While enjoying an outing on the Little Miami Scenic Trail, you encounter an emergency involving another trail user. How should you respond?

1. Call for help: Dial 911. Provide the location and nature of the emergency. Remain on the line to receive advice and to provide updates.
2. Assess the patient: If the patient can speak, ask questions to understand what happened. Concentrate on level of consciousness, cervical spinal stabilization, airway, breathing, and circulation (reference link)
3. Render first aid: Provide first aid to the patient, but only to the extent that you are trained and able. Otherwise, focus on the other suggested responses.
4. Secure the scene: If safe to do so, move the patient off the trail. Be alert for the approach of other trail users, who will be unaware of the emergency.
5. Enlist others: Enlist other trail users to assist. “Trade up” if someone better able to render first aid arrives. Ask another trail user to stand guard, warning other trail users who arrive at the scene. Ask another trail user to direct emergency personnel to the site.

You can only call for help if you carry a well-charged cell phone when using the trail. Cell phone coverage across the trail is generally good. If reception is a problem, you might possibly need to leave the scene and travel to an area with better coverage to summon help.

The Little Miami Scenic Trail includes mile markers at one-half mile increments. Pay careful attention to where you are with respect to mileposts, since providing emergency personnel with a precise location is beneficial. Being generally aware of the trail’s mile markers is useful. For example, mile marker 0.0 is near Xenia, while mile marker 42.0 is near Loveland.

What about liability? Ohio Revised Code, Section 2305.23 states that “No person shall be liable in civil damages for administering emergency care or treatment at the scene of an emergency outside of a hospital, doctor's office, or other place having proper medical equipment, for acts performed at the scene of such emergency, unless such acts constitute willful or wanton misconduct.” If you are the only person available to render aid, use your judgement (coupled with the advice of a 911 operator) to determine what to do.

The Red Cross offers a full range of first aid courses, covering basic first aid, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) use. Explore available courses at this link. 

Being involved in an emergency can be traumatic, but also gratifying when you are able to help. Prepare yourself today so that you are up to the challenge.

Did You Know?

Maintenance on the Little Miami State Park trail includes trimming trees overhanging the trail to allow clearance for emergency vehicles.

article by Erick Wikum

Top Image by diana.grytsku on Freepik

June 2023

You have been tasked with designing the official Little Miami Scenic Trail First Aid Kit. It should be compact, able to be carried in a bike saddle bag or fanny pack. The kit should address the most common minor injuries or medical conditions that trail users may experience or encounter among others. What items would you include? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Band aids of various sizes
2. Gauze
3. Medical tape
4. Antiseptic ointment
5. Disposable gloves
6. Instant cold pack
7. Bug bite pen
8. Pain relief pills

In thanks for your design work, you receive the very first official First Aid Kit. Knowing that members of your family have specific, known conditions, you decide to customize your kit. You add an epi pen to treat your son’s life-threatening allergies, an inhaler to treat your wife’s severe asthma, and sugar-based hard candy to treat your mother’s hypoglycemia.

You are eager to try out your first aid kit, and Mother’s Day offers the perfect opportunity. As you load everyone into the car, you realize that you should bring two other items to complement your first aid kit. The first is your fully charged cell phone, so you can call 911 to summon help for more serious situations. The second is bottles of cold water, to prevent or treat dehydration and to treat heat-related illnesses.

Your family enjoys a beautiful hike. The temperature is perfect. You encountered no incidents today, but if you do, with your first aid kit, phone, and water in tow, you will be prepared to respond.

by Erich Wikum

May 2023

by Rick Forrester

With the arrival of spring, everything comes to life along our trail! The Little Miami Park encompasses 50.5 miles of trail and approximately 404 acres of land in Ohio. As such, we have the opportunity to see many of the official State flora and fauna.

State Animal: The White-tailed deer (photo above), seen constantly on the trail especially at dusk. I almost ran into one jogging one evening. I’m not sure who left the most pellets on the trail—him or me!

State Bird: The Cardinal was adopted as the state bird in 1933. They are year-round residents in the park with a clear, strong song and brilliant red plumage.

State Flower: Red Carnation. You won’t see these on the trail! This flower was adopted in memory of President William McKinley who always wore one on his lapel.

State Wildflower: Ah, that’s more like it! It’s Trillium Grandiflorum (above), and is found all through the park. This perennial with three leaves and a central flower stalk of 3 white petals is also known as White Trillium or Wood Lily. You’ll see it blooming April to June in part or full shade.

State Fossil: Isotelus (left), also known as the Trilobite. The Caesar Creek spillway nearby is a great place to look for these 440-million-year-old creatures that lived in the marine environment that once covered Ohio.

State Gemstone: Flint, which is not really a rock but a variety of quartz, a mineral. It’s found embedded in the sedimentary bedrock underlying our park. Flint was used by Native Americans in and around the park for knives, spear points, and arrowheads, and later used by settlers for flintlock guns and for millstones. For a great experience, head up to the Native American Fort Ancient Museum a mile off the trail on Route 350 at mile 23.5 to see a host of native American artifacts.

State Insect: No, it isn’t the Emerald Ash Borer! It is the Ladybug, chosen for its markings and its habit of eating insect pests. There are both native and introduced ladybugs. The Asian Ladybug was introduced into the US to help control pests, but soon became one itself. Similar to the native ladybugs, the Asian ladybug has a black arch over a flattened circle that sits against the wings. The arch runs up to the eyes creating an “M” or “W” pattern.

State Beverage: If you are thinking it has something to do with all the micro-breweries along the Park, you are in for a surprise. It is…. Tomato Juice! So, when refreshing yourself in the local restaurants, instead of raising an IPA or Stout, raise a Tomato Juice!

State Reptile: If you’ve ever run on the trail and seen a Black Racer snake sunning herself on the asphalt, you have just seen the state reptile. They are non-poisonous and are extremely helpful around the house and farm as they eat significant numbers of rats, mice, and other pests. Do you ever see a snake and jump out of your skin for a second, and then calm down and enjoy the beauty of these creatures? Fear of snakes is called Ophidiophobia, by the way.

And finally…
State Tree: You know this one! The Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra). It’s a member of the horsechestnut family and found throughout the park primarily in shady, moist, well-drained slightly alkaline soils. On a curious note, buckeye wood is used in making artificial limbs. The seeds are not safe to eat, but if you make the classic chocolate/peanut butter buckeyes, you will have a wonderful treat.

Enjoy your Park and the State!

May 2023