HUG A TREE PROGRAM

[Canyonram]

When hiking with children (and some adults) it is easy for them to make a wrong turn on the trail and become lost. The Hug-A-Tree program was started to help train children on how to behave if they are lost on a hike or campout. The portal page is here:

http://www.theozarks.com/HugATree.htm

For AZ, probably need to qualify the 'There are no animals out there that can hurt you.' Don't pick up snakes. Don't hug a cactus. The original program was developed after a child was lost in the San Diego area.

http://www.gpsar.org/hugatree.html

At the very least, every child should have a pea-less survival whistle secured on their person.

[Sredfield]

Good advice for everyone, child or adult.

[chumley]

I like this one. As an adult, it might even be a good idea to leave your own imprint in your vehicle if you ever head into a remote area alone.

7. Footprinting your child is a five minute exercise that cuts down the time of a search by several hours.
Have the child walk across a piece of aluminum foil on a soft surface, such as carpeting or a folded towel. Mark the foil with the child’s name. With this print, trackers can separate your child’s track from the hundreds of others in the area, and quickly determine the direction of travel.

[Canyonram]

The footprint technique is covered in Cody Lundin's '98.6 The Art of keeping your A*S*S* alive.' I've tried using a copy machine but the copy is not as clear as the 3-D image provided with the tin-foil technique. Trackers look for wear patterns, depth of imprint, etc that can be best observed with a 3-D imprint.

It is a good way to learn how to recognize your own footprint and how to backtrack yourself. The waffle pattern on the bottom of my hikng boots is pretty distinct once I took the time to study the imprint. If you are hiking with kids, it is a lot of fun to show them their print and then, on the return hike, have them find their prints that they left behind on the way in. They learn to track at the same time having a good time.