Who knows better what could go wrong while hiking in a national park than the people whose job it is to rescue hikers? That’s why we connected with a national park ranger to hear first-hand tips about hiking safety. In this episode, we interview Sara Shoemaker, a law enforcement ranger at Canyonlands National Park (Needles District) in southern Utah.   For several years, we’ve exchanged emails with Sara, and we recently met her while visiting her park. It was then we cooked up the idea to have her be a guest on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast to share practical advice on staying safe while on the trail. Hopefully, you’ll pick up an idea or two from Sara that will help make your future hiking adventures enjoyable and safe.   We start the episode by briefly reviewing the ten essentials of hiking and sharing a few stories about our near-dangerous encounters while hiking when we were not fully prepared for what we encountered on the trail.   A link to a blog post about the hiking ten essentials: ·     Washington Trails Association Ten Essentials   The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.   And don’t forget to check out our new online merch store and www.dirtlander.com.   Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.   Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.   To advertise on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices