The best of hikers can still be caught by surprise sometimes during a well planned excursion. Anyone who wishes to read about hike survival ought to refer to stories from the 1800s advises a representative of the county sheriff department who has lived through many California mountain treks himself. The guy thinks that a smooth sailing outing is possible as long as no idiotic mistakes are committed and these include going missing in the wilderness.
People have to plan carefully if they want to live through trekking the wilds. Waterproof matches or fire starters or sunglasses or maps and compasses or first aid kits or pocket knives or flashlights or extra garments and food must never be left behind when going hiking.
Always prepare for the worst. A whistle as well as a space blanket and signal mirror are other important extras to bring along during a hike in case trekkers feel a sudden urge to spend the night roughing it in the wild say experts in search and rescue. Messages reach their destination fast if light is used to communicate them. A lot of lost hikers have successfully used camera flashbulbs to signal their location. Although useful whistle noise can only travel so far before water sounds drown it out or the surrounding vegetation absorbs it.
Having mobile phones handy may not guarantee rescue amid hiking woes but they can still be used to place calls especially when in the front country area. Lost hikers usually wind up that way because they followed unmarked trails or detoured somewhere resulting in search parties being set up to find them. Territorial maps are not the easiest to read so if you do not know a lot about them sticking with the trails might be best. Roaming about is a good way to get even more lost and search and rescue experts suggest doing the opposite and just remaining in one place until someone finds you. There is no harm in thinking you can get out of your own mess but for best results searchers advise staying in one site since stationary targets are easier to place.
Experts encourage people to keep in mind the acronym STOP. Stop if you feel panicked and lost. Think about where you were last sure of your location. Whatever details you pick up OBSERVE them for telltale signs to guide you out of your predicament. Get a PLAN in order for succeeding steps. In the case of evening descending the plan could be to remain in one place and spend the night. In this case, the top priority is keeping warm and dry. Comfort can be had easily with a space blanket however in its absence you can make do with leaves and some twigs.
When there is food have a bite once in a while to maintain the normal core body temperature. For youngsters search and rescue staff feel they are safest if they do not abandon their current location and instead just embrace a tree and find comfort in the thought that help is moments away.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlelog.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites