A five hour hike in the woods is a wonderful thing, especially in the summer! If you can’t handle that, then you’re either lazy or unfit. And if you’re unfit, a five-hour walk in the woods would do you A LOT of good!
Today’s high is 90 degrees. You call that sweltering?! PUHLEEZE. In the shade of the woods, it feels great! You really need to get out more often and enjoy nature.
You know, it really makes me sad the way people nowadays keep cooped up indoors in their perfectly climate controlled house, with their TV and computer, and never get outdoors to enjoy the beauty of nature. “OH NO! It’s hot outside! There’s BUGS outside! DANGER DANGER! OHMIGOSH!” It’s amazing to me, people think an all-day hike in the summer is “asking for trouble!” Unbelieveable! No wonder no one cares about the environment, driving their SUVs around the suburbs (which is the #1 cause of the code red days in the DC area), tearing down trees to make way for the next housing development… Because they don’t appreciate or take advantage of the outdoors. It really makes me sad.
Guinastasia, when was the last time you went for a walk in the woods? Went camping? Watched birds flying and forest creatures frolic? When was the last time you hiked up the moutain and enjoyed the view and the serenity, and the beauty of the plants, and the wildlife (bug and snakes and everything included?) If I had my way, I’d be doing this every day, whether it be 100 degress or 0 degrees out. You’re really missing out…
With no water? Not dressed for hiking - perhaps in sandals that pinch or blister your feet after you’ve been walking too long?
birdgirl, I think most of the point to the OP, and the followup posts, was that the parents weren’t informed as the law requires, and that the kids weren’t prepared for a day of hiking. One minor point about it being a red ozone alert day was made, and it might well be recommended that kids stay inside, in which case I would see that point. As attractive a strawman as it might be, I don’t think anyone’s screaming about the evils of nature and how it should be avoided at all cost.
Nobody is saying a five hour hike in the woods is a bad thing. When you go on a five hour hike in 90 degree weather, do you bring a bottle of water, some food, etc.? If so, you are BEING PREPARED. These teachers weren’t prepared. When you do something and aren’t prepared, you are asking for trouble.
Did anybody say kids shouldn’t go outside? No, I didn’t think so. We are saying go outside but BE PREPARED. Wear sunscreen, wear bug repelant, bring water, etc.
The last time? Probably when I was in Girl Scouts. Nowadays, sadly, I can’t go outside much-my allergies just start making me dizzy and I end up with migraines. Ever had a migraine?
I also am on Paxil, which makes me very sensitive to the heat-it makes me literally weak and dizzy.
Ever had an allergic reaction to a bee sting? My friend did-she stepped on a bee and couldn’t walk for a week her foot swelled up so bad.
(And I’m incredibly ophidiophobic)
Do you bring water with you, though? These kids didn’t have water.
Again, have you ever had LYME DISEASE??? Hell, it doesn’t have to be in the woods-my grandfather was bitten by a deer tick while working in his GARDEN, dumbass! Luckily, they caught it in time.
If one is PREPARED for a hike, that’s different. Appropriate clothing, and WATER WATER WATER makes all the difference.
Besides which, if you are a school, you do NOT take kids out without their parents permission.
Uh, excuse me, but I re-read DEVA’s posts twice, and nowhere did she way they didn’t have water. Where are you getting the idea they didn’t have water? It was the lack of sunscreen and bugspray she was complaining about.
**Good god, I hope you never breed. **
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Wow, that’s a great point you make there in support of your argument. What a mature, well thought-out point. But in the spirit of your sentiment, I hope you never breed either. Afterall, you wouldn’t want to pass on all your maladies that prevent you from going outside to another human being. That would be cruel.
The best memories I have of childhood are of playing oustide. The best memories of my adult life were when I was outdoors in the wilderness. I’m sad for you that you can’t have the same wonderful memories, or if you have children, that they won’t be allowed to have them.
What the heck? I’m quite sure that nobody in this thread is suggesting that anyone’s kids be prevented from ever playing outdoors in the wilderness. If you take the time to actually read what we’re saying, instead of deliberately trying to pick a fight as it appears you are actually doing, you will find that most of the posters here are only suggesting that before taking someone’s kids out on a lengthy summertime hike in the woods, teachers should inform parents of their plans, so that parents can take appropriate precautions, and, y’know, be aware of where their kids are at.
I mean, you can blather on about how everyone here is anti-outdoors and how we’re all keeping our kids in plastic bubbles if you want to, but since nobody has suggested anything even remotely similar to that, you’re just going to make yourself look silly.
Ok birdgirl and blainer, it seems that some of us made a possibly incorrect assumption about a lack of water. How about how the OP states “No indoor shelter. No sunscreen. I was told to check my son’s head for FUCKING TICKS!”.
OK I’ll respond. Your argument seems a bit silly to me, it’s not what I was trying to say at all. My point is that, I’m not going to let the fear of getting Lyme disease or skin cancer prevent me from doing what I love most. Yes I take precautions. I wear sunscreen (I burn easily) and always always bring water. The chances that something bad will happen to me because I spend time outdoors are very small. I doubt many people get skin cancer ONLY because they played in the woods as kids without sunscreen. It’s more likely because they laid out on the beach every summer, etc.
But DEVA shouldn’t worry too much because 1) it’s hard to get sunburned in the shady woods. I burn very easily, but have NEVER been burned in the woods. 2) If you’re sticking to a trail, and not “bushwhacking” (as in walking around in the brush), you’re not likely to pick up any ticks.
I wonder, did DEVA ask her son if he had any fun? Or did he say the trip was miserable? (well, besides that pesky flying insect, how horrible!) All the kids I know or have known, if you were to let them run around in the woods all day, they would LOVE IT. I’m willing to bet those kids had a lot of fun.
Birdgirl Tell me, if a school misinformed you about taking your children on a fieldtrip where they would be exposed to potential dangers that no one was prepared for, you wouldn’t be upset? That’s what the rant is about. DEVA wasn’t ranting about her kid being outdoors and experiencing nature, she was ranting about the fact that THEY DIDN’T TELL HER THAT WAS GOING ON!!! I’d be pissed too. Parents have a right to protect their children in any way. So what if bug spray and sunscreen weren’t used as much in years past? They are now and it’s even recommended to wear sunscreen every day, nevermind when being exposed to the sun for long periods of time, and 5 + hours definitely counts for that.
I have asthma and I’m in relatively good shape. I have no problem going for hikes and things when it’s cooler out. In 90+ degree weather though, I find it much harder to breathe. A walk in the woods just simply isn’t a good idea for me, especially in all this humidity. Who knows if it was good for some of the kids? That’s up to the parent to decide- not the school, not you birdgirl
You’re being absolutely moronic about this whole thing. If the school hadn’t lied and told DEVA where they were taking the kids, I’m sure that this rant wouldn’t exist. It’s not about nature, it’s about the school not being responsible.
Cora Kelly Elementary, Alexandria - 96°
Thomas Jefferson Middle, Arlington - 97°
GWU - 97°
Robert F. Lederer Environmental Education Center - 101° with a heat index of 107°
Ressie Jeffries Elementary, Front Royal (closest reporting station to Indian Pipe, 8 miles as the crow flies) - 95° with a heat index of 107°
Not exactly the sort of weather one should be in for over five hours even if one is prepared for it.
I think it’s reasonable for DEVA to have been pissed off because 1) these precautions were not provided for her son (at least, sunscreen wasn’t), and 2) she was not informed of the nature of this trip enough in advance to allow her to provide those precautions, either.
I’d have been pissed off, too. If the school wanted to take my kid on a day-long hike in the woods? Great! I’d sunscreen him up, tell him to watch out for ticks and poison ivy, and wait for him to tell me all about it when he got home. But for them to NOT tell me beforehand is definitely rage-worthy. As others have already pointed out, if one of the kids on the trip had asthma or some other lung impairment, a hiking trip like this could have been a serious problem. Hiking in the summertime in the great outdoors is a wonderful thing, but not if you spend the whole trip wheezing and struggling to breathe because you have asthma and the air quality sucks. Yeah, it’s unlikely that any of the kids had a problem like that, but the point is, the teachers should have checked first, and should have cleared the trip with the parents.
Interesting that you think my argument seems silly since you are the one who said “When I was growing up, we never wore sunscreen when we played outside. We never wore bug spray. We managed to survive. I’m only 27, but when I was a kid, hardly anyone used suncreen or bugspray on a daily basis.” Just because we didn’t use it back then doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use it now. And that was my point. Times change.
Ah, you are smart. You do take precautions. In this situation, DEVA was unable to take the precautions you would normally take.
Cite please where you can’t burn very easily in the woods?
My mother got Lyme sitting in a garden in D.C. A friend got Lyme cutting his grass in Olney. Deer walk through my back yard all of the time and I am a stones through from 495. So, your comments about bushwhacking are bullshit and insulting.
Hell, I’m sure the kids would have fun running full speed towards a cliff. Doesn’t mean it was a good idea.
I’ve been on numerous backpacking and camping trips for several days at a time in weather like this (as in, outside 24-7 for three days, not just 5 hours). Usually, it’s cooler in the woods and mountains. Regardless, these trips were wonderful!
Well, as I said previously…1) I am very fair skinned. I burn VERY easily. 2) I spend a lot of time in the woods. 3) I get burned easily when I’m in full sun. 4) However, in the many, many times I have spent time in the woods, I have never gotten a sunburn (without sunscreen).
That’s all the evidence I need. Besides, who doesn’t agree that you can’t burn in the shade? I’ve sat all day in the shade on a hot, sunny day and never been burned. However, if I step out into the sun for 10 minutes, my face is burned. Woods, by definition, are shady. I’ve never heard of anyone burning in the shade or in the woods in my extensive experience. Isn’t that why people sit under an umbrella at the beach?
I see, so the woods are 100% shady. There are no breaks in the tree coverage where sun gets through? The walk from the buses to the woods are covered? The kids weren’t exposed to direct sunlight at all?
People people people! Getting back to the real point, not informing parents is illegal in this regard.
Biggirl, I think you’re just looking for trouble. Since parent’s are resposible for their children, knowing where they are and what they are doing (to a point) is very important.
Regardless if the kids are having fun or not.
I love the woods to (mostly for paintball) but that doesn’t mean a school can do whatever it wants with the kids under it’s care. How 'bout I take your kid (if you had one) and, without your knowledge, take them to a hospital full of (say) SARS victims? We could argue it’s educational and relatively safe (with the proper equipment) but I’d say there’d be a lot of parent who wouldn’t want their kids to be placed in that situation.
Woods are relatively safe. But there are good reasons why some kids shouldn’t be in the woods without educated ranger-type people.
