Field safety & risk
These rules are part of the Recreational User Terms. They exist because outdoor recreation is genuinely dangerous, and because every activity booked or discovered through WildPass is done at your own risk. Read the section for every activity you plan.
⚠️ First, the big one
- Every activity on WildPass — on private or public land — is undertaken AT YOUR OWN RISK. Land is wild, conditions change daily, and no listing, map, or species note is a guarantee of safety.
- Tell someone where you're going and when you'll be back. Cell coverage is unreliable on most listed land — download offline maps before you go (WildPass maps work offline once viewed).
- Carry the ten essentials: navigation, water, food, first-aid kit, knife, fire starter, headlamp, sun/rain protection, insulation layer, and a whistle.
- Check the weather the morning of, not the night before. Turn around early — the land will be there next weekend.
🍄 Foraging & wild food
- NEVER eat any mushroom or plant you have not identified with 100% certainty — 'probably' is how people die. Cross-check at least two field guides or a local expert, not an app alone.
- There is no universal edibility test. Folk rules ("animals eat it", "it peels", "cook it long enough") are myths that kill people every year.
- Deadly lookalikes are common: destroying angel vs. button mushrooms, false morels vs. morels, poison hemlock vs. wild carrot, water hemlock vs. parsnip. When in doubt, throw it out.
- First time eating any wild species: eat a small amount, keep a sample, and wait 24 hours.
- Know your limits chemically too — some species (e.g., morels) must be fully cooked; some interact with alcohol.
- Respect harvest limits; cut don't rake; leave the small ones and some of every patch.
🏊 Swimming & water
- Swimming in ponds, creeks, rivers, and lakes on listed land is unsupervised and entirely at your own risk — there are no lifeguards, depth markers, or water-quality testing.
- Never dive into water you haven't waded first — submerged rocks and logs cause catastrophic spinal injuries.
- Cold water kills swimmers who could handle the distance; currents and undertows kill swimmers who could handle the cold. Rivers after rain are not the river you scouted.
- Wear a PFD for any paddling, always, regardless of skill. Kids near any water need eyes on them 100% of the time.
- Farm ponds can harbor bacteria and algae blooms — avoid swimming with open cuts and never swallow the water.
🦌 Hunting
- Treat every firearm as loaded. Muzzle discipline always; finger off the trigger until sights are on target; be certain of your target AND what's beyond it.
- Wear blaze orange during any firearm season — even if you're just hiking or foraging on land where hunting is allowed.
- Tree stands are the #1 cause of serious hunting injuries: use a full-body harness from the ground up, inspect straps every season, and never climb with a loaded firearm (use a haul line).
- Know the property's safety zones and neighboring occupied structures. Check the listing's zone map before every sit.
- License, tags, and hunter education are your legal responsibility — a WildPass booking is land permission only.
🛞 ATV, dirt bike & off-road
- Helmet every ride, no exceptions — plus eye protection, gloves, boots over the ankle, long sleeves.
- Ride within sight lines: unfamiliar private trails hide washouts, cables, gates, and low limbs. First lap slow, every time.
- One rider per machine unless it's built for two. No riding after drinking, full stop.
- Stay on marked routes — off-trail riding causes most rollovers (and gets access revoked for everyone).
- Tell the host or your group your route; carry a tool kit, first aid, and a way to call out.
🐎 Horseback riding
- Wear an ASTM-certified riding helmet — head injury is the leading cause of riding deaths, and most happen at a walk.
- Ride a horse suited to your level, and walk unfamiliar trails the first time; deer, grouse flushes, and ATVs spook even steady horses.
- Boots with a heel, no loose clothing, and never wrap reins or a lead around your hand.
- Check girth twice; give other trail users (bikes, hikers) verbal warning as you meet.
🚵 Cycling & mountain biking
- Helmet always. Gloves and eye protection on singletrack.
- Pre-ride the features: unfamiliar jumps, drops, and skinnies demand a walk-through before a ride-through.
- Ride open trails only, in control, yielding as posted. Wet trails: ride through puddles, not around them, or don't ride.
- Carry a tube, pump, multitool, and know how far you are from the trailhead.
🥾 Hiking & camping
- Footwear with tread; blisters end more trips than bears do. Break boots in first.
- Watch footing near bluffs, waterfalls, and stream crossings — wet rock and root are the classic ankle-breakers. Use trekking poles on crossings; unclip your pack's hip belt.
- Camp 200 ft from water, check overhead for dead limbs ('widowmakers') before pitching, and fully drown every fire — cold to the touch.
- Food storage: hang it or can it in bear country; even where there are no bears, raccoons and mice will shred your tent for a granola bar.
- Ticks: permethrin on clothing, DEET/picaridin on skin, full-body checks nightly; remove attached ticks promptly with tweezers, straight out.
- Learn to recognize hypothermia (the umbles: stumbles, mumbles, fumbles) and heat illness (stop sweating = emergency). Both kill in mild weather.
❄️ Winter & ice
- No ice is 'safe ice.' Minimum 4 inches of clear ice for foot travel, 5-7 for snowmobiles — and moving water, springs, and pressure cracks make thickness wildly uneven. Carry ice picks and a throw rope.
- Snowmobiles: helmet, ride right, stay on marked trails, never ride water bodies at night, and treat every road crossing as blind.
- Dress in layers, keep a dry set in the vehicle, and know that daylight ends fast — winter rescues are measured in minutes, not hours.
🐍 Wildlife, plants & livestock
- Give all wildlife room — especially anything with young. Never feed anything.
- Snakes: watch where you step and reach; wear boots in snake country; a bite means calm, immobilize, hospital — no cutting, sucking, or tourniquets.
- Learn poison ivy/oak/sumac ('leaves of three'), wild parsnip, and stinging nettle for your region. Wash with cold water and soap within minutes of contact.
- On working land: cattle, horses, and especially bulls and mothers with calves are dangerous. Close every gate; never walk through a herd; keep dogs leashed and away from livestock.
None of this is exhaustive — conditions on any land can present hazards no list covers. If something feels wrong, it is. Leave.