Hot answers tagged emergencies
27
Obviously, what you decide to pack depends on your trip and the environment, but these are the staples I always bring along:
Navigation: You always need to be able to figure out where you are and which way you need to head to get out. In my opinion, a map without topography isn't a map (unless you're on very flat land).
GPS with extra batteries
Local ...
22
There are different types of being stranded; there's "lost the trail an hour in" stranded, "lost the trail twenty miles in" stranded, and "broke a leg" stranded, just to name a few.
Considering your question
Multi-day Hiking -- Therefore I assume you have standard hiking gear and are not asking for that. Also assuming that you're not going to be nearby ...
16
First off, weigh up whether it's worth crossing said river. I know this question is about if you "have" to cross it, but bear in mind that falling in is a real danger and if you do, hypothermia can onset very quickly and be deadly. It depends on the situation - if we're talking about a shallow, wade-able body of water that's not much more than a stream I'd ...
15
The VERY FIRST thing you need to do is to not panic. Sit down for a minute or two and let your mind catch up to the fact you are lost. Now, take out your map, compass, gps, or whatever and try to find your way back to where you DID know where you were.
If you can't figure out where the trail should be and you need to bushwhack, find a bit of a clearing, ...
12
It depends on precisely how big the kit is. A couple other answers have covered bigger packs, so I'll mention what could be in a much thinner pack.
If it needs to be flat and relatively small:
Bandages.
Alcohol wipes.
Gauze pads.
A flat pad of athletic tape*.
One or a couple small packs of Benadryl
Antibiotic ointment (the small, flat packs of stuff ...
12
Assuming you told people where you were going and you don't have PLB with you, you should start building camp. Construct distress signal discussed here: How can I signal for help in the wilderness?
Don't panic
Get busy making your camp
Look for sources of water
Construct distress signals
Make traps, set up fishing lines, gather plant food.
Gradually map ...
11
There are three criteria to be balanced in my thinking on the situation of when and if to activate a call for help to a rescue service:
Do you have the skills and training to extract yourself safely from the current situation? Equally important is your assessment of what other means of communications are likely to be available in the timeframe your current ...
11
Pine needles have virtually no caloric value.
I would not recommend pine needles as an energy source, although they have plenty of vitamin C and make delicious tea. This is good in winter to avoid getting scurvy in a long-term survival situation.
As already mentioned, Yew needles are toxic to the human body. There are several genera of yew. Generally they ...
10
What is practical is up to you, but I can give you some information to help you make up your mind.
Typical rental prices for a satellite phone are $15-$30 a week (According to this site). The cost per minute is in addition to this cost, and is around $0.50-$3 USD a minute. Weight is usually around 400 grams, or just under a pound. Battery life is pretty ...
10
So if you're completely out of your expected element, have no emergency blanket or shelter, then there are a few options to provide some additional protection from the cold.
Get out of the wind. The wind makes things that much more miserable. If you can, get into an area protected from the wind.
Find some insulation. Stuff leaves loosely between clothing ...
9
Some, not all, do indeed come in two sides, and which one you use depends on the reason you use it. One of the sides strongly reflects heat. A hypothermic person therefore wants to have that reflective side on the inside so that it helps keeping any warmth inside. A person suffering from heat stroke wants the reflective side outside so that heat is kept away ...
9
If you're "sinking" that basically means you're standing on a substance that's more permeable than solid ground, but (hopefully) less permeable than the surface of a swimming pool. Probably something like thick bog mud or quicksand.
As justnS said, you want to try and distribute your weight across the surface as much as possible. Often there will be a thick ...
9
There is one more important technique you can use that I was taught in New Zealand, where you have to cross rivers all the time.
If you have a group of people (at least 3), you can greatly enhance safety by forming a chain in the following way:
Position the strongest person upstream, the second-strongest person downstream and the weakest person in the ...
8
In addition to @Pearsonartphoto's technical specs, it is important to remember that a Sat Phone is one tool at your disposal, and not a replacement for smart decision making, or proper planning. I have seen them provide people with a false sense of security thinking it gives added insurance against making bad decisions.
Like any electronic equipment, sat ...
8
The guidance given to first responders from the Public Safety Training Academy is as follows:
Talk - Can you talk them out?
Reach - Are they close enough for you to reach, with a branch if necessary?
Throw - Do you have a rope or anything you can throw? This can include flotation devices - even if you don't have a rope this increases the likelihood of ...
8
First, this answer is not a substitute for proper training. I recommend taking a class in Wilderness First Aid or higher to be better prepared for things like treating hypothermic people.
Second, hypothermia is a term that tends to have different connotations with different people. Sometimes what people call "hypothermia" is just a very cold individual, or ...
7
Hartley (and Phil) pretty much have it covered, but I'd add a couple of things.
A bothy bag - basically a quick emergency shelter for 4-6 people that packs down nice and small
High energy/sugar foods - mars bars, peanuts, jelly, energy bars etc
Also, it's a little over the top, but we take emergency cards that you fill out with vital information like the ...
7
Many fish will strike at any moving object of roughly the right shape. Generally shiny is better when improvising fake bait. However you can almost always catch a bug or worm of some kind to put on the hook. Anything small and gooey will usually do.
If you do catch a fish, use their guts for bait.
7
OK, this isn't a hypothetical question. You will have to ford numerous rivers fed directly from glaciers if you hike in the Swedish mountains. These are extremely cold, very rapid streams with rocks everywhere. Some basic advice is:
Use a rod or stick as support. You should always lean on two points - two legs or one leg and the rod.
Never have your hip ...
6
Here are few shelters that I think have good design. Although some of them are missing hole for cold air to drop in, they are still good for shelter from a storm as quick solution.
6
Just additional two cents, but don't underestimate the visibility of a green laser pointer at night. In survival situations and with light fog, a green laser pointer shooting up in the sky will make your position extremely clear.
For the exact same reason, don't use it with airplanes around. They hate that, and you will be found and prosecuted.
6
Sirex & Rory have covered getting them out of the water pretty well, but given that getting them out of the water in the first place might be no small feat, you're right in understanding that you're far from out-of-the-woods, so to speak, even after they're out. Getting the victim warmed up is paramount, and their wet clothes are going to be a serious ...
6
I have heard of a wide range of stories where people were saved using some string, a piece of flint etc. (A related example from earlier this month is reported in the Hamilton Advertiser where a boy used the laces from his trousers to save a dog.)
and if they had had a survival kit they would have used that, but the problem is that most people do not carry ...
5
A lot of this goes back to being prepared. Even a light hike in unknown terrain or with spontaneous weather can turn for the worst. Having a small kit with you will always help out and, should something happen, will more than make up for the weight.
Having something to start a fire with is a minimum, flint/steel, a few matches, whatever suits your style and ...
5
Prevention. It's a good idea to carry extra clothing. Fleece is light and compressible, and it doesn't soak up water. An extra fleece top and bottom can be a life saver. And, there are lot of times someone you're with can use it just for comfort. If you are far enough away that you are potentially unable to return to the car in an ...
5
Eat something with high energy content. If it's warm, even better, but as Freedom of the Hills explains, the warmth is merely a psychological factor, what really warms you up is the energy in the food. Chocolate is great for this.
Put the hypothermic person into a sleeping bag together with another, hopefully warm, person.
On short trips where you don't ...
5
First, make sure you don't get caught in the same situation as the person you're trying to help. Don't rush in and pull on him..
Rather, stay on solid ground and use whatever you have (rope, knapsack, your shirt, branches, you can get as creative as you need here) to pull on your friend from a distance.
As others have said, the person who is caught should ...
5
Your body heat is reflected back at you from the shiny silver side.
One of the reasons some blankets have two colors is so people would realize there was a correct side to get the most benefit. The other is that the "wrong side" color choice can be an aid in some signaling situations.
Even when they are silver on both sides, there is often one side ...
5
Dig a bit and search for worms. Look under some old rocks or break open a rotting log and grab a couple insects. If you have a bit of granola or a raisin, or something similar, try that. If you can't find any of those, just go ahead and try with a bare hook, especially around feeding time; I've caught a couple fish that way.
5
Okay just broke out my kit. Here's what we carry. This may seem like a long list, but it's small. It fits in a ziploc bag (almost).
Tylenol -- pain where ibuprofen is not ok (ie - patient is bleeding)
Ibuprofen -- pain that involves swelling but not bleeding
Small bandages -- comfort item and to help prevent infection on longer hikes
Triple Antibiotic ...
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