Wife got tired of our daughter swiping her ATB and bought a new one Friday, giving dau the one she likes, so we went for a little spin yesterday afternoon on the western end of the Hennepin Canal trail. Younger 2 boys had to work, so it was us, eldest son and his 22yo GF, and dau. Family had our regular "Be Prepared" packs + an extra liter of water on the bikes, total around 4 liters each. I thought the GF had her stuff, too - she had a day pack (and a 16oz water bottle on the bike).

About 16 miles out from where we dropped the truck, saw a family gaggle ahead with bikes strewn about. Stopped and asked if they were ok (4 bikes, Mom, Dad, ~11yo girl, ~8yo boy, and a toddler-in-a-bag). They had been there about 15 minutes trying to staunch a gushing bloody nose on the boy. Says Dad "We didn't mean to get this far from camp..." (about 4 miles ahead of us - they were wandering opposite direction from our outbound leg). I told dad that he could trim a little off his or son's t-shirt and roll a plug, soak t-shirt in water and put on back of neck, etc. Blank look. "We don't have a scissors or water with us" (Standing next to a canal full of cool water and apparently no pocket knife on him). Okaaaay. I gave the mom a 4x4 from my PFAK - she rolled it into a plug and turned off junior's faucet. <shrug> That's pretty routine when we're out - we're accustomed to running into totally clueless parents.

But later, the GF let on that she had a monster headache. And she was having a bit of trouble riding, which I stayed silent on (she's stubborn). Water? Just that 16oz bottle. Son coaxed her into taking some of his water right away, gave her some analgesic, and kept her bottle filled the rest of the ride (I tossed him a couple of liters from me and wife when GF wasn't looking). The thing is, I made sure she knew that there would be no potable water available along the ride before she left her house. She has vacationed with us in the mountains and desert, knows about staying hydrated, and has seen us patch up other un-prepared folks along the trail. Her pack? Just a place to carry a jacket and personal hygene items.

You can lead a horse to water, but...

Oh, yeah - John: I am sunburnt, LoL. Oh, well...

Tom

Cluelessness runs rampant these days. Shrug.

-- Craig

Tom,

Hi!

re your experiences:

Event 1: PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER.. Archetypal PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER., clueless, unprepared, vulnerable to all possible misadventures.

Event 2: I have come to conclude that for any outing, if I haven't explicitly confirmed that something was packed or done, it probably hasn't. I personally love checklist. The kids used to complain and scorn them. I decided to stop reviewing their preparations, at least when I didn't have to pay for their mistakes. Although their preparations were fairly good, omissions and doubts surfaced. Soon they were welcoming my checklists and advice.

Event 3: Scoutmaster heal thy self. Well I hope you're not in too much misery anyway. Perhaps you need a checklist re applying sun block. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Hope you're better soon,

John

You need my wife around, no-one gets away without applying sunscreen!