Don't be Afraid

I am going to use this column to answer a simple question that came up during one of the survival classes I was teaching here in Winchester. One of the ladies that were present asked what was “out there” that we need to be afraid of. I am assuming the “out there” she was referring to was the woods, and hills of our great outdoors here in Kentucky. The answer is quite simple if you are the type of person who is rational and calm. That answer is nothing.

What I mean is that there are not any deadly species of animal, snake, insect, etc out there that are actively in pursuit of you here in Kentucky. Yes, we do have species of venomous snakes here in Kentucky and they could actually “bite” you, but it is not likely. I have some good friends at the Kentucky Reptile Zoo in Slade who make a living being around snakes. If you have never been to their facility you need to check them out. I don’t know if they still do, but I have attended a couple of their public programs and had many great conversations with them. They are the ones to seek out for information regarding venomous snakes. With that said, I think I can with confidence inform you on how to not get bitten by a snake. Stay away from them, don’t antagonize them, and most importantly just let them be! If you do happen to come across and snake then simply back away from it slowly, and move on.

In all honesty, that is the answer to staying safe while being outdoors. It is also a very ecologically sound way of making your way outdoors. Make it a habit of simply observing wildlife and not trying to have an interaction with it. Those things are around more than you realize and they don’t seek you out, nor do they purpose themselves to come after to you. It would be a nice gesture if you simply did the same.

As for spiders and such, keep the same thing in mind. Let them have their space and they won’t bother you. My family and I had a flower bed for years at our home that had many, many “families” of black widow spiders in them. They like certain spaces to build their webs in and we knew that was so we stayed away from their space, and guess what they stayed away from ours. I could spot one of them out in the flowers and make my way into the flower and bed and they would scatter back to their “home” for safety.

As for other bigger critters like bears and such, again keep in mind that you need to stay away from them. They are not prominent here in Central Kentucky but they are finding their way more prominently in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, many thanks to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife! Two things to keep in mind if you are in bear country are to stay away from their food, and stay away from their babies called cubs. If you keep this in mind, you should on most occasions stay safe.

Poison ivy is always a concern and so is something like stinging nettles too. If you take them time to study your plants, you will always find jewel weed next or near these as well. The juices that come from crushed jewel weed, put onto the skin soon after contact with poison ivy, etc. almost always dilutes it to the point that it has no effect.

The biggest danger in the woods, and the way most people find themselves hurt is to be close contact with a species of animal we all know and love. This species is affectionately known as “the idiot”.

For you see it is this guy and/or gal, who wants to show off, or simply strut their dominance on a critter, or on a rock, or in a wild river that will get you in trouble. As I stated at the beginning of this article, simply stay rational and calm and you should be OK. If you have someone in your group that enjoys being the center of attention by taking ridiculous risks, then avoid being with them in the outdoors. In my opinion, nature and the great outdoors of the fin, fur, feather, and flora variety is one to be observed and marveled at, not necessarily dominated. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good venison steak over beef any day, but there are great ethics and responsibility that go along with hunting as well. (I suppose that will be another column for another day).

So in summary, enjoy what surrounds you! Don’t be afraid. There is much to see, and experiences and memories to make in our great outdoors of Kentucky. I hope to see you on, or off, the trail.

Boys will be boys

The great naturalist Jon Muir once said, “When a man comes to the mountains, he comes home.” I agree, for it is in the mountains, hills, fields and trees that boys get challenged, often get pushed to limits and then find themselves not lacking. Obviously, I am no psychologist but much has been written on these things by those more educated on the psychology and/or sociology of boys becoming men. What I do know is that I just spent the weekend sleeping outside with a low of 3 degrees, climbing through caves, and jumping off very tall cliffs attached to a rope. I was joined by a good friend of mine, and our sons, mine is 11 years old and his is nine. Did I mention we had a blast?

For some of our female readers, most notably my wife (the mother of said eleven year old), this may all sound a bit, crazy. For those of you who think this, you may actually be right. I humbly submit to you that it is a good crazy though. I don’t know about boys growing up to be knights in shining armor. What I do know is that I personally like it (you do not have to agree) that we want our boys to grow up to be men. Part of doing that involves doing somewhat dangerous things such as climbing mountains, dangling precipitously off of ropes, paddling down dangerous rivers, etc. So it was this past weekend when I and my eleven year old son spent the weekend outdoors.

I remember once a trip that my own father took me on. We took a small overnight hike through a part of the Red River Gorge. I will never forget several things on that trip. One was that a small portion of our hike was alongside the side of a cliff in which at any moment I would fall off to my sure death and destruction, but I didn’t. We also only had a sheet of plastic and a very thin sheet blanket to cover us. I surely thought I was going to freeze to death during the night, but I didn’t. I put my shoes next to the fire during the night to dry them out. I kept putting them too close and was instructed by my dad and my uncle to pull them back or they would catch on fire. Well, you know what, I didn’t and they caught fire. I had to hike out barefooted. When we started I did not think I was going to make it out, but guess what I did.

So it went for me, nearly 30 years ago, and so it was for my son last weekend. Challenged and pushed to our self-imposed limits then finding myself, and my son too I suppose, meeting those limits and learning how to push myself through them. I am not saying that going out and climbing Mt. Everest is a good idea. I actually think that is a useless endeavor, but I do understand why they want to do it. Some people have limits and others know those limits and try to get past them. A friend of mine (actually he married into our family) is one of the Special Forces, Army ranger types. You know what I mean, the go-getter A-type personality who meets all obstacles head on and busts on through them. He told me a long time ago after graduating from Ranger school some very good advice. He said that Ranger school was not about learning how to be ten foot tall and bullet-proof. It was learning how to recognize where your limits are and then how to work through, or around them when the need arises.

Nature study and awareness skills can be done the same way. You don’t have to run a zip line, crawl through caves, or other like-minded fun to be pushed. It may be a challenge for you to know your birds. Don’t blow it off and say, “There are just too many, I can never learn them all.” Rather recognize that is a limit that you want to overcome, and work through or around it. You like the outdoors, and want to see some interesting sights, but can’t make yourself get a backpack and put 15-20 miles under your boots on a hike, then don’t. Recognize that as a goal and go out and walk a mile or two instead. Your may meet your goal of learning more about nature and the more natural things around you.

Yes, boys will be boys, and girls will be girls. We all need to meet our obstacles and go through them and if you cannot do that, then go around it instead. With that said, I hope to see you on or off the trail somewhere soon.