Monthly Archives: January 2020

Bushwack, Rock Climbing

Smithsonian Butte – SW Utah – Zion NP Surrounding Area

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There are only so many times that you can drive by an inspiring formation before you finally stop the car and just have to climb it. Smithsonian Butte looms high over Apple Valley in SW Utah and I would see it regularly coming to and from Arizona. Every time I would see it, I would just stare and wonder what it would be like to climb, what it would be like to stand on the summit. The peak boasts a very loose 5.6 pitch of climbing, an easy yet very exposed ledge traverse, and a few low fifth class steps and a ton of scrambling and route finding to gain the summit. I finally made it a priority and went for a summit bid on a cold January morning. Here is the account of Izzie’s and my climb.

Smithsonian Butte from the side
Map Overview (Click to enlarge)

Cold and chilly the alarm blasted just before sunrise, and soon after coffee, breakfast, and feet on the ground bundled up we headed for a ridge on the southeast side of the butte. There is no real trail to the mountain so the track is a matter of choosing the best grade to the base of the climb. We side hilled, scrambled up a few cliff breaks, and gained the first step which is guarded by a canyon on the left (west) and a small hill on the right (east) as we headed north towards a low saddle. At first the going was pretty easy as we followed cattle, deer, and bighorn sheep tracks, but soon became side hilling until we finally reached the saddle. Cross country trekking is the best way to describe it, dodging cactus, loose rocks, and ankle twisters and the occasional patch of snow.

Cliff bands just out of the parking area to gain the first cliff band
Scrambling up the cliff breaks
Side hilling when Smithsonian Butte peaks over the ridge line

From the saddle we headed northwest through a cliff break until finally gaining the next step which was riddled with juniper trees and sheep tracks. Skirting the north side of the ridge extending south east from the butte’s exposed cliff faces we trod along through snow patches and broken rock until it was evident that skirting on flat ground would no longer be advantageous. It was time to gain elevation aiming for the most southeast cliffs protruding up from the red earth surrounding. After careful scrambling, picking through cliff bands, we found a line that worked and finally reached the south east end of the butte.

Climbing up from the saddle, finally views of the butte!

Hoof prints and side hilling towards the Butte

We skirted northwest on the base of the north face of the butte carefully trekking as we did to not fall off a drop to the north until finally finding a break where a climbable chute became evident. Still a few hundred feet below the start of the climb, we started slowly working our way up the crumbling and snow covered steps making a few class 3/4 moves, until finally we found a large ledge where we started to rope up. Roped up and ready I scrambled up into the chute which was sandy, loose, and vegetated. The climbing was easy to begin with and I stuffed in cams where I could. I slung a small sandstone column that was the size of my calf. I knocked on the column, hearing a somewhat hollow sound, hoped it would hold in a fall knowing it probably wouldn’t, and kept climbing. Up I went finding a good crack just below the crux of the route that I stuffed a BD#1 cam into . . . I kept moving it around trying to find the best placement, until finally I got the damn thing stuck! Woops, I decided to grab it on the descent, climbed up a sandy ledge which I wiped off and threw down small loose boulders to make room for a foot and mantled over. I slung another questionable sandstone column, and made some sand covered slab moves out and climbers left until finally reaching a small tree belay with left over rope from previous retreats.

Transitioning to the north side of Smithsonian from the SouthEast ridge
Skirting north, finding the 5th class chute
Looking up at the chute from the cliff breaks below
Getting closer!
Climbing 1/2 way up pitch 1

Izzie soon climbed up, confirming that my cam was stuck as hell, and met me at the belay. We were still in the shade of the butte’s north face, so climbing quickly became priority. Up another 15’ and I gained a notch on the south eastern ridgeline just above a large ledge where the airy traverse awaited. Knowing there would be some hella rope drag, but not wanting to make a ton of pitches I climbed on. I traversed the airy ledge, slung a sturdy old juniper, then climbed up 15-20’ to set up a belay on a large ledge on the south side in the sun. “Belay on!” I yelled as Izzie climbed on cleaning all the gear as she went. “Wow, that’s exposed!” she said, rounding the corner and seeing the drop-off. I pulled hard on the rope, pulling it through the rope maze I’d created around the high friction sandstone corner, but soon enough she joined me at the belay.

Traverse Pitch (photo borrowed from http://www.13ergirl.com/smithsonian/smithsonian.html)
Traverse Pitch (photo borrowed from http://www.13ergirl.com/smithsonian/smithsonian.html)
End of Traverse Pitch

Up and on through 4th class scrambling I found the end of the sustained rope climbing at a large tree where a rap station awaited. That tree would later be used to rappel the loose chimney we’d initially climbed up. We dropped our gear here and scrambled up the loose rising plateau. Skirting north behind a juniper, we found a slot that climbed up to the next ledge. Upon the exit, we found a 5th class scramble with a few loose blocks at the exit. Moving carefully, using a few good foot holds and finally ledges, we exited the 20’ chute with a breath of ease.

Rap Tree – End of the technical climbing
Scramble up from the rap tree, go right, behind the juniper to find a slot which leads to the 5th class chimney

The 4th class slot that leads to the 5th class chute

5th class chimney

Continuing up a few more 4th class breaks we finally saw a small saddle that divided our ridge scramble from the final summit scramble. We down climbed, slowly worked across the loose traverse until looking up towards one loose 4th class and two 5th class obstacles. We climbed tediously on the sandy surfaces, spotting each other, finding the best line until popping out surprised to find a medium tree with webbing and a rap ring at the base. I wished I had a rope with us as I glanced back down the two short but exposed 5th class climbs we’d just ascended. But no matter, we only had 3rd class scrambles between us and the summit! “One, two, three . . . “ we chanted as we simultaneously touched the highest point of the summit with big smiles and hungry stomachs.

4th class and 5th class scrambles to 3rd class summit block

Scramble on, little loose, little sandy

Rap tree, final 3rd class scarmable up to the summit block

Summit block!
Summit!
Walking on edges =)

Views taken in, summit registry signed (There were like 10 summit parties in the last 10 years!), and lunch consumed, we began back the way we came, down climbing all the obstacles carefully and snapping pictures of the golden peaks in the distance.

Rappel number 1
Rappel number 2

Finally we reached the tree where we had dropped our gear and got ready for the rappel. There were 2 raps, 90’ each. The first rap tree had a white 6’ rope tied to it with a rap ring. The sheath was a little sun damaged, but the inner rope core was intact. I rapped off the north side of the ridge, back into the chute to the tree which ended the top of the 1st pitch. I clipped into the rap ring connected to rope left behind at the base of the small tree. The rope there was in similar condition, sun damaged on the outside, but the core was intact. I yelled “Off rope”. Izzie soon rappelled; we collected our rope and set up the next rappel. Down I went, pausing quickly at the stuck cam with my nut tool in hand, scrubbing, pulling, and levering on the lobes until, to my relief, it finally popped free. Finishing the rap, so glad I had my cam, I was soon back on the starting ledge, and Izzie was soon to follow. Back in the butte’s shadow we collected our gear, put on our approach shoes back on (thank god), and quickly retraced our steps, down climbing and side hilling, until finally, 8.5 hours later we were back at the van headed for home. What a great day and an awesome summit!

View back down the valley from the cliff break where the SE ridge reaches away from the butte
peek a boo!
Sunset glow on the surrounding peaks

HIKE/CLIMB INFORMATION:

CLIMB/HIKE STATS:

  • Weather: Hi 40s, Low 20s, Sunny
  • Water: 2 liters
  • Food: PB&J, 2 Cliff bar, 1 Nature Valley Granola bar, Trail mix
  • Time: 8.5 hours
  • Distance: 3 mile RT
  • Accumulated Gain: 1,600 feet
  • Climbing Rating: 5.6 Trad
  • Number of Pitches: 2

GEAR:

  • Blitz Black Diamond 28 Pack
  • Black Diamond Helmet
  • Black Diamond Guide Solution Harness
  • 4 Black Diamond screw carabiner
  • 4 Phantom DMM screw carabiner
  • 6mm Accessory Chord – Anchor
  • Black Diamond Camelot C4 Cams – Single Rack – 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 3, 4
  • Black Diamond Offset Nut Set
  • 8 Alpha Trad DMM quickdraws – Alpine draws
  • Black Diamond ATC Guide
  • 70 meter 9.8mm Rope
  • Webbing/7mmCord for personal anchor
  • 120 cm sling (x2)
  • Arc’teryx Chalk Bag
  • SPOT Tracker

CLOTHING:

  • Smartwool Base Layer
  • Wool Icebreaker Shirt
  • Black Diamond Sun Hoody
  • Black Diamond Wool Hoody
  • Black Diamond Climbing Pants
  • Darn Tough Medium Wool Sox
  • Nike running shoes
  • La Sortiva TC Pro Climbing Shoes
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Hiking Philosophy, Rock Climbing, Trad Climbing

The Most Deadly Class – The Relationship of Risk and Rock

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As I continue seeking adventure, it seems as though my eyes continue to seek out routes that are more difficult, not just physically and mentally, but also vertically. As climbing continues to steepen, and the difficulty increase, so does the classification of the route. As posting continues I will be mixing in both hiking treks and climbing adventures so I wanted to define a few terms to ensure that my posts are understood . . . “The more you know”.

Pushing further into the unknown – Brendan Lee – AK

Before I jump into definitions I want to touch on a subject that no one likes to talk about: Death. Dying is an inevitable part of life, but its timing can be greatly influenced by the choices and decisions you make with risk management on any adventure. The death zone is considered to be climbing above 30 feet of exposure above the ground. Essentially if you fall, you die from the injuries sustained from such an accident. I will be focusing on deaths due to falls for each route classification as to help define the danger and risk taken in participating in each activity.

Table 1. Route Classifications by Difficulty

Route Classifications
Class 1 Walking an established flat, easy trail, much like a sidewalk.
Class 2 Hiking a steep incline or decline.
Class 3 Scrambling a steep hillside, moderate exposure, and hands are used in climbing.
Class 4 Scrambling up steeper yet, with hands, on exposed faces which the potential of falls that could cause serious or possibly fatal injury. Ropes and rock protection are sometimes used.
Class 5 Free Climbing (Free from Aid): This technical climbing is accomplished using one’s hands and feet on the rock to ascend the route. It is free from any aid such as pulling on a rope or any other protection. Any fall from a Class 5 route would most likely be fatal without protective gear. Rope and rock protection are required.
Class 6 Aid Climbing: This form of technical climbing is used when there is an absence of hand and foot holds for the climber to use to ascend a route. The climber must use aid from pitons, hangers, hooks, and an assortment of gear to ascend the route. Any fall from a Class 6 would most likely be fatal without protective gear. Rope and rock protection are required.
Cartoon Credit: Nathan W Pyle

Class 1-3: Hiking & Easy Scrambling – Most people understand pretty easily Class 1-3 as they have walked, hiked, and scrambled to get to the top of a mountain. There is no gear required for this kind of terrain.

  • Fall occurrence: Low, Death risk: Low, Gear Required: None.
  • Annual Deaths: 5 deaths from falls, 35 total (NPS SAR Data)

Class 4: The Most Deadly Class – Scrambling on fourth class can be very dangerous as the scrambling becomes more vertical and exposure to drop-offs becomes inevitable. The problem lies within knowing when to pull out a rope for technical climbing using fifth class techniques and when to go for it with no ropes. Setting up belay stations, using rock protection, and climbing using fifth class techniques is time consuming and sometimes not worth climbing just 10’ of rock. On the other hand, fourth class can be very exposed and a mistake on easy climbing may leave you falling to your death. Because the nature of fourth class is almost always subjective, it can be the most dangerous leaving the safety protection up to the climber’s discretion rather than a requirement.

Down climbing a 4th / low 5th class face on the Sumner Redwall Crack – Grand Canyon NP
  • Fall occurrence: Med, Death risk: Med-High, Gear Required: None/Subjective.
  • Annual Deaths: 10 (Rocky Mountain Rescue Group 1998-2011)

Class 5: Free Climbing (Free from Aid) – This technical climbing class involves using your own physical power (hands and feet) to ascend a route or rock face from bottom to top. Due to the fact that this form of climbing would certainly result in death in the event of a fall, certain specific gear is used to prevent injury. This form of climbing requires two climbers, a rope, helmet, harness, belay device, quick draws, and some sort of protection. Protection can be either pre-fixed bolts in the rock (Sport Climbing) or traditional gear that can be later removed once the climb is complete (Trad Climbing). The two climbers consist of a leader and a belayer (aka a follower in multi-pitch climbs), which are connected by a rope tied with a knot into harnesses which each climber wears. The belayer uses a belay device connected to their harness which clamps on the rope between the climbers which allows them to slacken (“give”) or tighten (“take”) in the amount of slack in the rope between the two climbers. The belay device also acts as an assistant or stopper in catching their leader in the event of a fall.

Time lapse of the start and end of Pitch 5 on Zoroaster Temple NE Arete – Grand Canyon NP

The leader’s job is to ascend the route, clipping their end of the rope into protection using a quick draw as they ascend. The belayer’s job is to feed rope through the belay device at the same rate as the leader ascends the wall, leaving just the right amount of slack in the rope. Too little slack and the lead climber is hindered and not able to clip into the protection or ascend further by being held back by the tautness in the rope: this is called “short roping”. Giving out too much slack in the rope could result in the leader hitting the ground or “decking” due to the excess slack in the event of a fall. If the belayer executes their job well, the leader would only fall a distance twice the length of rope above their last piece of protection (plus a little length from rope stretch and from slack in the rope between the two climbers).

Protection types: There are 2 types of rock protection including fixed bolts and traditional gear and the climbing style associated with each is called Sport Climbing or Trad Climbing respectively.

Sport Climbing – Fixed bolts are used when there are not a lot of options to use natural features in the rock to protect the climber with traditional gear. In this case the first ascent climber establishes the route by drilling bolts with hangers attached into the rock at either evenly spaced or hard portions of the route where a fall could occur, to protect the climber from falling. As the leader climbs they use quick-draws to clip one end into these permanent hangers to connect the other end to their climbing rope.

Quick-draw                                                       Bolt & Hanger

Clipping a rope into a bolted hanger with a quick-draw

Trad Climbing – Traditional gear utilizes natural features in the rock to create a temporary anchor point that can later be removed by the follower. Traditional gear includes a variety of both passive and active gear. Passive gear such as nuts, monkey fists, and slings has no moving parts and is put into place to fit naturally occurring rock features. Active protection includes cams, ball nuts, big bros, and other pieces of equipment that have moving parts i.e. spring loaded lobes that expand into naturally formed features. Active gear has a larger range of versatility for different sized cracks in comparison to passive gear. Once put into place, the leader once again uses quick-draws to clip one end into the trad gear  and  connect the other end through their climbing rope. As you can imagine, carrying both trad gear and quick draws up a route can become very heavy which is why some climbers prefer Sport Climbing to Trad Climbing.

Nuts (passive) and Cams (active) traditional gear 

Climbing grades in 5th class are divided by difficulty starting at the easiest 5.1 and going to hardest 5.15. Once the level of 5.10 is achieved the grades are subdivided into 4 more sub-ratings suffixed with letters a,b,c,d respectively increasing with difficulty (Example: 512a is harder than 5.11d). The hardest rock climbing in the world at the moment is a 5.15d (video) which pushes the abilities of the human body to its absolute limit to climb a route free of aid.

  • Fall occurrence: High, Death risk: Low-Med, Gear Required: Helmet, Harness, Rope, and Rock Protection.
  • Annual Deaths: 5 (NPS SAR Data)

Class 6: Aid Climbing – Aid climbing comes into play where there are no holds or features that can be used to ascend a route with just your hands and feet. A crack system could shrink too tight to fit your fingers in, however you can still utilize a hook or hanger connected to a webbing ladder which the leader can step up into to ascend the route. The roped climbing techniques from Class 5 climbing are still utilized (lead climber, belayer, rope, harness, helmets, etc), however the protection changes to hangers, hooks, and pitons (protection such as nuts and cams can still be utilized). The leader uses these anchor points to pull on with a ladder system to ascend the route. Instead of only relying on the gear in the case of a fall, it now becomes the vehicle through which the leader climbs. There are 2 types of aid gear, removable and fixed. Gear such as hooks, hangers, nuts, and cams are only temporary anchors and can be removed cleanly. Gear such as pitons and copperheads are hammered into the rock and left behind as a permanent anchor point. Unlike bolts in sport climbing, pitons are like a wedge that are hammered in quickly but are not as reliable in the long term as fixed bolts are.

Pitons
Copperheads
Hooks and hangers 
Aid route on Mount Lemmon – Photo Credit: T.C. Bukowski

Aid Climbing grades range from A1 to A5, and from C1 to C5. ‘A’ grades refer to anything that will need a hammer (placing pitons or copperheads), whilst ‘C’ grades are used if the pitch can be climbed without using a hammer, i.e. ‘clean’.

  • Fall occurrence: High, Death risk: Low-Medium, Gear Required: Helmet, Harness, Rope, and Rock Protection.
  • Annual Deaths: Included within Class 5 deaths: average of 5 per year (NPS SAR Data)

Table 2. Climbing fatalities by climbing activity (1998–2011) in Boulder Colorado

Activity Type Number of Fatalities
Un-roped climbing 9 (39%)
Lead fall 5 (21.5%)
Rappelling 3 (13%)
Anchor failure 2 (8.5%)
Rock fall 2 (8.5%)
Mountaineering 2 (8.5%)
Total 23

Exposure: Cliff Edges and Drop-offs – When you hear someone say “That’s an airy traverse” or “It’s an exposed walk” they are referring to the likelihood of coming close to a cliff edge where there are large drop-offs. You can encounter exposure on Class 1-3 pretty often but in most places these edges are protected by handrails to keep everyday hikers safe from going over the edge by accident. Angels Landing in Zion National Park is known for its exposed cliff edges; however you are only on Class 1-3 during this hike. Exposure in Class 4 and 5 climbing are inherent to the classification thus already come with a higher risk of injury when falling from one of these routes.

Exposure on Nankoweap Trail (Class 2/3) – Grand Canyon NP
Exposure on Angels Landing (Class 2/3) – Zion NP

Conclusion: The bottom line here is that it’s up to you to be responsible for your own safety. The level of danger in climbing can be assessed by looking at the likelihood of a fall vs the risk of death if a fall were to occur. As you move into class 4 from class 3 you transition from a low likelihood of a fall to a high likelihood of a fall which may or may not result in death. This uncertainty and the lack of ropes for protection makes this the most deadly class with respect to falls, even though it is not the most physical or mentally difficult climbing. The fact remains that the death is preventable if you rope up when needed.

Most people in the general public are afraid of exposure to heights and drop-offs. It’s that queasy feeling that rises up in our stomachs and send tingles up our spine. It’s our brain telling our body that there is imminent danger and you need to be on high alert! You can make this go away with practice and time. This is how rock climbers, window washers, skyscraper construction workers, and other people in high exposure activities look calm and collected. It doesn’t mean the danger isn’t there, it just means the skills they have developed help decrease the risk of a fall. You can decrease the likelihood of a fall by increasing your rock climbing/scrambling skills thus becoming more comfortable and competent on vertical terrain. However, don’t let your ego and confidence be your only guiding principles, listen to your gut and make smart decisions. Once you do gain competence with climbing skills, rock climbing can be some of the most rewarding, enjoyable, and exhilarating experiences as you play an active role in the relationship of risk and rock.

Be safe, and remember, have a little fun!

Obviously the definitions for the route classifications are only a light overview to understand some of the terms used in my blog posts and are not meant to be an all encompassing document as they only scratch the surface. I also do not include statistics to compare the number of hikers vs climbers in relation to falls in the mindset that any fatality is unacceptable. There are so many other topics that could be touched on here: Free Soloing, Rope Soloing, Ice Climbing, Bouldering, etc but that’s for a different discussion.

For further reading please check out:

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Hiking Philosophy

Backcountry Route Finding and the Cairn Controversy

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Back country route finding skills are critical in finding your way through the mountains safely on less traveled paths. Most trails are well maintained and obvious, but as you venture further into the unknown, the skills required keeping you safe change. It’s not just about mindlessly clicking along at 3mph, keeping on trail and only monitoring your water and food. Routes as opposed to trails can be faint, unpredictable, and hard to follow. Good route finding involves proper research, looking at maps and GPX tracks, noticing signs of foot travel, locating cairn markers, and self rescue.

Before I jump into the meat of it, why care? Why not tread wherever you like?! Good route finding not only keeps you safe and on track, but also saves the plants and animals in the region from unnecessary harm. Some landscapes take a long time to recover once trampled. By trampling on desert soil crust (which is alive), and stepping on plants native animal species rely on, both set precedence for future trekkers to follow in your footsteps and cause lasting damage that may have a farther reach than you think. Sometimes off trailing is warranted, but just try to tread lightly and think about the lasting impact your footsteps have on a landscape and its inhabitants.  

Research and Planning

Do some research before you go. See if anyone has completed your track before, and if so read about the hard to navigate areas and study them well. Look at topo maps, make a track, understand possible cliff drop-offs, dead ends, and places that could be dangerous to foot traffic or places where it could be  easy to get turned around. For some more rugged tracks where hitting the right notch in a ridge line is important, pictures of the route can be helpful, especially in climbing or scrambling routes.

Also in your research, be sure to understand the land ownership. Are there any restrictions? Special permits? Trespassing laws? Are you trekking on National Forest, National Park, National Monument, BLM, State, Private, State Land, or Indian Reservation? Each land ownership comes with different rules and regulations you can reach out to the appropriate administrator (Private land owner, Indian Affairs Committee, National Park Back country Office, BLM Office, etc) in the area to make sure you are legal in your venture. Be sure to know what you are getting into before you go.

Example: Here is a photo from a trip report on Mt Williamson which gives a visual line of the approach for the summit. This can be crucial info in safely finding your way to the top!

Mt Williamson Approach
Back country Permits for the GCNP

GPS Tracks + Maps

Always carry two forms of navigation (GPS + maps or pictures of your route). Global Positioning Systems (GPS) can be very helpful in following your intended path; however you must be able  to not completely rely on them. A GPS track (GPX is the file type) is only meant to get you in the general vicinity and it’s up to you to find the path and follow it. GPS track drawn improperly can also lead you off cliff sides and over untrackable terrain, so be careful when creating them. There are a number of devices for using GPS tracks such as Garmin and even phone Apps, such as LocusPro. If you are using your GPS you should have a paper map and compass as your secondary for any trek.

CalTopo is a great resource for manually drawing GPX tracks with almost any map layer you would like. It also has land ownership layers so you can understand the regulations of the area you plan to trek in.

Reading the Route

Being able to read the signs of a route are critical to following the path. Patted down grass, broken tree limbs, compacted down dirt, dirt smudges from feet on rock faces, shiny tree limbs or rock features from continual contact with sweaty hands, vee shaped indents in a riverbank, obvious notches or breaks in a ridgeline, slight discoloration of the ground in contrast to its surroundings… seeing that path of least resistance across a landscape can guide your way. The more you practice these techniques, the better you get at reading landscape like a book and keeping yourself on track. Remember that not every track may be your route, for example natural washouts from water runoff and animal tracks will leave an imprint on a landscape, but doesn’t necessarily mean they are the right path. Think of this like practicing to be a tracker, read the signs, know the way. Some signs can be very obvious, like a cairn.

Sometimes faint goat tracks can be used to turn into trails

Here are a few examples of signs that you’re on the right track: indents in the rocks, impressions in the dirt, even spray paint from an old Via Ferrata route, and of course cairns.

The Cairn Controversy

A cairn is a small rock stack that someone left behind like a breadcrumb trail to help guide future trekkers to find their way. The challenge here becomes when a cairn violates leave no trace, and instead of being a useful tool to guide trekkers through a route, it takes away from experiencing nature. Cairns are not needed on very established trails where is it very obvious where to go and are trekked by thousands of people per year. Establishing a cairn on a well marked trail is discouraged by all the park services across the states, and even though they can be pretty, they aren’t necessary. The exception here is when you are traveling on a route, not a trail, and sometimes cairns can be critical in saving a life, keeping trekkers on route and keeping them from getting lost.

Cairns getting out of hand

Self Rescue – Getting Lost in the Backcountry

Now you’ve done your research, know the general neighborhood of where you are going, let’s start trekking! The biggest challenge sometimes is when you have lost the trail and there is no more sign of it. Your padded grass, cairns, and any sign of a route have all vanished leaving you in wonder of where to go. There is a simple solution to fix this.

TURN BACK. This very simple rule has saved me so many times.  Most people want to push forward and heroically find the path once again. Save yourself a lot of trouble and just turn around and go back the way you came until you find the last notable sign (like a cairn) that you are on route. Start searching for the next sign and often you will find where you went wrong and get back on the right track. If you see that many people have made the same mistake you have (by show of footprints), sometimes it’s good to barricade off the side trek with a rock line or sticks to ensure future trekkers don’t make the same mistake. Before you do this, be absolutely sure that what you are blocking off isn’t another track.

In the worst of cases and you are utterly lost and your maps and GPS navigation have failed you, you can rely on a SPOT tracker, InReach, or other forms of signals to bring rescuers to your aid. Surviving in the wild is a different discussion all together.Conclusions

Be smart, plan your trek, and understand the requirements of the journey you’re about to embark on. Watch for trail signs, use your intuition, stay on track, and make good judgment when boldly going into the unknown. Stays safe out there guys, and never stop exploring!

References:

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