Be Safe Out there...

[gbbiv]

I also posted this on a Hammock Camping Sub Reddit... but thought it might be of interested here as well...

I get these email updates about Forest Ranger actions in NYS every week... this one seems worth sharing here...

Town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County
Wilderness Rescue: On Nov. 10 at 7:30 a.m., Central Dispatch received a call from Dutchess County 911 regarding an injured hiker in his 50s at the Taconic Hereford Multiple Use Area. Ranger Sweeney determined the hiker from Hyde Park had stepped on a machete while getting out of his hammock the night before and as a result had lost a significant amount of blood. Responders included Rangers Sweeney and Cowart, Pleasant Valley Fire and EMS, Unionvale Fire and EMS, and New York State Police. Rescuers transported the hiker out of the woods via UTV to a Mobile Life Support ambulance. Resources were clear at 10:15 a.m.

[ObdewlaX]

Guess I better start leaving my machete at home from now on.

[bsteele]

stepped on a machete while getting out of his hammock...

Bear attack, fallen tree, or perhaps a violent altercation I expected, not that. Wat

[SilvrSurfr]

I carried a machete for 40 years of hiking and camping (until my UL tendencies made me question the utility of it). I can't imagine how you could step on a machete and wound yourself.

Unless - you planted the machete in the dirt, blade up, underneath your hammock! Like, some kinda trap for any critters who got up underneath your hammock.

And how do you keep the blade sharp enough to make a cut that resulted in massive blood loss? I don't think I've ever sharpened my machete, in 40 years!

[Benjo75]

Must have been way sharper than my machete. I'd have a better chance cutting myself on a rubber wheel chock than mine.

[LowTech]

I do sharpen mine and it could take a foot off. How to step on it and do major damage . . . that's a challenge.

[cmoulder]

I also posted this on a Hammock Camping Sub Reddit... but thought it might be of interested here as well...

I get these email updates about Forest Ranger actions in NYS every week... this one seems worth sharing here...

Town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County
Wilderness Rescue: On Nov. 10 at 7:30 a.m., Central Dispatch received a call from Dutchess County 911 regarding an injured hiker in his 50s at the Taconic Hereford Multiple Use Area. Ranger Sweeney determined the hiker from Hyde Park had stepped on a machete while getting out of his hammock the night before and as a result had lost a significant amount of blood. Responders included Rangers Sweeney and Cowart, Pleasant Valley Fire and EMS, Unionvale Fire and EMS, and New York State Police. Rescuers transported the hiker out of the woods via UTV to a Mobile Life Support ambulance. Resources were clear at 10:15 a.m.

I'm also subscribed to those NYS-DEC updates and read about the usual falls with twisted ankles, people getting lost, running out or water etc, but the machete guy is definitely one of the more unusual incidents.

I was also thinking that it couldn't have been a terribly wild 'wilderness' if it was accessible by UTV.

[electbc]

From NYS DEC Ranger rescue post:
Town of Pleasant Valley
Dutchess County
Wilderness Rescue: On Nov. 10 at 7:30 a.m., Central Dispatch received a call from Dutchess County 911 regarding an injured hiker in his 50s at the Taconic Hereford Multiple Use Area. Ranger Sweeney determined the hiker from Hyde Park had stepped on a machete while getting out of his hammock the night before and as a result had lost a significant amount of blood. Responders included Rangers Sweeney and Cowart, Pleasant Valley Fire and EMS, Unionvale Fire and EMS, and New York State Police. Rescuers transported the hiker out of the woods via UTV to a Mobile Life Support ambulance. Resources were clear at 10:15 a.m.

[OneClick]

Whether at work, at home or in the woods, I always sheath and hang my machete. Safety first.

[cmoulder]

Whether at work, at home or in the woods, I always sheath and hang my machete. Safety first.

What good is it gonna do ya if a bear attacks? Much better to keep it with you in the hammock, unsheathed!