Chaverim of Rockland Safety Tips and Tags

Rockland Daily Staff

Chaverim of Rockland offers Chol Hamoed safety suggestions for Rocklanders taking family trips. 

Take a picture of each child before going out on a Chol Hamoed trip. Additionally, ensure children have contact information on them to assist public safety officials if they become separated from the rest of the family. Fillable safety tags can be downloaded here.

Additionally, based on the many years Chaverim has responded to search and rescue calls, many lessons have been learned that hikers should remember when planning a hike.

Do not rely on your phone maps or hiking apps for mapping. Many people are not familiar with the proper use of those apps. Furthermore, phone batteries tend to drain much faster when in an area with no reception since the phone is constantly searching for a signal.

Therefore, always make sure to have paper maps too.

If you have two or more phones, keep only one on at any time to preserve battery life.

Make sure to leave a detailed trail plan with someone who is not going along to be utilized in case of emergency.

If you think you may be lost, don’t wait until the last minute to call for help. Reach out for help early before it turns into a desperate situation.

Use common sense when entering a trail, do not start a hike too close to the Zman before Shabbos or Yom Tov or close to nightfall.

And finally, follow the famous rule to stay put. Don’t go any further, even if it may seem like the woods are clearing up further down. Forests are deceiving.

 As an additional service, Chaverim has maps of commonly used trails available for the community, which include specific details for each trail. Maps can be picked up at 6 Olympia Lane after calling the Chaverim hotline at 845-371-6333.