Park rangers across San Diego County are urging hikers to plan ahead before going into the wilderness, especially in the heat of summer.
But oftentimes, many people heading out into the wilderness are not properly prepared, County Park Ranger Samuel Alexander said.
Ranger Alexander teaches wilderness training courses every Sunday at San Dieguito Park. The classes help prepare San Diegans skills like setting up basic shelter, what to bring on a hike, and more.
"You get a lot of people who are doing things that maybe they're not informed," Alexander said.
Ranger Alexander says one of the biggest issues people face when going into the wilderness is the lack of preparation.
They run out of water or get lost in the wilderness.
"This is kind of an exercise in ingenuity," he said.
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If you ever do get lost, Alexander said, you can use a poncho, some rocks and rope to create a modified A-frame tent.
"What I've also done is, I didn't really have a tent stick, so I've secured it with a little fork," he said. "You just got to be inventive so that's kind of the lesson here."
He recommends bringing a bag with what he calls the 10 essentials on any hike, which includes: navigation, some kind of light, tools, a fire starter and sun protection.
"If you don't have food for a long time, it probably won't affect your performance, but if you don't have water for a short amount of time it's going to really affect you, so you could potentially be in serious trouble if you don't have water for a couple of days," Alexander said.
Ranger Alexander recommends bringing about twice the amount of water you think you are going to need.
If you plan on staying out for a long time, try using a procurement bags and tying it to a tree. The bags collect water vapor from the leaves.
"You're going to see a lot of little droplets and you just tap the bag, all that stuff is going to drain down and you can get a little source of water in there," he said.
If you want to take one of Ranger Alexander's wilderness classes, meet at the Ranger Station at San Dieguito Park at 2 p.m. He holds the classes every Sunday.
