Ensuring Safety & Comfort in Camping

Please note the title – it mentions ‘comfort’ in addition to ‘safety’! It has been observed that oftentimes ‘comfort’ of campers is not given due attention, with the effect that a few or more participants actually end up being plain uncomfortable, with many nursing niggling injuries and even illnesses. And this mars the joy that one desires for participants to have... Unfortunately, this is also true of ‘experienced’ outdoors people who tend to stay stuck in outdated practices that have proven to be inefficient and unfriendly not only to the environment but also to people!

This article

• Addresses comfort and safety related to ‘camping’ (camping: staying in tents in the outdoors)
• Is restricted to some aspects of camping in Sahyadri

• Is primarily aimed at organisers - leaders and participants of organised outdoor events involvingcamping, but may benefit ‘experts’ too.
  

Please note that this article is far from being comprehensive, and it is recommended that the reader study relevant literature to enhance his/her knowledge of this subject, and practice accordingly. For the sake of brevity, I am going to refer to just ‘safety’ which will also include ‘comfort’, and to ‘organisers’ which will also include ‘leaders, instructors, office holders, etc.’

Components of ‘SAFETY’  - Safety of people, environment & equipment
Safety in outdoors is in the context of

• Physical safety
  
• Emotional safety
  

And, we are looking at avoiding

• Illnesses
• Injuries
• Damage to environment & equipment
  
  

Campsite location

• Try to locate a camp on a relatively impacted site, which is fairly plain and level; e.g.: old established campsites, barren land in which hardly anything grows, and rock surface.
  Cutting drainage-runnels around a tent is an outdated and environment unfriendly practice. it points toward
  - Bad choice of camping spot for a tent and/or
  - Bad quality of tent and/or
  - Inability to pitch tents perfectly!

• Beware of rock fall areas as well as dead branches and termite ridden trees that tower above tents – these are potential killers.
  
• Camping in stream/river beds tends to harm sensitive riparian (of river) environment. Also, just like during the monsoon, pre-monsoon thunderstorms can also create flash floods which are a hazard to life and property. Always camp away from with the help of the ‘200-feet’ guideline.
• The ideal distance between water-source, kitchen(s) and toilets is 200 feet (70 adult steps) – this helps in preventing/minimising contamination of food and the source of water. Use this as a guideline and take judicious decisions to locate all three in your campsite.
  

Camping tents

• Unlike on a mountaineering expedition in the Himalaya where mountaineers returning in whiteout conditions should be able to spot their camp easily, camps in Sahyadri generally do not require visibility from far – so they should use environment-friendly colours like green and brown for their tents. It is good to not disturb the natural environment even visually.

• Locate each tent in such a way that occupants get to sleep on a fairly level surface. Slight unevenness can be managed with padding of empty gunny bags, etc. Note that a person who has not slept well potentially becomes a ‘safety issue’ – he/she may require medical care at a later stage for reasons arising from sleep-deprivation.
  
  

Camp kitchen

• Have an orderly kitchen that makes efficient use of resources, including fuel. The organisers should run an orientation/training session for cooks – especially if they are local or non- outdoors people – to acquaint them of the organisation’s safety values and practices.
• Kitchen hygiene is of utmost importance. One bug that thrives here can create mayhem in the whole camp. Kitchen staff must be supervised to ensure cleanliness and good hygiene (regularly washing hands, using clean dusters for wiping utensils, always keeping uncooked and cooked food suitably covered, etc.) 
• Disposing off kitchen waste appropriately is extremely important. Waste water needs to be scattered about 200 feet (70 adult steps) away from the kitchen and water source. Solid waste ideally should be carried ‘out’ (back to an urban garbage disposal system) – because waste buried in the outdoors tends to attract animals, and in remote areas, adversely affect wildlife.
  Consequences of inappropriate disposal of kitchen waste may be
  - Decomposing stuff that breeds flies and germs, which can easily affect campers
  - Unclean camp surroundings which also ruin site aesthetic
  - Unwanted visitors like snakes that follow foraging rats
  
  

Camp toilet

• Many outdoors people who go hiking/climbing use toilet paper. Actually, there is nothing cleaner and more hygienic than water. Toilet paper has to be used only when water is scarce. With proper planning, and with appropriate briefing for prevention of wastage, enough water can be made available for ablutions.
• AVOID leaving ‘deposits’ exposed all around a campsite. Note: Apart from being atrociously unsightly, exposed human faeces are
  - An invitation to illnesses. Flies that get 
attracted to the lumps of turd also visit camp 
kitchens and eating plates
  - Potential ‘land mines’ for campers to step on, 
especially in darkness
  

Toilet tents

• At any campsite (especially on multi-day camp), organisers could have toilet tents for both genders. Such a toilet tent is put up over a trench-like pit. The soil that has come out can go in each time the toilet is used, just enough to cover the deposit.
• Maintaining toilet tents is the job of camp organisers – remember, participants are ‘novices’ and will struggle with camp-life. Besides regular cleaning, ‘maintenance’ may also necessitate shifting the toilet tent over to a new trench. Experienced campers keep additional trenches ready in advance at multi-day campsites.
  Brief participants about use of toilet tents as soon as they reach camp. Demonstrate acts like zipping up tents (with one hand), filling in soil and keeping things clean. This is especially useful for children.
  

Cat-holes
One recommended practice is to dig individual cat-holes to do one’s job. Here are a few ‘specifics’:

• Cat-holes should be 200 feet (70 adult steps) away from water source and kitchen.
• Use a ‘trowel’ to dig a hole, preferably in organic soils (not in mineral soil which lacks 
organisms that help decompose stuff).
• A stick (branch, twig) will not be efficient, and will take a much bigger effort. So: a good trowel 
is a piece of equipment – just like, say, your water bottle, cap and climbing harness.
• After the job is done, fill up the cat-hole with the soil that has come out of it. While doing this, 
take care not to soil the trowel or your shoes. 

  Evolve a uniformly understood ‘signal’ like a standing stick embedded in the filled-up cat-hole to inform a site- hunter where not to dig!
  

• Brief participants about cat-holes as soon as they reach camp. Dig a cat-hole to demonstrate. Encourage participants to take a jaunt around the campsite in daylight so they can see a few locations (hidden from all, room-with-a-view, twin-spots for chatty dumps, etc.) for taking a dump. Ensure people have understood. . It is the job of the organisers to un-taboo this subject and address it in a matter-of-fact manner.

Let participants see organisers role-model (e.g., announce loudly that you are ‘going mining’ and be seen walking off with a trowel).
 Organisers should take ‘inspection rounds’ and...
- Thank participants for being sensitive and supportive of the camp’s safe practices (if they have been diligent), or
- Give them feedback and request them to follow safe practices (if they have been lax) – it is good to repeat instructions as many times as is required.
Organisers should NOT avoid this topic.

Camp hazards

• Ensure that all organisers in a camp are well aware of how to avoid fires in camp, and what to do if a fire starts. Also, have all participants thoroughly briefed about ‘fire’ – prevention and response to fire in the camp. Identify safe spots and explain expectations. Keep fire- fighting equipment handy and permanently located in the most convenient spot. E.g., a) ‘multi-day campsites’ should have buckets filled with soil kept at accessible locations, b) long branches of plants like nirgudi are known to be great for putting out bush fires – locate such plants close to a campsite – do NOT cut branches in advance! (Cut-and-stored branches will anyway dry up and be useless).

• The ‘objective hazard’ that campers in the Sahyadri need to be most concerned about: snakes and scorpions. The only thing that works is a completely zipped-up tent. Such a tent needs to be extremely well ventilated with netting-liners to doors. Proper maintenance will ensure that the nettings have no tears and vents.
• Stress the importance of maintaining hygiene to participants. Help children be clean – many will need coaching and monitoring.
  
  

General tips

• After winding up a camp, the site of the camp should be cleaned and as natural looking as possible. This takes commitment and effort.
• Have a documented Emergency Response Plan in place for each camp. Ensure that all organisers are well versed with it, and that each person’s role is clear to him/her. Brief participants about their role in case of an emergency.
• Have at least one member of the organising team hold a current first aid certification (ideally wilderness first aid).

Briefings to participants and other interactions

• Participants of any camp, whether they are going to occupy it for just one night or for multiple nights, need an ‘orientation round’ to get familiar with camp layout and the facilities available to them. This helps increase their comfort, and also enables them to walk about in the dark with ease.
• During the orientation round, participants should be acquainted with camp-specific safety guidelines. This ensures compliance, and judicious independence of adult participants.
• What a camp organiser could do to inspire open communication and safe interaction with participants:

1. Be self assured and confident. Your demeanour (i.e. bearing, behaviour) will impact participants positively. But this confidence will come only through proper training and experience which has been reflected upon. So:
2. Be competent in your skills, and be open about what you are skilled in and not skilled in. Pull in into your team co-leaders who complement your skills-set. Remember: any ‘show of confidence’ without a solid base of competence is soon perceived as ‘hollow’ by participants, including, or especially, children! 
3. When ‘instructing’ (e.g. first briefing given to campers), use ‘teaching techniques’: explain verbally, illustrate by doing, request for questions and answer them immediately, confirm that participants have understood what you want them to, walk around, use your sense of humour, relate to children in the group, seek support from the adults.
   
4. Set up specific times when you meet with participants. Enquire about their health and wellbeing. Act immediately to address any concern that is voiced.
E.g. on a hiking programme where participants are walking from camp to camp:
   - If someone has not been ‘sleeping warm’, then investigate root cause (Sleeping gear not adequate? Food intake not sufficient or appropriate? Etc.)
   - Have a ‘blister-meeting’ in each camp where hotspots and blisters are looked at and treated with first-aid – participants would love you for taking care of their feet!
   

In conclusion

• An organisation should strive for camping practices that address ‘safety’ comprehensively. For instance, while there is intense focus on safety of people and even equipment (its costs money!), comparatively speaking, little or no attention is paid to making things environment-friendly. Organisations should have documented safe practices based on its values, and camp organisers and leaders should be trained in such practices.
• Organisations should not only encourage but facilitate safe practices. E.g. a) Include a set of trowels as part of common camp-gear, b) Raise and allocate funds for leadership development and wilderness first aid (in addition to ‘standard’ courses like basic and advance mountaineering courses). 
• An organiser’s concern and goal should be to avoid and prevent illnesses and injuries, and for which he/she needs to keep both physical as well as emotional safety of participants in mind. A ‘participant’ needs to voice any discomfort being experienced, and should get it addressed as soon as possible. Both roles (organiser and participant) require a high degree of awareness about self and others, and open communication. Camp organisers need to create an environment, a culture, of such openness. This can be done through proactive communication, through sensitising both camp organisers and participants, and providing forums/platforms for dialogues and feedback to happen.
  

Shantanu Pandit
This article was previously published in the souvenir ‘Sahyankan’ brought out by Chakram Hikers.