Be Seen and Be Rescued Quickly!

Leave your  trip plan on the back of a copy of the topo map you will be using.

The single most important step in getting rescued quickly is to leave a trip plan with two reliable people you can count on to raise the alarm when you don’t show up on time.

Your job as the survivor is twofold.

First to survive! To maintain your body temperature of 98.6º F. for as long as possible, to keep yourself hydrated and to treat any injuries as best you can (thereby giving the SAR forces a chance to recover a grateful, living survivor.) Secondly – to make yourself more visible so that they can find you quickly.

Leaving a trip plan is the most important step to get yourself rescued quickly.  The next most important step is to remain in one place and wait for rescuers to arrive.  It is very difficult for those trying to find you if you are constantly moving – or as one rescuer put it “It’s hard to hit a moving target!”  So be patient, sit tight and make yourself more visible.

Here’s how you do it.