Dangers of the internet

On a sunday morning what could go wrong? Two people shopping on the internet. The little Commander is clicking away, and Kadizzle can smell the credit card burning.  It is not all bad, she just bought Kadizzle a mesh T-Shirt.  It will be perfect under the adventure vest.  Kadizzle has been trying to perfect the ultimate day hike kit.  So what do you need?  A two way radio is nice. Often we don't take them thinking we will stay together, but it never fails The Commander gets a bee in her underwear and off she goes.  So we try to enforce the rule, two way radios go with us at all times.  Last year we bought the Delorme satellite communication system.  In an all out emergency we can get a message out via satellite and hopefully someone will come get us.  Hiking sticks are a must. Both Kadizzle and The Commander will not take two steps without them.  The number of times the poles have kept us from breaking a leg or twisting an ankle is infinite.  If you hike, take them and learn to use them.  A good flashlight.  Incidentally the two way radios have a flashlight built in.  A water filter.  The Commander has disdain for the water filter, but Kadizzle believes you should have one.  A multitool.  Again The Commander disagrees, but if you get in a real fix it could do the job.  Some sort of rope. We carry electrical pulling tape because it is light and very strong.  We carry about 100 ft.  Batteries are essential.  What good is your GPS if the batteries are dead.  Kadizzle carries extra battery power for the cell phone, and everything else.  Of course The Commander does not believe.  If there is any chance the weather may turn, you better have a light rain jacket/windbreaker.  It could save your life.  Kadizzle carries a space blanket.  Kadizzle just told The Commander to get him a signal mirror.  They are light and sometimes when Kadizzle wants to get The Commanders attention on an opposite hill he can flash her to turn on the radio.

After hundreds and maybe even thousands of miles of hiking we have had no real serious problems.  A couple times it looked like we might be lost, but they were minor incidents.  Once The Commander was missing and her radio was dead.  She came back late after being somewhat lost, but it was a good lesson for extra batteries.  Now an important notice.  Obey the rules.  This is a tough one.  Kadizzle has a rule that if you are out of sight for more than 15 minutes turn on your radio.  Guess who will not comply.  One of the most dangerous things Kadizzle has encountered are loose rocks.  If the person above you dislodges a large rock and it rolls past you or flies through the air past you, you are lucky. If it hits you, you may be dead.  Once of Kadizzles worst scares was a round rock about the size and shape of a tire that flew past him threw the air.  Luckily Rodger shouted and Kadizzle moved.  A heavy pack is a pain, but finding out you do not have a critical piece of equipment is worse.  When you take off think about what you are doing.  Kadizzle put a whole set of rules in The Commander's pack about emergency procedures.  Quickly she threw them out.  So we do the best we can.