5 Tips for Trail Cleanup Safety

We adventure with our kids to make memories, but many fear about safety on the trail. The good news is, families can minimize many risks by following some simple guidelines when hiking with kids. What are they? Here are seven tips for safety on trail with kids. 1. Share your plans with others Always tell someone where you're going and when you plan to be back. Leave a copy of the trail map and mark your route with a highlighter so others will know where you're headed. Once you're at the trail head, be sure to sign in at the trail register if there is one. 2. Bring more food and water than you need Pack more food and water than you think you'll need on your hike. Water is key, and how much you need varies with terrain, temperature and age. A general guideline to follow is 4 cups (1 liter) of water per adult for every hour of hiking; and children need 1-2 cups for every hour of hiking.  You may also want to carry a Lifestraw or water filter as a backup. Encourage children to stay hydrated by letting them carry a pack with a bladder inside. Or make sure to stop for family water breaks at certain intervals, or even add a little something flavorful to their water.  Energy bars are a great way to carry extra food without a lot of bulk. Look for bars specifically made for kids. Photo credit: Deanna Curry 3. Be prepared for big changes in weather If you’re hiking in the mountains, make sure every person in the group has at least one extra layer (like a fleece jacket) and a stocking cap. If rain is even a remote possibility, bring rain gear - a backup rain poncho can do the trick and it is light and small to carry. For young children, packing an entire set of extra clothing or several extra pairs of socks can be a lifesaver. If you're carrying your child, dress them warmer than if they were walking. Some families carry hand warmers, mittens or extra layers of long underwear as well. 4. Bring a first aid kit and know how to use it You can purchase kits from companies like Adventure Medical Kits, which provide supplies you'll need for a safe hike, or you can assemble your own at home. A few essentials that should be in every kit are Easy Access Bandages, antibacterial ointment, wound-closing tape, gauze, tweezers, an ace bandage, moleskin for blisters, ibuprofen and an antihistamine (be sure to pack these in both adult and children dosages). You should know how to use every item in your kit before you go hiking with it, so be sure to read up on some basic first aid skills, such as how to stop bleeding, how to wrap a sprain and how to remove splinters. Kids can even assemble a small kit for their own packs. Photo credit: Kristin Hinnant 5. Equip your children for safety, too Give each child their own small pack to carry. It can be a small backpack or a fanny pack, and it should have, at a minimum, an emergency whistle, a jacket or extra layer of some kind, a few snacks and water. If a child gets separated from you, they'll have at some survival gear with them. 6. Stay together Teach your kids to keep you in sight at all times, to stop at all trail junctions to wait for the rest of the group, and to stay on the trail.  Also, dress everyone in bright colors (no camouflage on hiking day!) to make it easier to see one another. Photo credit: Ali Chandra 7. Teach your kids what to do if they get lost Preparation is key to this skill. At home, in a low-pressure setting, teach them to stop, find a tree, make a nest and stay put until help arrives. Teach them how to use their emergency whistle – three sharp blasts is the universal distress signal. Remind them that the whistle is only to be used during an emergency -- and check out previous blog posts below for more tips on what to do if they're lost on trail. And last, but not least,  model safe behavior at all times. Don’t take chances. Don’t ignore posted warning signs. Show your kids what it looks like to stay on the trail. Trail safety for your kids always begins with you. Read more: 3 Trail safety tips you must know Losing a child on a trail: preparing your child Losing a child on the trail: a parent's guide 11 Tips for safety on trail Have safety tips you'd like to share with other families? Leave a comment below! This post is sponsored by Adventure Medical Kits, “Providing innovative, high quality first aid and preparedness products for work, home, and your next adventure.” Hike it Baby received compensation in exchange for writing this blog post. All opinions are our own. This article is written for informational purposes only, hike at your own risk. ABOUT OUTGROWN OutGrown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to create a world where everyone can enjoy the physical and mental benefits of spending time outside. We are focused on creating opportunities and removing barriers to access so families with babies and young children can take their first steps outside. We believe all families have the right to connect with nature, benefit from spending time outdoors and be inspired to a lifelong love of nature. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteer Branch Ambassadors. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org  EDITOR’S NOTE: We hope you enjoyed reading this article from OutGrown. We’re working hard to provide our community with content and resources that inform, inspire, and entertain you. But content is not free. It’s built on the hard work and dedication of writers, editors, and volunteers. We make an investment in developing premium content to make it easier for families with young children to connect with nature and each other. We do not ask this lightly, but if you can, please make a contribution and help us extend our reach.

Challenges of Opening In-Person Hikes We recognize that public spaces have begun to open and stay-home orders and other restrictions have begun to loosen in certain communities. We are currently evaluating what in-person hikes will look like and what systems we need to have in place to support safe in-person hiking events in the post-Quarantine environment. These are some of the challenges we face in making decisions around allowing group activities as an organization with over 300 branches in North America: Most guidelines are still limiting group size and requiring social distance. Maintaining 6 feet of separation is hard to expect with small children and on narrow trails. Mask wearing guidelines are varied and also not recommended for children under 2 years, which is a large portion of our participants, making it hard to establish safe and effective protocols that allow us to support in person hiking. Our calendar team is entirely volunteer-based and it is too much to ask of them to monitor and stay up-to-date with the various local guidance to approve or deny hike events case by case, so we need to keep our approach as simple and as global as possible. Many communities are seeing a rise in cases as they re-open, which leaves us wondering if allowing/encouraging in-person events is the best way to ensure individual families can stay safe and healthy. We are letting time help inform our larger decision making before re-opening in-person events. The Importance of Getting Outside However, we also recognize that time in nature is important to everyone's personal wellness and we do not want to get in the way of that. Some of our branches are in rural areas with very low risk and in states where larger group gatherings are allowed and we understand it may be frustrating to not have the HiB calendar as a resource. Our goal is not to stop you from hiking or being social. We do have a duty to keep our members and volunteers safe, so we ask that you extend patience and understanding while we navigate this new terrain. Please extend this grace to your hike hosts and ambassadors as well and know that ultimately, we all want everyone to stay safe and healthy. Keep it Local, Keep it Safe If it is safe and in accordance with local guidelines for you to meet in your area, please organize any meet-ups outside of the Hike it Baby platform as private, non-HiB sanctioned activities. This means not posting them on HiB Facebook group pages or on the HiB Calendar on our website.   Once we have guidelines we can apply universally we will look to opening up our calendar for events and hikes once again and we will continue to communicate openly and actively as we make these decisions. We appreciate your continued patience.   About Hike it Baby Hike it Baby is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to getting families outdoors and on trails across the U.S. and internationally, supporting, educating and inspiring families through their more than 300 communities across North America. Since its grassroots inception in 2013 in Portland, Oregon, Hike it Baby is now a growing community of 270,000 families and 500 volunteer branch ambassadors hosting more than 1,600 hikes per month. More information, as well as daily hike schedules, can be found at HikeitBaby.com, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.   Photo courtesy of Michelle Craig.