CUSTER, S.D. — Although the weather was less than ideal, Custer County Search and Rescue Team shared their hiking advice at the Custer State Park open house. The team was there to do a show-and-tell and educate prospective hikers are safety do’s and don’ts..
Between lost and injured hikers, nearly 70 calls a year are made to Custer County’s Search and Rescue. With the warming weather and influx of visitors, the team is hoping to educate the public on safe hiking, the number one tip is to be prepared.
“Making sure they know where they’re going, have a map of the area, have enough food, water, and clothing to be out longer than you’re expecting,” said, search and rescue director, Sam Smolnisky. “And then the big thing, is if you get lost, if you get hurt, everyone has cell phone nowadays. And if you call 911, instead of calling a friend, 911 goes to our dispatch center, and sometimes we can get that exact location of the call.”
To get hikers prepared, the park’s visitor center maps with different routes, including the route length and difficulty. For those who still get lost, it’s important to stay warm, out of the weather as much as possible, and remain calm.
“The calls that may end up taking us a lot longer, are those where people get lost, and they, they’re lost at night, they don’t have a light and they are trying to find they’re way out and end up getting further off the trail, or more lost,” said Smolnisky. “Staying on the trail, once you call 911, staying put because that’s the location we’re going to go to.”
Although there is plenty of wildlife throughout Custer State Parks, and other local parks…it is generally not a threat.
“Well, I‘ve been trying to see a mountain lion for the last 5 years and I can’t,” said Smolnisky. “So, they like to be, they stay away from us, so it’s not really as big of a concern as people may think when they’re visiting. But with all wildlife, we want to respect them and keep a healthy distance away from them. They can move a lot faster than we can. So, I always recommend, bring a pair of binoculars and a zoom lens for your camera, and enjoy them from a safe distance.”
The weekend open house included free entrance to all South Dakota state parks and recreation areas.
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May 25, 2021 at 02:20AM
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Custer State Park holds open house to promote hiking saftey - KNBN NewsCenter1 - Newscenter1.tv
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