I found myself unprepared today

GWashington1732

GWashington1732

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Jun 20, 2009
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I went hiking today in Wharton State Forest and actually found myself unprepared several times. First, was while I was eating lunch, I was sitting on the wooden railing on the side of the hill in front of the fire watch tower and, while trying to get away from a bee, I slid off and wanged my head on on a post. I went to see if there was an cold pack in my first aid kit, no such luck. I've got a nice golfball sized lump now and a bad headache.
Next, I got a bit turned around, doing something stupid that I'd rather not elaborate on :o. And I realized how absolutely screwed I would be without the trail markers. I eventually found them but it took me a few minutes. I haven't done any orienteering since Boy Scouts, I guess I need to work on that a bit.
And last, and perhaps the most unpleasant, toward the end of my hike, my lunch didn't sit right and I had to take a dump. I thought, no problems, I've done it lots of times before. Except for I forgot to pack one very essential item, toilet paper, so my options were besically bryers or a pine cone, I had a very unpleasant twenty minute walk back to my car.
I enjoyed my little walk, except for the crack to the head and the last half mile or so, but I've got some new stuff I'll be getting for my pack before I go out again.
 
lol it happens to everyone. i can't count how many shirts bit the dust in iraq to becoming toilet paper lol, i had a whole bunch of belly shirts
 
Good lesson learned the hard way i guess. as long as your ok now and know a bit better for next time. :)
 
Glad you made it home ok ! Believe it or not, I carry TP everywhere I go. ( in one of those small Coghlan's rolls.) but it's there , and can be used to start fires too. Saved my ass many a time. ( pardon the pun:D)
It doesn't take a lot to mess you up in the bush , if things go sideways.
 
That's the whole idea of getting out regularly, even if it's a day hike or a few hours, or just running through your kit while you're sitting around having lunch.

We used to look over how the day was going around late morning and the one question the supervisors knew I would ask them was, "What could go wrong next?"
 
hiwa said:
Glad you made it home ok ! Believe it or not, I carry TP everywhere I go.
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Every pack, bag, and briefcase I've carried for years now has what I call a picnic pocket: plastic bags, paper towels, -- and chopsticks. :)
 
Regarding that last mistake, I did that once and cut part of my shirt into strips so I could make a clean getaway. It was worth it. Pooptacular.
 
As much as we hate getting older it does seem to have a few benefits, such blunders were a frequent thing of my early years. I remeber getting lost, slicing my fingers on broadheads, using my underwear for toilet paper. Today some of those accidents seem impossible. I think we just take for granted the little things we learn over the years. We develop foresight and caution from experiences like these and it becomes second nature.
 
I started keeping a couple bandaids and a alchohol pad in my wallet, after getting tired of bleeding all over shirts.

Used 'em today while testing my new Hossom Forester against some bamboo - that stuff is mean!

TP is always in my pack.
 
I hear you with the TP man. When I was a field tech Forester in CO I was the only person on my crew to carry TP. I am an eagle scout and have spent some time in the woods and have had to do the leaves and wad of grass wipe before. So I always carry TP with me now. To me the funny thing was that everybody else was content with using their boxers or t shirt or bandana, oh and I was then only one that used a cat hole (we were below tree line).

It does suck getting stuck out in the bush with no TP and nothing but pine cones around. I hope your feeling and walking better by now.
 
GWashington1732 said:
I've got some new stuff I'll be getting for my pack before I go out again.
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I carry toilet paper, too, but consider a pack of Wet Wipes. They sell travel packs at Wal-Mart for $1 that have 15 of them. You can wipe your butt with them, take a whore bath, they take the sting out of some insect bites, and keep you from breaking out if you wipe down right after getting in poison ivy.
 
I just emptied out my pack. My toilet paper was inside my spare clothes bag instead of in the side pouch where I usually keep it. :grumpy:
 
+1 on the wet wipes. Make sure you get the antibacterial ones and budget 4 per "event".
 
glad to see you made it back, I always have a handkerchief just in case I have to drop a deuce, or wipe the sweat off....I made sure to get a topo map, and a park map of the trails, just in case nothing looked familiar....i keep a small fist aid kit, as well as some duct tape just in case something medical happens, you never know!!!!
 
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ahaha, i found myself in dire need of TP the last time i was at wharton. I thought i packed it, but i then remembered my girlfriend took it out to wipe her nose a few days earlier. luckily there was snow on the ground and i was able to make the most out of that. refreshing.
 
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