What can kill you in the bush...................!!

With winter upon us in full force, some of us are out and about in the bush for our winter camping, hiking, fishing and other varied activities. With this in mind, were going to concentrate on winter survival and the elements that go along with this season. One thing that has occurred to me is all the ways you can die in the bush. Even if your paying attention, lord knows what can happen. We take this as a matter of course in our daily travels in/out and about the world outside the cities.
Here is just a short list of some of what can get you. (Feel free to ad to it if you like)
*Extreme cold (hypothermia, exposure)
*Extreme heat ( Heat stroke)
*Falling off a mountain
*Part of a mountain falling on YOU. (or rocks, trees,......etc)
*Drowning
*Heart attack
*Avalanche
*Lightning
*Flash flood
*Poisonous spiders/insects
*Snakebite (We DO have Eastern Diamondback's in these mountains)
*Predators (Black bears have been more aggressive here of late)
*Other people (People that should not have guns, and cast members of "Deliverance"
*And my favorite: Panic! Someone gets lost,..panics, and fails to make proper decisions about their situation due to the stress of the situation. THIS ONE may very well be the most common and the most fatal mistake made in the bush.

Panic is the most dire and life threatening effect of being lost or "turned around" that there is.
Your out for a day hike and find yourself lost. Concern gives way to worry, then stress, then panic sets in. You blindly forge onward in denial of the fact your lost, and manage to do nothing more than get even more lost. You panic more, forge ahead more, and use up valuable energy resources that are better utilized in improving your situation with night coming on. This makes you panic even more.......etc........etc. It's a circle of problems to say the least.
The letters S.T.O.P need to come into play at this point.
S. -STOP!
T. -THINK!
O. -OBSERVE!
P. -PLAN!
S.--Stop forging ahead........YOUR LOST ENOUGH ALREADY!
T. --Think. What needs to be done to get through the night in some form of comfort and safety.
O.--Observe. Where can you make camp for the night. What dangers should you
be aware of around you? Will someone find you before nightfall?
Does your cellphone work where you are?
P.--Plan. If your not getting out tonight, where to camp? Take stock of the
supplies you have with you.
More than one lost individual has spent the night outdoors while lost by using this simple four letter plan, and in the type of cold we've had over the last few week's, the simple act of thinking can mean the difference between a cold night out and being hypodermic in the bush alone.