>> Outline the equipand your team ha>> Leave a copy of tfriend and on theleft at the trailheac. Check in with lan>> Secure permits fo
Preparation 19 pment and resources you ave available. he itinerary with a trusted e dashboard of any vehicle ad. d management agencies. or camping (if needed).
20 Outdoor Survival >> Investigate potentithat could affect yolandslides, high wa>> Consider leaving anpermitting agency. d. Look into weather c>> Check into long-teryou are traveling. >> Gather informationextremes.
al hazards or obstacles our plan (bridges out, ater, and so forth). n itinerary with the conditions. rm forecasts for the area n on potential weather
Chapter Two When Things Go ARegardless of all our planbe times when things do nhappen, you get lost or ssomeone falls ill, or you mup in trouble far from helpdeeply and come up withof trouble. Sometimes all your prepaDense forest, off-trail travcause you to become diso
Trailside Navigation Awry ning and training, there will not go as planned. Accidents separated from your party, misjudge a hazard and end p. Now’s the time to breathe h a plan to get yourself out aration comes to naught. vel, overcast skies can all oriented or lost.
22 Outdoor Survival Lost One of the leading reasonsteams are called into actiohappens every summer aers fail to show up at a destime; someone wanders offgets disoriented, and doesnple don’t know how to read up miles from where they around in the wilderness is athe trickier skill is, knowing wWays to Stay Found 1. Pay attention. As ylook around and mmarks you pass. Orlandscape. Do the south? Are there anfeatures that can kcardinal directions?are hiking in view oto the east, west, nmountain? It’s unliwill change unless distances, so you cpeak to get an overwhich. Of course, th
s local search-and-rescue on is to find lost hikers. It ll over the country: Hikignated meeting place on f to relieve him- or herself, n’t return to camp; or peo their map or GPS and end planned. Getting turned actually pretty easy to do; where you are at all times. you walk, take time to make note of the landrient yourself to the mountains trend northny major topographical eep you clued in to the ? For example, say you f Mount Rainer. Are you orth, or south of the kely that orientation you are hiking very long an always look at the rall sense of which way is his technique is not very
helpful when cloumarks, but on cleyou to place yourThe sun can of the cardinal directions. Make note of where it rises, watch how it tracks its way across the sky, and notice where it sets. If you check your watch at the same time, Take advantage of high points athe surrounding landscape and
When Things Go Awry 23 uds obscure your landear days it’s a great way for rself in the landscape. also help you get a sense and open terrain to get oriented to familiar with obvious landmarks.
24 Outdoor Survival you’ll be able to gedirection by the sunNotice how thialong. Verbalize theing hills, identify plalook over your shouanother perspectivward if the landscanot matching whating your map. Your will be traveling upgaining or losing eleabove treeline, in aa flat plain. If thingsup, you need to figu2. Pick out handrailsHandrails serve as you follow a path. Ihandrails are naturas a long ridge or riva barrier, keeping yorect line of travel. Fhandrail may be a rbe following for sevits northern bank. Tif you are traveling should always be osuddenly the river dfind it has magicall
t a sense of time and n. ngs look as you move e shape of the surroundaces on your map, and ulder to get a view from ve. Don’t keep moving forape you see around you is t you expected from read map will tell you if you pstream or downstream; evation; or moving canyon, or out on s aren’t matching ure out why. s and landings. guides, helping n the outdoors, ral features such ver that acts as ou on the corFor example, your river that you will veral miles along That means that west the river on your left side. If disappears or you ly switched to your
right side, you shothat something hLandings arechange—as landiplaces to pause abackcountry a lantion, a river crossipass. Once you eIt’s hard to get lost when naturawalls act as handrails confining
When Things Go Awry 25 ould be clued in to the fact has gone wrong. places where things ngs on a staircase are and change direction. In the nding may be a trail juncing, or perhaps a mountain ncounter that landing, your al features such as these valley g you to a specific path.
26 Outdoor Survival handrails will chansides or you may lemay find yourself tclimbing for hours tPick out your hthe morning beforenote of when you epoints along your rocross a river at nooyou’re still walking you probably need map. It can be easy to lose track of whea trail. Make sure to continue to paings to avoid missing key landmar
ge. A river may switch eave it altogether. You raveling downhill after to reach a pass. handrails and landings in e you start hiking. Make expect to reach specific oute. If you thought you’d n and two hours later with no sign of water, to stop and look at your ere you are when pounding down ay attention to your surroundrks or trail junctions.
3. Look at the landyour map. If you eral hours and yoting sore, it can bmap and decide yyour destination. yourself that you’have; and while ylandmark was golittle imagination yourself believe itfront of you, espeless than a mile fenon of making tpurely a habit of bto smell the barnTo avoid fallibest bet is to pinpthe landscape aroyour map. These ous features thaton the map, suchlake, a large meading through it, a lopeaks, or a promibest to choose a marks to help narOnce you’ve lookmap and locate y
When Things Go Awry 27 dscape before consulting have been hiking for sevour feet and back are gete very easy to look at your you are someplace close to You can usually convince ’ve hiked farther than you you thought a mountain oing to be bigger, with a you can usually make t is that rounded knob in ecially if that means you are rom camp. The phenomhe map fit the land is not beginners. Most of us start when our legs are tired. ng into this trap, your point a few key points in ound you before opening points need to be obvi you’ll be able to identify h as the inlet or outlet of a dow with a river meanderow pass between distant nent mountain. Usually, it’s couple of different landrrow down your options. ed around, pull out the your landmarks. Only after
28 Outdoor Survival you’ve found thoseto home in on your 4. Keep track of timeyou leave camp anobvious terrain featsense of how fast yyou should expect tion or a specific spabout 3 miles per htrails carrying a lightion gain in, and yodown. If you add anfeet gained, you’ll gtion of your speed. slower. Regardless,own pace, so you’llthe start of your triwhat formula workTravel speed isit can serve as a gathat you should reaand you find yoursein sight, it may be tyou are way overduexplanation for youthree-hour nap at late. You may have ago.
e points is it worth trying specific location. e. Make note of when d what time you pass tures. This will give you a you are moving and when to arrive at your destinapot. Most of us travel at hour on relatively level ht load. Add some elevau can expect to slow n extra mile per 1,000 get a good approxima Off-trail travel is usually , every party moves at its l want to pay attention at p to get a better sense of ks for you. s useful primarily because auge. If you calculated ach your camp by 3 p.m. elf hiking at 5 with no end hat you’ve gone astray. If ue and there’s no logical ur tardiness (such as a lunch), stop and reevalumade a wrong turn hours
5. Stay together wto be right next totimes, but you doa system for comneed arise. You malways have a deand someone elsmay have a rule tview; or you may dezvous at any deter, such as a trailThe key is to makbecome separatemember of your puncomfortable crthe group feels tonation. In and of tStay with your group or have a pto hike at your own pace. Separahikers because of miscommunic
Trailside Navigation 29 hile hiking. You don’t have o your teammates at all o want to be sure you have mmunicating should the may decide that means you signated leader out front se bringing up the rear; you hat no one gets out of decide that you will renecision point you encounl junction or river crossing. ke sure that you do not ed if something happens: a party is injured, someone is rossing a stream, or part of oo tired to make your destithemselves, none of these plan for meeting up if you decide ated hikers often end up lost cation and misunderstanding.
30 Outdoor Survival scenarios is particuhalf of your group joblivious to the diffiers, you may end uknow it. 6. Know your campswhile you are settinyourself with your sif your camp is hiddto see from a distamarks that will helpso if you wander awthe bathroom, or tasome markers to lumarkers may be a stree, a trail junctionyou can recognize fYou may also wguidelines if you seleave it for a few mbe surprisingly hardin the woods, so taaround before you you know where toyour business. 7. Know how to use yYou can carry a staknow exactly what
ularly dangerous, but if ourneys forward blithely, ficulties faced by the othp miles apart before you site. Take a few moments ng up camp to familiarize surroundings, especially den in the trees and hard nce. Locate some landp you home in on the site, way to get water, go to ake a hike, you will have ure you back home. These specific boulder, a unique n, or a waterway: anything from all directions. want to follow these et your pack down and minutes while hiking. It can d to find a backpack lying ake a moment to look leave. That helps ensure o look when you finish your navigational tools. ate-of-the-art GPS and your coordinates are at
all times, but unleinformation to a mModern tools mabut only if you kntice reading your or GPS at home. Stance from someyou if you find youLost or Confused? In spite of everything, moof time in the wildernessflat-out lost at some poiof 39-foot hills where the 40 feet; dense forests whthan the next tree; and any distinguishing featureto navigate through and, lost in. So, what do you do?panic. Stop, breathe, anTake off your backpack; smountaineer and foundeLeadership School, Paul Pand smoke a cigarette.” Thminute. All too often the they realize they are lost
When Things Go Awry 31 ess you can translate that map, you can still be lost. ake staying found easier, ow how to use them. Prac map and using a compass Seek instruction or assiseone who knows more than urself confused. ost people who spend a lot s have been disoriented or nt in their career. The land map’s contour intervals are here you can see no farther wide-open terrain without s are all notoriously difficult therefore, easy to become ? First and foremost, don’t d evaluate your situation. sit down. As the legendary er of the National Outdoor Petzoldt, used to say, “Stop he point is, slow down for a first thing people do when t is to start moving rapidly
32 Outdoor Survival back in the direction they thbefore you know it, they havastray. Nothing is going to hfew moments, so settle doplan. 1. Retrace your stepsbacktrack? Do youfrom? If it’s just a mdown the trail, by asteps until you are ognize, and start ov2. Find a high point fyour location. Is tharea where you canroundings? Look fohumans, or recognSeek out a high point to get a view
hink they came from, and ve wandered even farther happen to you in the next own and come up with a s in your mind. Can you know where you came matter of heading back all means, retrace your back at a place you recver. from which to observe here a nearby hill or open n get a view of your suror major rivers, signs of izable landforms. w.
3. Scout the area tofeatures. If you cyou can consider you can find somget oriented. The get separated froprocess. Scout inof your exploratioretrace your stepsgear. So You Are Lost: Do YoYou’ve probably heard thwhen you get lost. In faclikely you’ve given your often, staying put is the bTo decide if you are betteask yourself: >> How long will it be babsence and come l>> Can you safely stay owaiting for help? >> Do you have shelter?and a source of heat>> What is the weather>> Is there a logical pat
When Things Go Awry 33 o look for recognizable can’t get to a viewpoint, scouting around to see if ething that will help you trick to scouting is not to om your group or gear in the pairs, limit the duration on, and make sure you can s and find your group and You Stay or Do You Go? he old adage: Don’t move ct, if you are a parent, it is child this ultimatum. And best advice, but not always. r off sitting tight or moving, before people notice your looking for you? out overnight or longer ? Clothing? Water, food, t? r doing? th to help?
34 Outdoor Survival You should attempt to wthese variables is true: >> The area you are in is u>> Bad weather is approashelter. >> Nobody knows you arnotice for days, so a selaunched anytime soo>> You have no way to cosomeplace where a sifire or flashing mirror—
walk out if one or more of unsafe. aching, and you have no e missing and won’t earch is unlikely to be on. ommunicate, and you are gnal—such as a smoky —is unlikely to be noticed. If you decide to stay put, make yourself comfortable. It may be a while before help arrives.
If you know that peopcome looking soon, your bplace and stay put until yoespecially true if you get sMake noise, build a fire, tstart moving until one of tvious page begins to comGuidelines for Walking Out If you determine no one isyou and your best bet is toit helps to follow some bamize your chances of bein1. Attempt to hike to towns, farms, hcan get yourself oshould be able towho can help youstreams flow out you are near the othese streams wistart by followingto the bigger draidown; eventuallyman-made featuyou to roads or topick the directionaway from the m
When Things Go Awry 35 le are going to miss you and best bet is to find an obvious ou are found. This strategy is separated from your group. try to be obvious, but don’t he factors listed on the pree into play. ts going to come looking for o attempt to walk to safety, asic rules of thumb to maxing found: to a road. Roads lead houses, people, so if you on a road, eventually you o track down someone u out. In the mountains all to the flats, and unless ocean, sooner or later ll be crossed by a road. So g rivers downstream—stick nages and keep heading y you will come to some ure. Trails will likewise take owns at some point, so n that seems to be heading ountains and start walking.
36 Outdoor Survival If you have no way to write a signs that indicate which way
message, leave obvious y you are traveling.
In due course youat least in the conmay take you a wyou will find peop2. Leave notes in oers know of your notes—or in the aing utensils, sometions, on the edgenoticeable landmdanna or sometheyes to identify thGuidelines for Staying Put Whether you are movinggoal is to make yourselfstop moving for the day, to remain in one locationtime to make some kind see you. It can be surprisor hiker from the air, so usand sound to make yourseFinally, make yoursereally, truly lost, it may tayou are located, so take ticamp where you will be prImprovise a shelter, buildLook at Chapter Four for d
When Things Go Awry 37 u will come to some help, ntinental United States. It while, but in today’s world, ple. obvious places. Let searchintentions by leaving absence of paper and write kind of sign—at trail junce of meadows, or by other marks. Use a bright banhing that will catch people’s he mark. g or staying put, your first f noticeable. So when you and whenever you decide n and wait for rescue, take of signal to help searchers singly difficult to see a tent se mirrors, smoke, patterns, elf as obvious as possible. elf comfortable. If you are ake hours, even days before ime to make a comfortable rotected from the elements. d a fire, and stay hydrated. details.
38 Outdoor Survival Effective Signaling TecAircraft can often see the flash ofsignaling techniques. >> Mirrors or shiny objects >> Smoky fires during the day,In the day, use green, wet wood toseen by searching aircraft. At nighbright blaze, again most easily see
chniques f a mirror easier than other blazing ones at night o make a smoky fire most easily ht, use dry wood to create a en by searching aircraft.
>> Geometric patterns, brighRegular geometric shapes like sthey stand out. Use brightly colto create large shapes in open saircraft. >> Noise: Yelling, whistle, baMake noise to attract the attenbanging pots or a whistle carry f
Trailside Navigation 39 ht objects squares are not found in nature so lored clothing or other materials paces to attract the attention of anging pots tion of searchers. The sound of farther than your voice.
40 Outdoor Survival If You Need to Look forYou may not be the one lostber of your party who goereturn. Before you run for thlocal search-and-rescue sqa search on your own, espewith a large group. The key isearching. Come Up with a Plan Gather information first: >> Identify the missing pelocation and time. >> Discuss the missing pIs he or she likely to paperson stay put? How>> Brainstorm what gearhave with him or her. Once you’ve decided othese steps: 1. Organize search te>> Make sure no one is>> Each team should a clear sense of thethey should search>> Set return times.
r Someone Else t; it may be another mems out fishing and fails to e roadhead to call out the uad, it’s worth conducting ecially if you are traveling is to be systematic in your erson’s last known erson’s personality traits. anic and move, or will this w reliable is this person? r the missing person may on a plan of action, follow eams. s searching alone. have marked maps and eir location and the area h.
2. Do an initial “has>> Send searchers totrails, and so forth>> Focus initial searcknown point becadownhill when tra>> Leave notes in obthe lost person tospots regularly. Once you realize someone in youtive that you search in an organhaving someone else get separa
When Things Go Awry 41 sty” search. o obvious places: water, h. ches downhill of the last ause people tend to trend aveling. bvious places instructing o sit tight. Recheck these ur party is missing, it is imperaized, methodical way to avoid ated.
42 Outdoor Survival 3. Do a fine search. >> When it becomes cgoing to find the myou need to shift yodetailed “fine” searprobably need to bfine searches requiyou have a phone, cthe trailhead to seearrives, you will proover leadership of tWhile you waitarrive, you can contfollowing guidelineeffectiveness and ecared for.
clear that you are not issing person easily, our efforts into a more rch. At this point, you will bring in outside help, as re lots of people power. If call 911 or send runners to ek assistance. Once help obably be required to turn the search. t for assistance to tinue searching. Use the es to help improve your ensure your team is well
Stay close together when searcharea thoroughly. >> Organize your groof three or more wGive each team aand designate a l
When Things Go Awry 43 hing to ensure you cover each oup into search parties with a designated leader. a specific area to examine, length of time to search.