[at-l] This weekends hiking

[shane@theplacewithnoname.com (Shane Steinkamp)]

> We did have an unfortunate accident, one of the hikers feel and
> broke her wrist.  I had thought of this hike as a jaunt in the
> park and did not bring my first aid kit and neither did the other
> co-leader.  Made me stop and think.  I will always carry my first aid
> kit.  I will always look at the map and plan bail out points.  I will
> take a refresher in my first aid training.

Don't say 'unfortunate accident'.  Say it was a fortunate accident.  All
involved learned a valuable lesson, and nobody died.  That lesson
(fortunately!) may save somebody someday...

I have gotten some pretty strange looks while dayhiking with a much larger
pack than 'necessary'.  "Why are you carrying your tarp if we aren't staying
over night?!?  Why are you carrying that extra water?"  Whenever I think I
should ditch some stuff, since "I'm only going a few miles and we aren't
going to be out overnight anyway..." I review some old-dead-guy wisdom:

Wan-sung says: “Whether gathering in or letting go, he always has his
equipment with him; able to kill and able to give life, the balance is in
his hands. Mundane toils, demons, and outsiders all rely on his direction;
the mountains and rivers of the whole earth are his playthings."

Shane