Trekking however, requires a bit of preparation to make the activity more enjoyable.
Follow this guide for your next hiking trip.
Plan Your Safe Hiking Vacation
By: Ken Snodin
Most of the outdoor survival situations that occur can be prevented with a little preparation and planning. A survival situation is something that can happen to anyone, regardless of his or her experience or expertise in hiking. Survival situations don’t always arise because someone is inexperienced or reckless. If you want to have the best time you can on your hiking vacation, while keeping yourself and your family as safe as possible, there certain steps you can take.
First and most important, be sure to leave a travel plan with someone at home. A travel plan lists the possible locations you expect to cover while on your hiking vacation. It does not have to be a detailed list. You can use a map and just mark the spots on it where you plan to be. If you leave a travel plan, then searchers will have an idea of where to look for you if you become lost.
Second, always carry a few basic items with you in case you have to spend the night on the trail. Take a garbage bag, a lighter, a whistle, a pocketknife, and a water bottle. This is the minimum number of essential items you should bring with you whether you are hiking for a day or for a week or longer. These items address the basic needs from shelter to water and heat. Depending on your outdoor activity, level of skill, and the climate you plan to hike in, you may need to carry more extensive equipment.
Third, be sure to pack something you can turn into a shelter quickly. A garbage bag is an example of such an item. It can be easily made into a shelter. Just cut a slit in the middle of the closed end and pull it over your head. This is a great solution to the problem, and a bag is easy to pack in a pocket. It only costs a few pennies, and it may save your life. Hypothermia can occur even in 50-degree weather, so it is critical that you have a way to make a quick shelter should the need arise.
Always carry a wool cap in your vehicle and your daypack. Eighty percent of your body heat leaves you if your head is exposed. You must always protect your head when you are hiking. If you don’t have a cap, use a sock or a bandanna. You can wear anything on your head as long as it keeps your head warm.
Finally, make a habit of carrying at least three fire-making resources with you. Having a lighter is always a good idea, but having only one source of fire making while hiking is inadequate. Lighters may get wet, and then they won’t light anymore. Also carry a spark rod and windproof matches in your pocket or pack. You are like to make a fire in rainy or otherwise bad weather. While this can be tricky, it can be done. Just collect dead twigs from evergreens like pines, firs, or spruces. These trees have a lot of resin so they will catch fire faster than other types of wood.
Article Source: TravelArticleLibrary
Jungle Environmental Survival Training Camp (JEST)
Article Source
MILITARY SURVIVAL TRAINING FOR CIVILIANS
So, you want to be John Rambo? Why not give yourself a little more validity with an overnight survival training class brought to you by the same indigenous people who helped train the U.S. Navy Seals and Special Forces Units how to survive in the Jungle? The United States Military troops learned many survival and warfare tactics from the indigenous Aetas people in these same forests during the Vietnam war. You can now avail yourself of these same techniques and be the talk of your town.
When the U.S. Navy left Subic Bay in 1992 Jungle Environmental Survival Training Camp (JEST) was created to help the Aetas transfer their attention to the civilian population. The U.S. Military camp was converted by SBMA/FSC to an the new JEST Camp, where regular people like you and I can learn survival tactics just like the military tough guys.
SKILLS TO LAST A LIFETIME
Some of the skills you can learn include basic mountaineering, fire-building, wildlife identification and other wilderness survival technique. One of the most interesting demonstrations is when the guide created a full campfire out of nothing more than dried bamboo; no matches or lighters allowed here.
If you choose one of the more extensive programs, you will be taken through the rainforest on an overnight adventure, without food or water with the Aeta guide by your side. He will show you how to go retrieve water from various plant vines and other important survival skills when you have nothing but your trusted knife at your disposal. Then you will be shown how to cook rice using green bamboo, make insect repellant and soap from certain plants and so forth. Learn from the same instructors who taught jungle survival techniques to the bravest of the brave.
YOUR CHOICE OF SURVIVAL TRAINING
There are various program levels shown below. Choose the one that fits your schedule or price range.
Basic Park Visit - Demonstration and visit to Mini-Zoo, Butterfly Garden, Aviary, Insectarium, Spider World
Jungle Tour - Trek into the world famous Subic Bay Forest escorted by instructors of Jest. There you will be shown how to locate sources of portable water, set up traps using only naturally occurring materials, and much more. Length of tour varies from 30 min, 2, 4 or 6 hours based on your preference.
Jungle Overnight - For the more adventurous tourist, this activity allows a special inside look at jungle living. Experience an overnight stay in Subic rainforest just as the soldiers did when the school was first founded. Learn basic survival skills by experiencing them first hand.
MANY MORE THINGS TO DO AT JEST
JEST Camp is more than a survival training camp, it also features many nature-oriented attractions for your enjoyment. The view of the Subic Bay Freeport is reason enough to make the trip to JEST. Below are listed some of the things to see while at JEST:
- Mini Zoo (Native species found in Subic jungle)
- Jest Handicraft and Souvenir Shop
- Insectariums (a collection of various kinds of insects found in Subic and the rest of the country)
- Butterfly Garden (walk amongst bountiful collection of live butterflies)
- View Deck (witness a breathtaking, panoramic view of Subic)
- Amphitheater (under the shadow of the giant trees around)
- Cafeteria (enjoy the delicious taste of natural cooking in bamboo thru " Luto Sa kawayan " way.)
- Spider World (a marvelous collection of many species of live spiders from around the world)
- Aviary (a colorful assortment of birds from the Philippines and other countries)
