11 2 Inf orm o t her s of y our tra v el plan If no one is immediat ely a v ailable lea v e a no t e and a map in cam p sho wing y our planned r out e and an y alt ernat e r out es that y ou might tak e Include the e xpect ed time and dat e of y our re turn Be a w are of the location of clif fs par ticularly on sno w co v ered t errain A v oid w alking abo v e clif fs on sno w co v ered t errain A v oid w alking near edges that ma y crumble ie sno w soil or r ock A v oid pr olonged w alking or w or king belo w a clif f f ace but if it is necessar y t o do so be aler t f or the sound of r ock f alls commencing abo v e y ou especially when the sun shines on fr ozen clif fs W atch wh ere y ou st ep and a v oid such danger s as slipper y mud and logs or unstable r ocks When tra v elling in v er y dense underbrush look bef ore each st ep Y ou ma y hear rushing w at er bef ore y ou see it A stream bank dar k pool or hole ma y be obscured in fr ont of y ou par ticularly if the stream is only a f e w f ee t wide and the f orest foor appear s unint errupt ed When sno w is on the gr ound especially in spring be a w are of the possibility of breaking thr ough the sno w int o an open space belo w Sta y aler t t o the possibility of a slip or f all tak e e xtra care so no t t o land on snags cut saplings or shar p r ocks Ne v er smok e w hile tra v elling in the bush during the summer Be cogniz ant that as the da y w ear s on y ou will lik ely become tired less aler t and less agile Plo tting and Ex ecuting T ra v er ses Plo t y our r out e carefully and use the best inf ormation a v ailable such as air pho t os maps and the comments of o ther s f amiliar with the area Be realistic in assess ing what tra v er se can be made in the a v ailable time F or long tra v er ses ha v e a back up plan b y identifying an alt ernat e shor t er r out e in case y our pr oposed tra v er se canno t be com ple t ed