Lemon System
Lemon System
When your out in the wilderness, esp. by yourself, you have to pay special attention to your mind & body and the surroundings. Little things can add up to big problems. One system I heard on an episode of Survivorman.
"You count the lemon, one lemon, two lemons, three lemons. now you have to stop & fix the situation." A lemon is: an injury, the weather, a hole in your canoe, pushing yourself too hard. He mentions a small injury like a blister or aches from an old knee injury might only count as a 1/2 lemon but it should be considered.
Lemon System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y69WKvtfH4
Alternate link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3jpk6o
The
"Lemon system" is well-known around Ottawa. The earliest reference I
have is a little booklet by James Raffan, Wilderness Crisis Management,
published by Canoe Ontario in 1987. I'm still using this (with
permission of course) for tripping courses.
One
commenter said that Les' 1/2 lemon was erroneous - one lemon could be
life threatening. My response: well of course, it's just a rule of
thumb.
On my Gold Creek hike, I used this system in my decision to turn back when I did.
1) my leg was in pain from the previous day
2) the trail was overgrown
3) the creek crossing was mildly risky (wet shoes, unseen hazard, deeper on way back)
Three Lemons = turn back.
