Health & Hygiene

You can probably guess what I’m going to say. It’s DEERE season again and you should wear blaze orange if you plan to hike in areas where hunters (or heavy equipment operators guarding their backhoes) are likely to be present. Blaze Orange Clothing …

I took a refresher course on Wilderness First Aid last weekend and we had a brainstorming session in class about how all the things in your backpack can be used for multiple purposes in a first aid incident. We never focus on …

How can you prevent bug bites without using DEET or other insect repellents, stay cool during day hikes or backpacking trips, and protect your skin from sun burn? Easy – wear long pants, a long sleeve shirt and a hat when you hike. …

I don’t carry any hand sanitizer on day hikes and backpacking trips. I used to, but it’s pretty pointless when you get right down to it. Yeah, I’d slather Purell on after I filtered stream water or went to the bathroom, or before I …

Do you snore on backpacking or camping trips? Does it disturb the people you’re with or others who share the same campsite with you? If so, you need to take responsibility for your ‘condition’ and reduce its impact on others. Here are …

The most important thing you can bring on a hike is knowledge. Scenario You and a buddy are hiking through the woods and you come across another hiker who’s lying on his back below a huge boulder and moaning. What should you …

I took part in a rescue effort last week on Mt Washington, trying to revive a man who collapsed on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, we believe from a heart attack. There were about a dozen of us altogether, performing CPR and assisted …

Most people who call 911 don’t start CPR and assisted breathing after someone goes into cardiac arrest, even when someone explains how to do it on the phone. That’s a shocking revelation, since CPR and assisted breathing is the BEST thing you …

The main reason I bring a camping towel on a backpacking trips is to wipe down the outside of a wet tent or shelter before packing it away for the day.  It’s a neat little trick to cut down on extra water …

  Ibuprofen (trademarked at Advil or Motrin) is so popular amongst hikers and climbers that it is often called Vitamin I. Ibuprofen is an over the counter pain reliever and anti-inflammatory that can speed recovery during training or the main event. Muscle …

The best toilet paper for backpacking is a paper towel. Regular toilet paper just doesn’t stand up to the humidity. I like using Brawny paper towels: they’re scored down the middle of each sheet, so it’s easy to tear off a half …

Given the number of non-hikers that ask me about ticks and Lyme disease, it appears that either the awareness of tick-borne illness or it’s territorial spread are increasing, or both. According to the CDC, cases of Lyme disease are concentrated in the …

Everyone knows that if you step on a rusty nail, you should get a tetanus shot. But people don’t realize that tetanus can be contracted in other ways. The fact is, that any puncture wound, especially a deep one, can be infected …

If you’re not careful, it’s very easy to become dehydrated in the winter particularly if you’re engaged in sports like snowshoeing, backcountry skiing or mountaineering. Under these conditions, it’s not enough to be on the lookout for yellow pee; you need to …