Letter from Dick Scar
Outdoors – November 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Editors:
Gail Binkly is one lucky girl to have survived camping for nearly 20 years in a $19.95 tent [September, 2003, edition]. She joins countless others having copious amounts of good luck who climb to the summits of the 14,000-foot mountains around us wearing shorts and a T-shirt and without raingear, maps, compass or any emergency gear. I am amazed after every summer season that the mountain trails are not littered with the bodies of some people I see on the trail.
But I have seen a few of the unlucky during my 28-plus years as a volunteer for the local search and rescue team: people dressed in wet cotton suffering from hypothermia, people suffering from frostbitten toes in cotton socks, people who have no idea of where they are, victims who made the fatal mistake of crossing a snow slope without proper equipment.
Yes, there are gadgets on the market which are of little real benefit to anyone. But there have been remarkable advances in technology which have real benefits to consumers in and out of the outdoor specialty market. The “moisture-wicking socks” that Gail mentioned just might save some cold feet.
I doubt that Gail’s “magical tent” has experienced many of the unexpected snowstorms that frequent the Colorado high country where I live. I’m sure she missed the point that self-propelled outdoor recreation is popular in this country and makes a major contribution to our national economy.
Dick Scar
Buena Vista
