Going Hiking? 5 Things You Should Take With You

From expanses of trees to flowing fields of flowers and cascading waterfalls, there is a virtually endless supply of beauty to be found in the nature around us. Hiking is an ideal way to get out and explore these surroundings without increasing your carbon footprint or greatly disrupting the natural state of these areas - all while getting in some cardio.                              

To prepare for your next hiking trip, there are a few basics you should plan to bring with you both for your wellbeing and your safety:

Food and Water

As you hike, your body is going to be burning energy. Even in cold weather you are going to need to refuel regularly with food and water, and getting enough water intake is critical to avoid hypothermia and altitude sickness. Be sure you bring plenty of healthy, energy-boosting snack bars that contain the nutrients your body is going to need to replenish itself, and lots of water so you don’t run out.

Safety Items

When you go hiking, you are entering into land that belongs to nature; this includes wild animals like bears and snakes, and uneven paths. Stay alert at all times while on your hike, and have safety items prepared in case anything were to happen. These items should include, but not be limited to:

• Fire for warmth
• Flashlight for light
• Knife or multipurpose tools for emergency situations
• Whistle to call for help

First Aid Kit

Along the same lines as safety items, make sure you pack a first aid kit. Especially on rougher hikes it can be easy to slip or fall, and you want to have access to supplies to clean any wounds and bandage them until you get back to safety. First aid kits often include other items like thermal blankets as well, which can come in handy in the event you get lost or turned around and can’t make it back before dark.
 

GPS/Compass/Map

To help make sure you do make it back and don’t get lost, bring a GPS and compass or map to help you find your way no matter where you are. Remember that in some areas of nature your GPS will not be able to get a signal, do don’t rely on this technology alone.

Your Phone

One of the most valuable things your phone can do, aside from acting as both a camera and GPS, is help let family and friends know where you are. This is vitally important in case anything were to happen to you while hiking. Use the Virtual Halo app to easily send check-ins to let them know you’re safe, or an SOS if you’re not. In fact, it was through a strenuous hiking trip that led the developers to create the "Going Out" feature that will let your emergency contacts know that you may be in trouble if you don't get back by the time you intended when you set out on the trailhead.

Put Your Safety First

Hiking is a rewarding experience, and will undoubtedly give you memories to cherish for a lifetime. But remember to always put your safety first. When you’re packing for your hike, be sure to include all basic necessities like water, food, a first aid kit and safety items. Then, download Virtual Halo and bring your phone so you have quick access to help if you need it.

Simple Ways To Give Seniors More Freedom While Still Checking In

As people age it can be a shock needing to become more dependent on those around them. It can be difficult for the elderly members of the population to maintain their sense of independence, but it’s often critical in order for them to stay happy and healthy.

If you have a loved one that needs more care while still holding on to their independence, try these simple ways to give seniors more freedom while still checking in:

Take Advantage of Delivery

One of the most convenient things about modern society is the ability to go online and have virtually anything delivered directly to your door. This covers clothing, groceries and even medications. If your loved one insists on having their freedom, but you still want to make sure they have all the basic necessities covered without intruding on their space, try taking advantage of delivery.

Check In on Your Phone

As the body becomes more fragile seniors may become injured more easily and need additional care. If you are concerned about their safety but they insist on holding on to their freedom for as long as they can, download the Virtual Halo app to their mobile phone. Let them know that with the app they can quickly and easily contact you with an SOS message if anything happens, or just check in now and then to let you know they’re okay so you don’t start sending hundreds of texts or calling dozens of times a day (because we all do when it comes to the care of a loved one).

A Blend of Independence and Care

When it comes to keeping their independence, seniors can be quite stubborn, even if they know it’s time to rely on others. Help them maintain their freedom with a blend of independence and care by helping them meet their basic needs and letting them check in with you more often than you check in with them. Virtual Halo is the perfect way to feel confident they can reach you if they need to, while still giving them the space they ask for.

Why Everyone Should Have An Emergency Contact

We live in a world where virtually anything can happen, and it can happen unexpectedly. Accidents at work or school, fender benders, going into labor before the due date, inclement weather on a trip, fires… the list goes on. What do you do when the unexpected happens?

It’s important for all members of your family to have an emergency plan. In this emergency plan you should include details for specific emergency situations. And if you follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), you should have a family communication plan. This plan should detail what steps to take in different emergencies and how you will contact each other.

Creating a Communication Plan

Every family’s communication plan is going to be unique to them, but there are a few guidelines that should be followed in order for it to be effective when you need it.

1. Keep a list of emergency phone numbers
2. Make sure every family member knows who to contact
3. Have an emergency contact

Designating an Emergency Contact

When you choose an emergency contact, first and foremost, you want them to be reliable. In the event of an emergency they will need to react quickly to get you the help you need. It may be best for this emergency contact to be out of town so they can then contact everyone as needed.

The Role of an Emergency Contact

Your emergency contact will be responsible for alerting others of the emergency and calling for the appropriate help. They are a critical piece to your family’s emergency communication plan to keep everyone aware of the situation - pretty much your hero!

Communicate More Efficiently

Because time is of the essence in most emergency situations, you need to be able to contact your emergency contact as quickly as possible so they can react. A convenient addition to your communication plan for every member of the family is the Virtual Halo app. The app lets you send a quick SOS in the event of an emergency to alert your emergency contact. You can then use its check-in feature to keep them updated from there. This simplifies what you need to do in an emergency.

Don't Let Your Teen Leave For College Without Their Personal SOS

For teens, going off to college is an exciting, and liberating milestone.

But for parents, this event can be terrifying. Especially if they go to school out of state, as nearly 14% of students do.

As a parent, how can you feel confident that your teen will be safe even when you aren’t there? Start by talking to them about safety and precautions they should take, then take advantage of the one thing you know they’ll never go a second without - their cell phone.

Install Their Personal SOS

As your teen is busy preparing for their new classes stocking up on pens, papers and books, scratch one more thing off the to do list by downloading Virtual Halo to their cell phone. Virtual Halo is a personal safety app that will give you peace of mind by giving your teen access to quick and convenient SOS notification in the event of an emergency.

The app was designed with the college student in mind. When your teen uses the SOS, it not only sends a message to you and their chosen, trusted contacts, and can also be setup to text their campus security as well. This way, you can relax (as much as possible) knowing that nearby help is on the way. It’s free to use for basic services, with extended services costing only $1.99 per month; peace of mind as your teen strolls around campus.

Education is Important, but…

We know their safety comes first. That’s why we developed an app to give your teen the ability to immediately contact those closest to them for help when they need it. With the app, they can check in, mark when they’re going out and use the innovative Going Out Mode. When active, Going Out will automatically send an SOS if it's not disabled by the time they originally set. So you and your teen can always feel safe, anywhere, at any time.

Why You Should Always Let Someone Know Where You Are

Have you ever gotten lost?

It’s never a fun feeling. It happens to even the best outdoors people. And scientists now think that when we’re lost we do really walk in circles.

While it may not have been for a very long amount of time, most of us can remember getting temporarily turned around at some point. And if you do remember, you can likely recall the fear as well. But that fear shouldn’t deter anyone from enjoying adventure activities.

Venturing out hiking or camping, travelling across the country or foreign countries. It’s fun and a wonderful experience, but obviously it comes with risks. In such a mobile world, it’s critical to let people know where you are. Why? Because you never know what could happen. And it’s important to have a backup plan in case something happens.And it’s also something good so your loved ones don’t worry about you when you’re out enjoying the world.

Here are a few tips for letting people know where you are:

Tip #1. Expect the Unexpected

You never truly know what is going to happen when you’re on an adventure. You can plan and plan and most times things will be fine. But it only takes one time for things to go haywire. It’s critically important that you expect, or at least plan, for the unexpected. A great way to be prepared in the event of an emergency is to let someone know where you are.

Whether you are on a road trip across the country, hiking or camping in the woods, or simply running out to the store, let someone know your planned route. You might think that your plans will change. You can let the person know, but still give them a basic itinerary. The more information they have the more they can assist if you get lost.

Tip #2. Provide A Basic Time Frame

While you’re out, try to give someone a time frame to expect you back. It doesn’t have to be exact. Within a day or so. This way, if you haven’t contacted them or made it home when you said you would, they can be on the lookout for you. If your plans change just let your person know by checking-in. Just a quick message to let them know you’re doing fine. This way, if they can’t reach you, they’ll have an idea of what’s going on. Then, if something does happen, they know to react.

Tip #3. Stop & Assess

A very common scenario when you get that dreaded feeling of being lost is to move frantically. It’s natural to want to quickly get back on track. To feel at ease again. You want to avoid this tendency.

The best course of action is to STOP.

Stop. Think. Observe. Plan.

Give yourself time to take a breath and to figure out where you’ve been. How long you’ve been walking. Odds are pretty good that with a clear mind and a little rest that you can find your way back to your trail.

Tip #4. Take Advantage of Modern Technology

With everything going on in life, it can be difficult to remember to update someone at all times. Thankfully, our phones are a simple way to take care of that for us. With convenient, simple apps like Virtual Halo, you can send a quick check in to let them know you’re fine, or send an SOS if you aren’t.

With Virtual Halo, you have an app that puts your safety first and makes it easy to let someone know how you’re doing and if you need help. This quick alert is critical in an emergency situation to keep you and loved ones safe.

Exploring and adventuring are amazing aspects of life. It’s great to get away from the business of the city and all the modern technology. But you can unplug and still have the nice safety net that technology provides. You can still get away from it all, but it’s good to have a backup plan so that when something does happen you can quickly get back on track and work on your next adventure.