BEWARE AN BE SAFE

KEEP YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE.

- Dana Benner

No matter where you live or where you go, there are potential dangers. Some are obvious, some are hidden; but unless you’re actively assessing the situation, none will be found until it’s too late.

Many people concentrate on predators, both human and animal, but fail to spot the other pitfalls to which they could fall victim. The point of this article is to discuss and point out many of the things you need to be aware of.

Dangers Around Us

Some of these potential hazards include predatory threats. However, far more often, these dangers have nothing to do with predation.

How many people die or are severely injured by stepping into old wells or cellar holes in the woods? How many people have been swept away from the unstable banks of swollen rivers or have fallen through unsafe ice? Even ice falling from a building’s roof can prove fatal. Being fully aware of your situation and the potential dangers of the area you’re in will keep many of these things from happening to you.

Man-Made

The term, “wilderness,” is really a misnomer. Virtually nowhere in the United States has been left untouched by humans. We’ve altered everything we’ve touched in one way or another, so the concept of a “wild” area is almost outdated.

Where I live (New Hampshire), you usually don’t have to travel too far into the forest before you start finding the remnants of past human habitation: Stone walls, the remains of early farming settlements and the like crisscross the landscape everywhere.