Skills: Avoiding Illness In The Backcountry

When traveling into the backcountry is it ok to leave behind hygiene practices along with other creature comforts? In some ways it may be ok (how many of us have picked up our food off the ground and eaten it while camping?) but it is inadvisable and certainly not wise. If you are on a one or two night campout with a few close people you may get away with poor hygiene practices. Good hygiene is the best way to avoid illness in the backcountry. No matter how many times you may have gotten away with poor hygiene, a single incident of backcountry "funk" is usually enough to make you want to avoid it a second time. Not to mention it can be life threatening at times! Here are some guidelines to avoiding illness in the backcountry (and front country too).

Avoid spreading germs: just as your mom, or other parent figure likely told you a hundred times growing up, wash your hands! 

Use biodegradable soap to wash your hands and dishes. Any sort of camp soap will do such as castile soap. It is better for the environment and your own health. Use antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizer sparingly. They are bad for the environment and your long term health according to recent research. Humans have used them so much some bacteria are becoming resistant to them and this is creating super-bugs. So use when necessary but use sparingly. 

Wash your dishes regularly. Many campers get lax and just rinse their dishes. This is the perfect way to breed bacteria and get sick. Use hot water and soap at least once a day on your dishes when possible. 

Only cook what you will eat. It is best not to save leftovers, they go bad quickly and will attract unwanted animals and bugs. If you have uneaten leftovers it is best to bury them well away from your campsite. 

Boil your water. You should always filter water collected in the back country as even “clean” sources can get contaminated. Simply bringing water to a rolling boil is enough to kill most everything including viruses which most water filters miss. If the water source is questionable keep the water at a rolling boil for 3-5 minutes. 

Do not share anything that touches your mouth. This includes eating utensils, drinking utensils, and lip balm among other things. Sharing these is the fastest way to spread sickness while recreating outdoors. A person can become contagious before they even feel symptomatic so following this rule is of utmost importance. When in a group, use serving utensils to dish out group food items. Never let anyone put their personal spoon or fork into the group food. Pour food into people’s hands instead of letting everyone stick their dirty hands into your bag of trail mix or other food. Never eat or drink after someone. And never use someone else’s lip balm. If borrowing lip balm is a necessity, rub the top layer off with a clean tissue but know this is only partially effective at reducing germs. 

Keep sick people away from the kitchen. They may feel up to helping but it’s just not worth the risk of spreading sickness. Delegate other non-food related tasks to them or just let them rest. Everyone will be grateful. 

Wash your body regularly. Medical experts recommend washing your hands multiple times per day, your face once per day, and your underarms and private areas every 1-3 days. This should be done with soap and water or wet wipes. A full body shower or bath is recommended whenever possible even if only a sponge bath. Remember, never use soap directly in the water source (i.e. lakes, rivers, waterfalls) as this is harmful to the water life and contaminates your drinking source. Dump soapy water 200 feet from bodies of water and bury if possible. 

Wash your clothes frequently. It is best to avoid wearing underclothes (clothes that touch the skin) for more than 2-3 days. Change to clean ones. If possible wash the dirty ones out with water and use soap if available. If water and/or soap are unavailable, turn clothes inside out and let them sit in the sun for several hours. At least 1-2 hours on each side will help kill some bacteria assuming you have good direct sunlight and are not too far north or south. Wind is also a plus to reduce smell. 

Be vigilant about keeping wounds and injuries clean. A simple scratch can lead to major complications in the backcountry if it gets infected. Keep all wounds cleaned regularly and covered. Use triple antibiotic to help control infections. Get some first aid training to learn more about this. 

Dispose of biodegradable waste in a sanitary manner. This includes human waste, food scraps, and toothpaste. The proper method is to bury this waste in a hole 8 inches deep and 6 inches wide. The hole should of be 200 feet or about 75 steps from any water sources. Be sure to cover the hole when done. 

Carry a few trash bags. Hauling out your trash is important for the environment. But you don’t want your trash to make you sick or get your gear dirty. It’s good to carry a few empty plastic grocery bags or freezer bags to put trash in. I find they have other good uses too. 

Maintain interpersonal hygiene by treating everyone in your group with respect and humility. When spending a lot of time with a small group of people in the outdoors, tempers can flair easily. Left unchecked this can create a toxic environment that can ruin a trip and possibly become life threatening if tension leads to poor decisions. It is best to smooth things over by talking through them, staying humble, and apologizing when needed. You are all in it together.

Learn more about this topic by following this link about preventing illness while camping from the Minnesota Department of Health. Following the principles of Leave No Trace will help maintain good hygiene. Learn more about the 7 principles of low impact camping at this link.

Written by David F. Garner
Photo credit: jackmac34 via www.pixabay.com

Leadership Lessons: Electronics in Outdoor Ministry

There are increasingly more electronics for the outdoors coming to market. Are they necessary? This article will explore some of the common back-country electronics and their pros and cons. I believe some electronics in the great outdoors are useful, but you ultimately have to decide for yourself. So let's look at some of the details.

There are many types of electronic gadgets for outdoor exploration out there. Traditional back-country wisdom says that when you go into the great outdoors, you leave all electronics behind. Many outdoor ministry leaders probably grew up with this philosophy. I did. But it pays to reassess tradition from time to time so we don’t become pharisaical about it.

Outdoor gadgets range from sophisticated watches to phones, navigation aids, optics, cameras and beyond. Some are sport specific such as avalanche beacons. We previously published an article about electronic back-country navigation tools and rescue beacons (see here). So in this article I would like to primarily focus on electronics for other purposes.

Let’s, begin with the big one, phones. Phones are by far the most common outdoor electronic gadget. Even if you know you will have no service they can do a lot, especially smartphones. Whether you take one depends on what you are doing. So, I will list some pros and cons for you to decide for yourself. Personally, I always take one when I am leading a trip for ministry purposes. When on my own or with a group of friends I am less likely to take one.


Pros:

Communication when in service (useful for communication with main office, other vehicle drivers or staff, and emergency personnel).

Quality camera

Free to cheap GPS apps and other navigation aids

Carries multiple ebooks, notes, bible translations, guidebooks, music

Alarm clock

Cons:

Communication when in service (emails, and work or personal calls can be a distraction)

Short battery life

Games

Heavy (but not too bad)

Cause feelings of stress


Next, I would like to discuss e-readers/tablets. These can have many of the functions of a smartphone. Some even can be connected to data over cell towers. To me tablets don’t make much sense in the back-country due to their bulk and limited battery life. However, they may be beneficial for international trips. E-readers have some uses in the back-country especially for larger groups or long trips. They make the most sense for educational programs as they can contain a lot of information in a small package. They often have incredible battery life as well although it is limited. The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) did a pilot test and found them to greatly reduce overall group gear weight due to the replacing of several physical books and field guides. So e-readers such as the waterproof and dustproof Kobo might be most useful for an outdoor education trip or college outdoor semester.

Watches are key in backcountry travel and outdoor ministry for time keeping. Beyond this function most other bells and whistles are unnecessary. Digital or analog is a matter of preference, although analog can may work better at extreme temperatures. The key here is to have a watch that is decent quality and truly waterproof. Any name brand (i.e. Casio, Timex, etc.) over $30 will preform well. Go much cheaper and you’re risking its failure on the trail. Some watches are GPS enabled. Their most useful feature is probably altitude readout. This can help during navigation if you are trying to save your handheld GPS battery. Most smart watches have too poor a battery life to last long enough for outdoor trips. So leave them at home. Another note, my friend cracked his Apple Watch screen and then found out it cannot be replaced, you have to buy a whole new watch!

Electronic navigation (nav.) aids are pretty affordable these days. Many have multiple functions. Most of these dedicated GPS units are built ruggedly. These are discussed in detail in the previously mentioned article. So I will be brief here. I personally prefer a GPS app on my phone as it is one less thing to carry and much more cost effective. But if an organization or club is looking for an option than a dedicated GPS would be preferable so the nav. aid is not on one person’s phone who may or may not go on every trip. I prefer the Garmin InReach as it doubles as an emergency beacon. Any name brand handheld GPS will be good. Just remember this does not replace map and compass skills!

Lastly, optics and cameras come in many electronic options. These are only useful if you have the money and the desire to use them. Some digital binoculars on the market can take pictures. Unless you’re hunting or bird-watching these seem unnecessary. Digital cameras on the other hand do have a lot of positive aspects. They might be worth it if you don’t take your smartphone or your organization or club has a dedicated photographer. Its also important to consider if your willing to allow staff to take picture on their phones or not. Many summer camps do not allow this to avoid inappropriate photos in cyberspace. This is a real concern especially for organizations working with minors. One lawsuit would be enough to kill most outdoor ministries. There are tough digital camera options out there worth considering as well as ones that take higher quality images than any smartphone. Assess your needs before spending a lot of money!

Aside from utilitarian purposes I am all for leaving electronics and even books at home or in your backpack, except for the Bible. When in nature, seek to enjoy it and learn from it as God intended. Wadsworth says it best:

The Tables Turned

BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;

Or surely you'll grow double:

Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;

Why all this toil and trouble?



The sun above the mountain's head,

A freshening lustre mellow

Through all the long green fields has spread,

His first sweet evening yellow.



Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:

Come, hear the woodland linnet,

How sweet his music! on my life,

There's more of wisdom in it.



And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!

He, too, is no mean preacher:

Come forth into the light of things,

Let Nature be your teacher.



She has a world of ready wealth,

Our minds and hearts to bless—

Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,

Truth breathed by cheerfulness.



One impulse from a vernal wood

May teach you more of man,

Of moral evil and of good,

Than all the sages can.



Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;

Our meddling intellect

Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:—

We murder to dissect.



Enough of Science and of Art;

Close up those barren leaves;

Come forth, and bring with you a heart

That watches and receives.