After reading M & E’s latest adventure article titled, Bear Charges Trail Riders!, my eldest daughter sent me a link to an article in the Anchorage Daily News.
She lives with her family in the picturesque town of Palmer, Alaska and often hears stories about outsiders who are unprepared for Alaska’s rugged wilderness.
In this case, two men on a camping trip used their emergency locator beacon to notify emergency personnel of their whereabouts in order to get out of the midnight sun. The article by James Halpin states that troopers alerted the Alaska Air National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, then diverted their own Dillingham-based float plane to head to the site and check things out.
It turned out that the campers were unprepared for the long day, had gotten sunburned and wanted to leave the wilderness.
Like Alaskans, those of us that live here in Northwest Montana regularly hear of individuals who are unprepared for unpredictable mountain weather, desert-like summer heat, or obstinate wildlife.
We hope you enjoy the awesome scenery and explore the wide open spaces that these places have to offer, but encourage you to take the time to be prepared.
Click here for the full article on the sunburned campers.
You may enjoy this related article with video of backpack preparation: