The Great Outdoors Dangerous Without Precaution

Mild weather and sunny skies are pushing more people into the great outdoors. But things aren`t so great when outdoor activities lead to injuries. Twenty-one year old rock climber, Kris Kyle fell 30 feet from a bluff at Riverside Park in Searcy last month. He doesn`t remember much from it. "I went back, cracked my head on a rock, shattered my wrist, chipped a tooth, broke my scapula," Kyle said. A student from Colorado at Harding University, he`s no stranger to climbing. "I love rock climbing. It can be extremely safe, but it can also be extremely dangerous. It depends on what climbing you`re doing and how safe you make it," he said. But that experience still didn`t prevent his fall. "I was doing a climb that I apparently shouldn`t have been doing in the way that I did." As cabin fever breaks, some people forget to put safety first, when heading outdoors. Last weekend, a hiker ventured off the trail at Petit Jean Mountain, got too close to the edge and fell 70 feet. He was taken to a Little Rock hospital. "When you go out into the natural world, there are hazards basically just about anywhere," said Pinnacle Mountain State Park Interpreter James Mullins. "So you really have to use good judgement." Pinnacle Mountain State Park has some rock climbing and it requires a permit. But rocks in the rest of the park are made for hikers or no one at all. "Some of them are real steep on the edges, some of them are not. Some are suitable for climbing, not others," Mullins said. "Climbing is a sport of calculated risks. Just like a lot of other sports. The problem comes when you stop thinking and decide to be a little daring," Kyle said. Having learned his lesson, Kyle plans to take it easy next time he`s on the rock...using his head more and adrenaline less.