The 10 Essentials and Staying Found

Emergencies happen suddenly. Carry these ten items on every day hike or backpacking trip, beginner or expert, and know what to do if you get separated from your group.

If you're ever lost: STOP. Sit down, stay where you are and blow your whistle. Three blasts means emergency.

The 10 Essentials

Carry your own. Don't count on the leader's pack: you might get separated, or you might both need the same item at once.

  1. Map of the area. Know where you, your camp and your car are at all times. If you're not sure, ask the leader.
  2. Compass. Ask the leader to show you how to use it, or take a map-and-compass class.
  3. Whistle. A loud plastic one, kept where you can grab it. Three blasts is the universal emergency signal; one blast gets attention.
  4. Flashlight. LED lights don't burn out. Walking in the dark can turn a delay into a real emergency.
  5. Rain gear. Even if rain isn't forecast. It doubles as a wind barrier.
  6. Extra warm clothing. Enough to get you through a night. Temperatures can drop 20 degrees in an hour, and wind and rain bring on hypothermia fast.
  7. Extra food. You should come home with some left over.
  8. Waterproof matches and fire starter. We don't build fires on outings, except in an emergency.
  9. Pocket knife. A small Swiss Army–style knife is plenty.
  10. First aid kit. Include moleskin, waterproof tape, blister dressings, basic bandages and any medication you need. A Wilderness First Aid class is worth taking.

What to do if you get lost

  1. Stop. The moment things look wrong, sit down and stay put. Going farther makes you harder to find. Don't follow a stream downstream; it can lead you deeper into the woods.
  2. Blow one long whistle blast. Your group is often within 500 feet. Signal before they get farther away.
  3. Backtrack only if you're sure. If you clearly know the way back to where you last saw the trail or the group, go there. That's where they'll look first.
  4. Check your map and compass. Move only if you're absolutely sure where you are. If in doubt, stay put.
  5. Signal for help. Blow three long blasts every few minutes. Searchers start where you were last seen, usually less than half a mile away.
  6. If night falls, settle in. Put on your extra clothes and rain gear, find what shelter you can, eat your extra food and save your strength.
  7. In the morning, stay put. Keep signaling. The farther you wander, the longer it takes to find you.

Hiking with kids?

Give each child a whistle, let them practice, and teach them one rule: if you're lost, stop and whistle!

"If a person lost would conclude that after all he is not lost, he is not beside himself, but standing in his own old shoes on the very spot where he is, and that for the time being he will live there; but the places that have known him, they are lost ... how much anxiety and danger would vanish."

Henry David Thoreau

Adapted from a guide by Bill Greer, Dallas Sierra Club Senior Outings Leader.