I would so much rather under-pitch my readiness and be pleasantly surprised if the adventure is less challenging than anticipated. More pleasure all around. And I will just plain never go into wilderness country without someone who knows it well. I know nothing about it and don’t plan to become an overnight know-it-all. So much more fun to accompany someone smarter who is invested in my learning and loving the place they know well.
I am resolved never to be the cause of some rescuer having to risk life and limb to save me from my stupidity: what I've heard search-and-rescue folks refer to as INS calls (Interfering with Natural Selection). Accidents can happen to anyone, but there's no point in stacking the chips on the side of misfortune, and whatever you spend on guides and/or good equipment is bound to be less than hospital bills, rehab, or funeral expenses.
Especially in Canada, on the dangerous park trails, they like to put up lots of sturdy railings and signs to keep dumb people from dying. The problem is, you might not have the life skills to understand that that railing is there for YOU. It isn’t there to stop skilled outdoors people, who would never go directly to the edge of a 1000 foot drop and stand on loose dirt/ rocks/ gravel, on an overhang of unknown durability, and then turn their backs to the fall and hold up their phone for a selfie.
So these people climb under the barrier.
But they also approach wild buffalo to hug them and offer grizzly bears food to try to get them to eat out of their hands. I wonder if they’re the same people that leave their dogs in cars during the summer.
I'm sure you're familiar with the Yellowstone "tourons." My dad worked as a Park Ranger out there many decades ago and people did dumb things then, too. However now everyone sees wildlife as a pet. Well, not after it takes your arm off at the elbow, you won't.
I would so much rather under-pitch my readiness and be pleasantly surprised if the adventure is less challenging than anticipated. More pleasure all around. And I will just plain never go into wilderness country without someone who knows it well. I know nothing about it and don’t plan to become an overnight know-it-all. So much more fun to accompany someone smarter who is invested in my learning and loving the place they know well.
Well said Nancy. And so true. I feel exactly the same way.
I am resolved never to be the cause of some rescuer having to risk life and limb to save me from my stupidity: what I've heard search-and-rescue folks refer to as INS calls (Interfering with Natural Selection). Accidents can happen to anyone, but there's no point in stacking the chips on the side of misfortune, and whatever you spend on guides and/or good equipment is bound to be less than hospital bills, rehab, or funeral expenses.
Triple hear hear, Jan. Me too.
Especially in Canada, on the dangerous park trails, they like to put up lots of sturdy railings and signs to keep dumb people from dying. The problem is, you might not have the life skills to understand that that railing is there for YOU. It isn’t there to stop skilled outdoors people, who would never go directly to the edge of a 1000 foot drop and stand on loose dirt/ rocks/ gravel, on an overhang of unknown durability, and then turn their backs to the fall and hold up their phone for a selfie.
So these people climb under the barrier.
But they also approach wild buffalo to hug them and offer grizzly bears food to try to get them to eat out of their hands. I wonder if they’re the same people that leave their dogs in cars during the summer.
I'm sure you're familiar with the Yellowstone "tourons." My dad worked as a Park Ranger out there many decades ago and people did dumb things then, too. However now everyone sees wildlife as a pet. Well, not after it takes your arm off at the elbow, you won't.