Hiking safety: What to do if you get lost


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SALT LAKE COUNTY — If you ever get lost in the wilderness, what should you do? What should you teach your kids to do? A search and rescue coordinator offered some potentially life-saving advice Monday in light of a 10-year-old boy who got lost in the Uintas overnight.

During the summer, Salt Lake County search and rescue responds to two or three calls a week for help on the Wasatch Front. More than half of those calls are for lost hikers.

(Photo: Steve Breinholt/KSL-TV)
(Photo: Steve Breinholt/KSL-TV)

The first tip: take note of your surroundings and landmarks whenever you are in the wilderness before you ever get lost. Even experienced hikers get confused in the wilderness.

The most common reason people get lost is they leave the trail or their group.

Officer Keith Larsen has coordinated dozens of search and rescue operations each year in Salt Lake County. Early in any trip, he recommends hikers pick out landmarks like a mountain peak, a distinctive tree or a creek, and share those with the group.

With younger hikers and campers, Larsen said, "You want to stay within voice contact of your child so you know where they're at. Depending on the age of the child, I would even say visual contact is important."

(Photo: Steve Breinholt/KSL-TV)
(Photo: Steve Breinholt/KSL-TV)

But if contact is lost, Larsen said he or she should stay put, regardless of age, unless they are in a very dangerous spot. In that case, move to a safe place and then stay put.

"We're always going to search from the last point seen," Larsen said. "If the lost hiker is moving around, that makes it a lot harder for searchers to find them."

A cellphone might help in some places, but Larsen said don't start moving around too much to find a connection, unless you know you can get a call out somewhere nearby. Moving too much might make a missing person even harder to find.

Search and rescue crews are going to start their search from your last known location, and Larsen said, "If you keep moving from that location, it makes it extremely hard for us to locate you."

Another great piece of advice is to carry a whistle and get one for everybody in your group. Rescuers will be able to hear this over a roaring stream, long after you've tired from shouting for help.

Quick hiking safety tips

  • Stay on marked trails and stick with your group.
  • Make mental notes of surroundings and unique landmarks to return to if you get lost.
  • Keep young hikers within hearing distance or keep visual contact with particularly young members of a group.
  • Stay put if you get separated from the group.
  • Carry a whistle to aid searchers in finding you, particularly so you don't tire yourself from shouting.

Items to pack:

  • 1 Gallon Ziploc bag
  • Spot- communicates with satellites
  • Garmin Radios (GPS coordinate of each radio)
  • Aquamira Water Purifier
  • Parachute Cord
  • First Aid Kit
  • Knife
  • Three ways to build a fire: matches, lighter, flint & steel
  • Freeze-dried food
  • Whistle

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UtahOutdoors
Jed Boal

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