If you are injured or become seriously ill in the wilderness, alert other people to your whereabouts with a whistle, flashlight, or flare. Consider how to deal with possible emergencies on every trip, particularly on certain ventures, such as those to remote country, snowbound mountains, and where rivers or steep, rocky terrain may have to be crossed.In most remote areas, initial searches are made by aircraft, so you need to be seen from above and afar.

• Bright clothing - If you are in open terrain and have no other signaling devices, spread light and bright-colored clothing (yellow or orange is best) and gear on the ground to help rescuers locate you.
• Flashlight - At night, use your headlamp or flashlight for sending signals. <b>6 regular flashes, a pause, then 6 more flashes is the international distress signal.
• Whistle - Noise can bring help. Carry a plastic for this purpose. Again, use 6 blasts, pause, 6 blasts.
• Fire - A fire, especially with wet vegetation added, should create enough smoke to attract attention. Ideally, light 3 fires in the form of a triangle, an internationally recognized distress signal.

• Flares - Flares are quicker and simpler to use than fires. There are various packs available. Carrying several small flares seems to make more sense than 1 big one; packs of 6-8 waterproof mini flares with a projector pen for one-handed operation weigh only 8 ozs. or so. The flares reach a height of around 250 feet and last 6seconds. Larger flares last longer, but unless you carry several of them, you have only 1 chance to draw attention to your plight.
• Strobe light - The alternative to flares is a strobe light, which I'd always thought of as big and heavy until I discovered a light-weight, waterproof emergency strobe that sends out a light flash every second and can be seen for 3 miles; it weighs only 8 ozs., including the D battery that powers it.
• Mirrors - Mirrors can be used for signaling, though obviously only in sunlight.
• Other shiny objects - Any shiny object, such as aluminum foil, stove wind screens, a polished pan base, a watch face, a camera lens, or even a knife blade could be used for signaling in the sunlight, the same as a mirror.

Backpack: Bear Country: Basics

Backpack: Bear Country: Camping & Food Security

Backpack: Bear Country: Hiking & Bear Encounters

Backpack: Desert: Basics

Backpack: Desert: Camping Considerations

Backpack: Desert: Hazards

Backpack: Desert: Hiking

Backpack: Desert: Water & Food: Dry Camping

Backpack: Desert: Water & Food: Finding & Carrying

Backpack: Desert: Water & Food: Food

Backpack: Finding Water

Backpack: Fitness

Backpack: Food & Water: Plan Meals

Backpack: Food & Water: Repackage

Backpack: Fording Rivers

Backpack: Highcountry: Basics

Backpack: Highcountry: Camping Considerations

Backpack: Highcountry: Hazards

Backpack: Highcountry: Hiking on Scree & Talus

Backpack: In Camp: Bathing

Backpack: In Camp: Campfire: Basics

Backpack: In Camp: Campfire: in the Rain

Backpack: In Camp: Campfire: Low-Impact Fires

Backpack: In Camp: Cooking/Camp Kitchen

Backpack: In Camp: Food Storage

Backpack: In Camp: Ideal Campsite

Backpack: In Camp: Making Camp in Adverse Conditions

Backpack: In Camp: Managing Human Waste

Backpack: In Camp: Sleeping Warm

Backpack: In Camp: Tent or Tarp?

Backpack: In Camp: Washing Dishes

Backpack: In Camp: Women's Sanitation Concerns

Backpack: Packing Your Pack

Backpack: Plan Your Trip

Backpack: Putting on Your Pack

Backpack: Staying Found: How to Use a Compass

Backpack: Staying Found: Why Carry a Compass?

Backpack: Treating Water

Backpack: What to Bring: Clothes