Packing

Lesson Objectives:  Students will know how to properly pack a day pack with the appropriate clothing and equipment to ensure safety.

Instant Activity:Flag Drag Tag
Grade Level: 8-12
Equipment: Hula hoops (quantity depends on the number of taggers), 2 flags per student, and cones for boundaries
Directions: Use cones to establish the playing area. Place the hula hoops around the perimeter of this area. The number of hula hoops will depend on class size and also on the amount of taggers.
       Hand out two flags (one for each hand) to all students except 2-4 (depends on class size--you can have more or less). These students (called the runners) will have one flag in each hand and will move (i.e., jogging, running, walking, etc.) in the designated area dragging the flags behind them. The runners' flags must stay in contact with the
ground and behind them at all times. The taggers (who do not have flags) will then "tag" the runners by "stepping" on their flags with their feet.
       Once a runner has his/her flag "stepped on", they must release the "stepped on" flag. The tagger then takes the "stepped on" flag and places it inside one of the hula hoops. The runner (whose flag was "stepped on") continues to participate in the game until his/her other flag is "stepped on". When a runner has no flags left, he/she must step outside
of the playing area and do five jumping jacks before retrieving two flags from the hula hoops to rejoin the game. Be sure to switch taggers often.
Suggestions:
       You will need at least one hula hoop per tagger.
       Flags must be long enough so they drag at least three feet behind the runners while in a bent over position.
       Flags can be made from plastic garbage bags cut into strips; however, these tend to "float" above the ground. A heavier material, like a heavy canvas or cotton cloth, will work better.  You can substitute any appropriate movement for the five jumping jacks such as abdominal crunches, push-ups,dynabands, etc.
Submitted by Katie Mills who is an undergraduate physical education major at Virginia Tech.

Lesson:
    * essentials
    * clothing appropriate to conditions
    * equipment for safety and conditions
    * emergency items

Instructions to class:
    When ever you go hiking there are some essential items that you need to take with you.  The Mountaineers used to call them the 10 essentials, but now they have 13 essentials.  Extra clothing, extra food, sunglasses/sunscreen, knife, fire starter, first aid supplies, flashlight, map, compass, emergency shelter, water, signaling device and matches.  Some people feel there is a 14th essential and that would be toilet paper.
    Depending on the conditions and the season you will need to pack accordingly.  There are some basic clothing articles that you will need to take with what ever the season or weather.  Proper socks and liners.  It is good to have a poly pro liner, or some other type of fiber that wicks the sweat away from your skin.  You should wear another sock on top of the liner, a thicker one preferably, to absorb your sweat.  Some of the clothes you should always take with you are poly pro or capiline top and bottom.  Again this helps to absorb and wick sweat away from the surface of your skin.  Fleece is also a good item to take with you.  It insulates well with a shell over it.  Either a vest or coat it a good idea to take with you.  Fleece pants are a good idea to take along in cooler conditions.  A shell, top and bottom, should be wind and water proof.  A way to check for this in a store is try to breathe through the material.  If your breath can't go through then wind and rain won't be able to either.  Gortex is a popular material for this type of clothing.  You can also buy sealers to put on clothes to help them become water resistant.  Hat and gloves are necessary when the weather is cooler.  You may not wear them while you are hiking, but once you stop your body temperature will drop and you will need to stay warm.  If you are going to be in the snow gators are a must.  This prevents snow from coming into you boots and making your socks wet.
    Many times in the spring and fall you see hikers with the 'uniform' on.  This consists of poly pro pants with shorts on over them.  A poly pro shirt with either a long or short sleeves.  A fleece vest or coat may be worn when starting out on the hike, until you warm up enough to take it off and be comfortable.  In summer you wear less clothes and in the winter you layer up even more.  It also depends on how fast you hike how many layers you need to have on to be comfortable.
    Equipment that is needed for safety can range from boots all the way to avalanche beacons.  Your boots need to fit comfortably and be broken in to fit your feet well.  This will avoid hot spots and possible blisters.  If you are going to be out in the snow in avalanche conditions and terrain, you need to take the proper precautions and wear a beacon in case you get buried they will be able to locate you much faster.  Other equipment could be snowshoes, hiking poles, ice axes and crampons.  It is important that before you go out, you know how to use each kind of equipment you will have with you. It is not a good time to learn when you are out there and need to act quickly to ensure safety.  How to put on snowshoes, how to use an ice ax, how to put crampons onto your boots. 

Assessment:
    At the end of this class there will have a hand out about the essentials and clothing needed for the conditions.  On another paper they will have to answer some questions about why it is important to have certain articles of clothing, and why other clothes may not be appropriate, like jeans.

Equipment:
    I will bring in the 13/14 essentials to show the class.  I will also bring in some clothing that can be worn on hikes that is appropriate.  I will have these items in my pack and show them how to pack a day pack so that the weight is distributed  evenly and will ride comfortably.  I will also bring in snowshoes, gators, crampons, an ice ax and an avalanche beacon.

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