Four basic responsibilities of wilderness travelers

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Four simple responsibilities of the backcountry traveler
Hikers, backpackers, peak baggers, alpine climbers, backcountry skiers,
snowshoers, snowmobilers, horsemen, hunters and other "outdoors persons"

1. Tell a Reliable Person where you are going, what you are going to do and when you will return. Search and Rescue personnel will want to know where you planned to park your vehicle, its description and license number, what gear you have, the names, cell phone number and provider information and experience level of your companions. Of course, you must agree that you will call the Reliable Person when you return to town. Also, this encourages your thoughtful setting of a "turn-around" time for your adventure.

The Reliable Person must accept the responsibility to call the local County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue through 911 with the above information if you do not check in by an agreed-upon time. Your life may depend on a timely call to 911. Oregon Statutes require that you have left this information or you could be charged up to $500 per person for Sheriff’s Search and Rescue services.
Experience tells us that the Reliable Person may not understand the importance of this responsibility.

2. The Second Responsibility of each individual backcountry traveler or climber is to be prepared with a light weight daypack and enough extra clothing, water, food and selected gear to survive an emergency stop of several hours or overnight. These Essentials are seasonal and should focus on keeping you warm and dry, hydrated, eating simple carbohydrates, and able to stay in one place. If you become lost, signal your location, perhaps with colored tape or a reflective "plastic 9 ounce bivy sac", and stay still or exercise your large muscles at your marked position to stay warm. Do not try to find your way until you become exhausted, cold or dangerously wet. Wait at your marked location safely for rescuers. If you are not “prepared”, you could be charged up to $500 in Oregon for Sheriff’s rescue services.
Experienced mountaineers carry the traditional "Ten Essential Systems".

3. The Third Responsibility is to have a topo map of the area, a declination corrected base plate compass (sixteen degrees currently in Central Oregon) and an inexpensive GPS that provides your coordinates. A small simple accurate Garmin eTrex H GPS receiver costs only about $100 everywhere, a simple base plate declination adjusted compass $30 and a 1:24,000 USGS Quad topo map, $7, total $137. If you do not have a “topo map and compass”, you could be charged up to $500 per person for Sheriff’s rescue services.
Experience tells us that you cannot get by with GPS alone – you need a topo map and declination adjusted base plate compass, and new skills to use them together!

4. The Fourth Responsibility is: Carry your common digital cell phone and periodically learn where you can contact any cell towers.
Insure that you have the personal option to call for medical or rescue services. I would prefer to call for help on Friday morning at the time my leg was broken and not have to wait until Sunday at 6PM when I will be reported missing by my Responsible Person. In our experience, there are very few areas in our Oregon Cascades where a cell phone "Provided" by Verizon (CDMA technology) is out of contact with at least one cell tower. Several cell phones in a group are far better than one: more battery reserve and ability to see towers operated by different Providers. Call rescuers with your ordinary cell phone and give them your exact UTM (NAD 27) coordinates from your map and GPS, taking the "Search" out of "Search and Rescue". Discuss your current condition and your plans with the SAR Mission Commander. He will get periodic feed back from you and keep you advised as your Rescue progresses. SAR may be able to simply direct you to the nearest road!

An important FCC E911 requirement is the ability of Rescuers to request from your personal mobile phone Provider, your general location, triangulated from cell phone "ping" records, if your cell phone has been "on".

Another option for many is to carry a $149.00 SPOT-2 GPS Satellite Messenger which can give your wife, friends and/or 911 your exact location coordinates by satellites phone signals. You can send 1. "Honey, I am OK and having fun exactly here", or 2. "Friends, I need a little help right here" or 3. "SAR, I need Rescue, exactly here!" Your message is accompanied by an aerial photo-map showing you exact location!
Oregon SAR Statutes require that you carry a means of communication such as a cell phone or other communication device (such as the SPOT-2 Satellite Communicator.
Carry a personal cell phone in a pants pocket where it can best stay warm; contact your Provider's cell phone towers from time to time so you have a sense for their scope of service in your current backcountry, and SAR may find your location if you are unable to call and talk to Rescuers.
Copyright© 1995-2010 by Robert Speik. All Rights Reserved.

Our Leader's Guidelines:
Our Volunteer Leader Guidelines
Sign-in Agreements, Waivers and Prospectus  This pdf form will need to be signed by you at the trail head
Sample Prospectus   Make sure every leader tells you what the group is going to do; print a copy for your "responsible person"
Participant Information Form  This pdf form can be printed and mailed or handed to the Leader if requested or required
Emergency and Incident Report Form  Copy and print this form. Carry two copies with your Essentials
Participant and Group First Aid Kit Print this form. Make up your own first aid essentials (kits)

WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can in part, be mitigated