Читать книгу Trinity Alps & Vicinity: Including Whiskeytown, Russian Wilderness, and Castle Crags Areas. A Hiking and Backpacking Guide онлайн

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Apparently no single mistake led to this boy’s death but rather a series of poor decisions, compounded by a lack of precautions. First, the group should not have attempted to climb this trail without carrying a lot of water. Second, basic first aid training would have enabled someone in the group to recognize the symptoms of heat exhaustion and prompted them to find some shade for the stricken boy, loosen his clothes, lower his head, fan him, and above all stay with him. In retrospect, only two people should have gone for help and the rest of the group should have tried to carry the boy to shade and water.

One of the most important considerations in the backcountry is to avoid traveling alone—help could be a long time coming in remote areas. Here’s a brief summary of additional hazards.

ALTITUDE SICKNESS

A cursory examination of topographic maps reveals that altitude sickness should not be much of a problem in the areas covered in this guide. Very few of the trips exceed an elevation of 7,500 feet, with many of the trailheads in the Trinity Alps and Russian Wildernesses below 3,000 feet. Consequently, your first day on the trail should not overtly tax your body, at least from an elevation standpoint. Elevations in Whiskeytown NRA and Castle Crags State Park are even lower. Increase in altitude does aggravate distress caused by heat and dehydration, so take it easy on the trail and drink plenty of fluids, especially on the first day of a trip.