The Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide: The Ultimate Guide for Short-Term Survival (5 page)

 

Waving bright clothing or other gear in an open area can get the attention of a search aircraft.

 

You need to be able to hear the searchers, so try to avoid a survival campsite near noisy waters.

 

Whether you are lost or stranded, the first step to being found is to leave a trip plan with a responsible person. Next, you need to be seen or heard. Assuming you have let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return, it won’t be long before someone will be looking for you in the area in which you are located. Your first concern should be to prepare to be seen, or heard, by the rescue party.

Try to avoid making your survival camp near a waterfall or roaring creek. You need to be where you can hear searchers and a survival camp in these locations drown out sounds made by searchers and sometimes your signals to them.

Signaling is a survival skill that no one should take lightly, especially since we now have excellent search aircraft that can be in the air over the search area soon after a person is reported missing. Also, hasty teams of experienced searchers can be on the ground looking for a missing person within a few hours after he or she is reported missing.

Here are some of the best signaling methods, second only to a working two-way radio or cell phone:

SIGNAL MIRROR —
Most survival experts consider the signal mirror to be one of the best signal devices available. They are small and easy to carry in a survival kit, coat or daypack. It amazes people how far a reflection from these little mirrors can be seen.

United States Air Force rescue planes have spotted a signal mirror from as far away as 100 miles. Distances of 30 to 40 miles are common. Several times lost people have used a signal mirror to attract the attention of rangers in a forest fire tower or searchers miles away on a mountainside or in a flat desert.

A Texas pilot was flying home from Alaska when his helicopter crashed in a thick spruce forest in British Columbia. For 14 days he survived at the crash site. He was found due to using a piece of shiny metal as a signal mirror to get the attention of a search and rescue plane as it flew over. Many downed combat pilots and military special ops units in Southeast Asia during the 1960s and 70s owe their lives to a signal mirror.

The signal mirror is one of the most valued signals. Aircraft pilots can see it for miles.

 

Signal mirrors may be purchased at many outdoor supply stores and there are numerous sources found when you search the Web. Today, most signal mirrors are made from tough plastic and have instructions on the back. While the instructions are easy to follow, no one should wait until they get in a survival situation before they learn how to use it properly. Practice until you understand the proper way to use the mirror.

The signal mirror is quick and easy to use. Practice the aiming and correct use of the signal mirror at home before going afield.

 

Most signal mirrors have a hole in the center for aiming. They are used to reflect the sun, moon or aircraft searchlight to signal an overhead aircraft, boat or other target such as a search party that is within view but a long distance away. Here is how to use the signal mirror:

• 1. Hold the mirror in front of your eye so you can see through the hole.
  
• 2. Make sure the shiny side is toward the sun, moon or searchlight.
  
• 3. Take your other hand and hold it out at arm’s length.
  
• 4. Reflect light onto the extended hand.
  
• 5. While looking through the aiming hole, turn the mirror in order to swing the reflected spot toward the target.
  
• 6. Keep your signal mirror with you and be prepared to use it fast.
  

Signal mirrors may be improvised from almost any shiny object, such as aluminum foil, a car mirror, the bottom out of a tin can with a hole in the center or even a CD. In fact, a CD makes an excellent signal mirror, due to its highly reflective surface and the hole in the center that can be used as an aiming device.

POLICE WHISTLE —
A loud whistle such as those used by police, coaches and dog handlers makes an excellent signal device. It is easy to carry, requires little energy to use, can be heard much farther than the human voice and lasts long after a shouting person becomes hoarse. The whistle makes a good signal when a ground party is conducting the search. The whistle is easily heard and if tracking dogs are being used, they can hear it from great distances.

To use a whistle effectively, stay calm and do not blow the whistle until it is thought that someone is within hearing distance. To blow a whistle continuously for hours when no one is around only wastes vital energy and brings on frustration. When you think enough time has gone by and people are likely looking for you, try giving a few blows on your whistle every 30 minutes just in case someone is out there, and then whistle them in. When you hear searchers, stay put and let them come to you.

FIRE —
One of the best-known signals, both day and night, is a fire. At night, a bright campfire in an opening can be seen for miles from the air and a fair distance on the ground, especially in mountains. During the day, the same fire can be made to smoke when wet leaves or green vegetation is piled on it. Smoke during the day is an excellent signal.

Remember to be extremely careful when making and using a signal fire.

 

The survival campfire can be a good day or night signal if properly used.

 

When in a survival situation, most people are upset and excited and mistakes come easily. You are in enough trouble already without getting caught in a forest fire that you have set.

Carry kitchen matches in a waterproof container and a fire starter with you. Know how to start a fire even in wet conditions. Building a fire in a survival situation is more difficult than most people think. Master the skill of fire making before you actually need it.

FLASHLIGHT —
One of the new generations of ultra bright flashlights, such as those by SureFire or Streamlight, makes an excellent signal at night. If the flashlight has an on-off switch that allows you to signal “SOS” in Morse code, so much the better. Three short flashes, three long flashes, and three short flashes are the “SOS” signal known to all rescue personnel. Even a small light out in the open can be seen a long way by aircraft at night.

BRIGHT CLOTHING & EQUIPMENT —
The bright orange clothing many hunters wear works well as a signal, especially if aircraft is used in a search. Even a white T-shirt or yellow rain suit can be used as a signal panel. Brightly colored equipment such as a red tube tent or orange pack has been used to signal searchers. The bottom line is to find something that stands out from the terrain you are in.

GROUND-TO-AIR SIGNALS —
Search pilots are all familiar with ground-to-air signals. These are large symbols the lost or stranded person forms out in the OPEN where they can be seen by search aircraft. They must contrast with the ground to be seen. Dark limbs on snow or light colored rocks on dark soil are examples of what has proven useful.

The signal must be large to be seen from the air. For example the “X,” the universal signal for help, should have legs that are 3 feet in width and a single leg length of 18 feet.

Ground-to-air signals should have lines that are 3 feet wide and 18 feet long to be seen by search aircraft.