When Murphy Calls
As a search and rescue (SAR) volunteer in Washington State, I got to work on a team that helped individuals who were lost or injured in the backcountry. Each call out I participated in over the course of a year varied in severity, ranging from sprains and broken bones to one fatality.
I was always curious to observe whether our missions resulted from unavoidable freak accidents, or preventable mistakes. Murphy always comes calling, but in most cases, I believe that better preparation would have resulted in better outcomes.
Whether you spend all of your time in the city, or venture out into the backcountry from time to time, here are three crisis readiness lessons from my time in wilderness SAR.
Lesson 1: Don’t underestimate contingencies
For one late-night rescue on the Olympic Peninsula, our team assembled at a trailhead around midnight and started a hike up a steep trail by the light of our headlamps. Up the mountain, a woman had injured her ankle and needed to be medically evacuated via litter.
About an hour into our ascent through endless switchbacks, we passed a small group slowly making their way up the same trail. A mother was heading up the mountain in the dark with two young children. They had limited supplies and a few water bottles to share. It was clear to all of us that they were completely unprepared for what they were attempting.
As SAR volunteers, we all knew that this was exactly the kind of group that would wind up needing assistance from us later on. Why was this mother attempting something that was so obviously ill-advised to us?
What if she ran out of water? What if someone got hurt? Was she prepared to spend the night on the trail? Did she have a form of emergency communications if her cell phone lost signal?
This scenario has implications well beyond the backcountry. As responsible citizens preparing for urban disasters, it’s easy to become overconfident in our own abilities, and to underestimate the challenges we may face.
We can have all of the best gear and cool stuff, but all it takes is one accident, illness, or mishap to end up in a bad spot. What are the weaknesses in your plan?
Do you have security covered, but lack medical skills and supplies? Do you have food and water stored for months, but lack a security plan? Are you the primary “prepared” individual in your family? What happens if you’re away, or incapacitated during a crisis?
It’s best to approach crisis readiness with due respect for the scenarios we may face. Assume that things will go wrong, and do your best to avoid gaps in your planning.
If you’re curious, we kindly advised the woman to turn around and head back to the trailhead, which she did.
Lesson 2: It’s better to have it and not need it
Backpackers like to say “ounces make pounds.” An over-packed backpack weighing forty pounds might feel alright walking around your living room, but five miles into a hike, it’s a different story. Because of this, experienced outdoorsmen tend to pack only the essentials, and nothing superfluous.
This approach makes sense in a certain context, but it can also land you in trouble. SAR volunteers like to be prepared. A mission could be over in a matter of hours, or it could require staying out in the field overnight, or longer. You just never know. The goal is to be self-sufficient and avoid becoming an additional liability to the mission.
On our crew, a typical packing list included a compact sleeping system, jacket, a few dehydrated meals, Jetboil, water bladder, water filtration kit, and an individual first aid kit (IFAK).
Even if you never set foot in the wilderness, every family should have 72-hour go-bags for a crisis that requires you to evacuate from home. A go-bag can also be used to help you get back home if a crisis happens while you’re away (as long as you bring the bag with you).
It might be tempting to purchase a ready-made 72-hour bag, but most of these kits are low quality and stuffed with filler items. They’re also expensive. You’re much better off buying backpacks or duffel bags and hand-selecting each item.
Basic Survival Items for a 72-Hour Bag
- Emergency food for 72 hours
- Nalgene bottles (filled)
- Water filtration and purification
- Emergency mylar blankets
- First aid kit
- Jetboil
- Flashlight or headlamp
- Jacket or warm layer
Stocked full of trauma supplies as well as first aid essentials, it's the ideal kit to stash in your vehicle or workplace.
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When packing a go-bag, think seriously about the scenario you’ll be in if you ever have to use it. Don’t skimp on supplies. You could be relying on these items to stay alive someday. The worst outcome would be waiting until a real emergency to realize you left out something important.
Lesson 3: Help isn’t always coming
In our daily lives, we have grown accustomed to relying on first responders who can arrive within minutes of a 9-1-1 call. In the backcountry, things are different.
Depending on a variety of factors, it could be hours or even days before a SAR crew locates and rescues a subject. Anyone spending time in the backcountry must be prepared to sustain themselves for an extended period of time (see Lesson 2).
But aside from having the right gear, this means having proper training and skills. You can buy a first aid kit, HAM radio, or a map and compass, but if you don’t know how to use them, they are next to worthless.
I learned this the hard way during a simulated SAR training event. My two-man team was supposed to meet up with a larger group that had located the injured subject. The other team provided their GPS coordinates, and I entered them into a Garmin inReach. Easy right?
We spent twenty minutes trying to find the other group, and after repeated radio calls, realized that we had made a user error with our GPS unit that took us in the wrong direction.
If the grid goes down, police, paramedics, and firefighters may be unable or unavailable to respond to your call for help. You will need to have the skills to keep yourself and your family secure and sustained until the situation improves.
In this sense, having a lot of gear can often give us a misguided sense of invincibility. The reality is that most of the gear associated with crisis readiness requires some level of practice to become proficient and stay proficient.
At the very least, test your equipment before you need to use it in a real emergency. Confirm that it works, that it’s reliable, and that you are confident in its operation.
Parting Thoughts
I learned a lot of valuable lessons in self-sufficiency and crisis readiness during my short time in wilderness search and rescue. SAR missions are humbling both for the subjects as well as the SAR personnel. In many cases, the subject is at their lowest point, unable to save themselves. It’s an honor to be able to help someone in this kind of scenario.
Perhaps my biggest takeaway from SAR was the resolve to never be someone who unnecessarily consumes the resources of first responders, or others around me, in a crisis. Instead, I would prefer to be an asset who is skilled and well-supplied so that I can help the people who depend on me.
