Let’s be careful out there, folks

Yesterday afternoon, I went out for a quick run on the horse trails near Granite Bay. A few miles into it, I came across a rattlesnake sunning himself on the trail. Most people think this would be one of the chief hazards of venturing out into nature — not so.

Another danger, one would think, would be the fallen tree across the trail, and the only way around it is to trudge through poison oak (or, you could just have that be your turn-around point and resign to the fact that you won’t get in your full run, which was my situation.) It was too big to climb over, since it was a deciduous tree with very full branches. It had fallen just short of the horse assembly area where there is a water fountain where I was going to take a break.

A few miles later, I came across a woman who was standing at the top of a small hill. I said “HI!” and could tell right away that she was in trouble. She said she felt dizzy and asked if I had any water. I gave her some water from my pack and asked where she was parked. She said she lived nearby, so I offered to walk her back home. She had no pack with her and no water bottle. She said she wasn’t used to the heat (this was mid-afternoon, so it was in the upper 80’s), but she did have a cell phone with her and there is reception on that part of the trail. She said she was fine, so I went on my way after spending a few minutes with her. There were enough other people out on the trail to help her should she run into more trouble.

So, my messages to you, kind readers, are:

– Take water with you, regardless of how short a distance you might be going

– On warmer days, take Gatorade or some other electrolyte replacement (either fluid or capsule form — I recommend Succeed! S Caps)

– Take extra fluids with you since your source for refills may be unavailable

– Carry food with you, even if it’s just a couple snack packs of crackers

– Don’t venture out by yourself unless you are totally confident in your abilities and have extensive experience with how your body reacts at different distances in various weather conditions.

That’s all I’ve got. I’m more than willing to help fellow trail people with my overly supplied pack, but you’ve got to take care of yourself too!