supposed to be there. You don’t want something sprouting and growing that might harm the woods.
• If you packed it in, pack it back out.
• Hikers going downhill yield to those hiking uphill. Everyone yields to horses. They always have the right of way. Please be courteous and don’t spook the horse or rider. Mountain bikes are supposed to yield to hikers but if you see how those guys fly in Paris Mountain you might want to get out of their way! I personally feel they have a little more right of way because their feet are hooked in to the pedals. But better to just be courteous all the way around.
• When bringing a pet on a hike, be sure to keep it on a leash and under control. Don’t forget to pack out pet waste as well. I think even on an extendable leash it is not supposed to be any more than 6 feet.
• Don’t feed the wildlife. While many animals stay hidden, others are not so shy. Giving these creatures food only disrupts their natural foraging habits. And it makes them people friendly and this could be bad for everyone.
• Leave what you find. The only souvenirs a hiker should come home with are photographs and happy memories. (And maybe an improved fitness level!)
• When relieving yourself outdoors, be sure to do so 200 feet away from the trail and away from any water sources. Follow Leave No Trace principles.
• Walk through the mud or puddle and not around it, unless you can do so without going off the trail. Widening a trail by going around puddles, etc. is bad for trail sustainability and in some cases stepping off the trail means stepping onto native plants that might be rare. Just because it looks easy to cut the corner off of a switchback doesn’t mean it is a good idea. Help preserve the trail by staying on it.
• If hiking in a group, don’t take up the whole width of the trail; allow others to pass.

What a great time we had! As you can see from all I’ve shared, Bryn’s talk was wonderful and full of great information. After the talk we had lunch on the picnic tables near the entrance to the trail. Then we stopped and filled out our registration form before we began out hike. There was lots of lovely scenery and of course the beautiful falls, which you can see in the pic behind me. I highly recommend visiting this and all of the state parks in SC! Let me know where you want to plan a hike to, maybe I can join you too!

“You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So… get on your way!” ~ Oh The Places You’ll Go by Dr Suess

This is the third installment of all the great info we got from Ranger Bryn Harmer a few weeks ago. Here’s a fun picture Bryn shared with us of her and her hiking companions!

Last post, I talked about what to put in your backpack for your hike. Today’s post I’m going to talk to you about your destination and your actual hike.

Here are a few questions you need to start with:

How far do you want to hike? Long, short, overnight?
How hard do you want it to be? Hilly, level, in the forest?
What do you want to see? Rivers, waterfalls, or everything?

Hiking Protocols!

In the State of South Carolina all State Parks will have a registration box at the beginning of the trail, usually at a little wooden kiosk. PLEASE REGISTER!!!! This is very important for 2 different reason – First and foremost it is to help the rangers track you down if you are off hiking and don’t come back. They check the cars in the lot against the registration form. If you haven’t filled out a form they won’t come look for you! However, if you have filled out your form and your aren’t back then they can come find you. This is super important especially if you are hiking alone. Sure some trails might be busier than others but don’t chance it. Bryn said that they only have about a 40% compliance rate! No other state requires or offers this, this is one instance we are leading the head of the pack!

The second reason, and also important, is to help get funding for things that the park needs. If the park can say we can show where we have XX# of people per year that visit the park so we need to have new toilets or more parking or better trail up keep or whatever this is how they can back up what they are saying.

I have never gone to a state park in PA to hike. We had a cabin in the mountains when I was little and I remember walking through the woods but that was about it. I don’t know if other states get as much traffic in their parks but our parks stay busy.

I was in Table Rock a few weeks ago for the first time in a long time (part of my mission to get ready for Nepal). I made it to the very top of Table Rock for the first time ever and almost to the top of Pinnacle. I used to go to table Rock a lot just never made it to the very top before. 6ish hours of hike was fun, though I was ready to be on to my next project…relaxing on the couch as it turned out! LOL! Any who I digress, the park was completely PACKED when we were leaving. We had gotten there around 8:30 AM and finished around 2 or 3. I am so glad we went super early. People were lined up every where for parking and there was a line to get in at 3 in the afternoon! So please, please, please fill out this form. Only 1 form per group is needed and will help the park a lot. I had never paid much attention because I always thought it was more for people going on the really long hikes but now that I know it is also a way to help them get funding, I will fill out a form each time.

It is always a good idea though to also tell a friend where you are going and what time you estimate your hike will take. This should be the person that is your emergency contact on the form. Not someone in your group!

A few weeks ago 2 sisters were out hiking and had gotten lost. Their Mom called 911 at 11pm in a panic. She had no idea where they were going hiking, let alone what trail. She couldn’t even say if it was NC or SC! The girls didn’t register either so no one knew where to start looking. They spent the night out in the woods. Luckily they finally found their way to a road but it was a scary experience for them I am sure. I’m sure they’ll be a lot more careful about leaving their plan with someone after this.

Another great thing that has changed in SC lately: you can now text 911 for emergency help. You can also try to text a friend for them to call 911 for you. I believe you can also text the park but you would have to check with the park where you are hiking. Sometimes though in the mountains you won’t have service available, so again don’t count on this to be your only means of getting help, register your hike and leave your plan with a friend.

Please use these tips to plan your hike to be as safe as possible. Next time I want to share with you a few tips on handling the trail as politely as possible.

I’m continuing all the great hiking information I got from Ranger Bryn Harmer.

This First Aid Kit would be handy to have on hand pretty much any time, not just for hiking. Here’s the list she gave us:

Personal First Aid and Survival Kit – this can simply be put in a ziplock baggy.

1 – Plastic bag, zip lock, quart size, for kit. I think you may need a gallon instead of quart, but gather your supplies and you can decide how big of a ziplock to use.
4 – Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen or aspirin tablets
4 – Antacid tablets
2 – Antiseptic cleansing pads
1 – Antiseptic ointment. For those of us that use more essential oils than OTC stuff – be sure to have Lavender and Tea Tree in your kit, maybe even peppermint if you are like me and get a lot of headaches. See my post here for how these essential oils can help you.
6 – Band aids, various sizes
1 – Candle, long burning – My first thought was why do I need a candle? Well it is so you don’t waste all of your matches trying to start a fire!!! So you simply use 1 match, light your candle and start your fire from there.
2 – Cotton swabs, non sterile
1 – Duct tape, 5-10 ft.
1 – Leaf bag, large – These can be used as a rain poncho, shelter, stuff with leaves and grass to have a bed off the ground, etc.
8 – Matches in a waterproof container
1 – Moleskin
2 – Quarters for phone call – LOL doubt you will need this! But did you know in the state of SC you can actually now text 911? So if you get lost or hurt in the mountains you can text for help. There will be more on this in another post.
1 – Razor blade, single edge safety type
1 – Roller gauze bandage
2 – Safety pins, large
1 – Splinter forceps, tweezers
1 –  Space type blanket or space type sleeping bag
1 –  Towelette, clean
1 –  Whistle
1-2 pr of disposable gloves

There were 2 other items that I thought were awesome that would be great to just have that the rangers use in their rescue kits.

One is a product called Quick Clot – This is to be used on a major wound that you can’t get to stop bleeding. According to Bryn, it will burn like hell but when you need it to stop a wound it is awesome.

The other item is called Sam Splint – This is made out of aluminum and can be molded to splint and hold a broken bone. I thought this was super cool. I think it’s a great item to have at home even if you are not hiking. In the picture above Bryn is fitting the Sam Splint against my arm to show us how to use it. It will be folded up in a small squarish shape, and you just slowly unfold it to fit to the body part you need to support. Then wrap with the roller gauze bandage you have in your First Aid Kit. The splint is lightweight, and easy to use.

Now that I’ve got you packed for your hike, next post let’s work on where you will go.