Day Five: This Might Be Kind of Scary

Answers to yesterdays questions in comments section at the bottom of this post....

When we left you yesterday, it was as though one of our little (or Big) humans got lost,  found a tree and are waiting.

This next part might get a little scary but if you listen and do what we teach you, it will all be ok......

So remember if you get lost to STOP, STAY PUT, Find a Tree and make it your friend.  Talk to it, sing to it...tell it stories.

This is your SAFETY TREE.  

So now comes the scary part, You see, there may be the slightest possibility that you may have to spend the night alone in the woods. 

And a lot of you might be afraid.  (It's ok to be afraid...just try not to panic....and STAY WHERE YOU ARE) 

Some might be afraid of bears and mountain lions.....My Vickie is afraid of spiders. 

That is why we tell you to talk to your tree and sing to your tree and tell it stories and jokes.  Because, you see.....Most wild animals are more afraid of you, than you are of them.  So if you are making noise.....they will most likely go the total opposite direction.....

This is also the perfect time to pull out your whistle too, and blow on it as long and as loud as you can.  Actually, if you blow it three short times, then wait a few seconds, then blow three more short (but loud) bursts, and do that over and over again, people will know you are in trouble and they can follow the sound of the whistle to where you are.   And the neat thing is you can blow on your whistle forever. 

Remember the Light Stick we had you put in your fanny pack?  You can take that out now too.  Hang it on the tree you are sitting by and it will give you light, plus a light stick can be seen for great distances at night.  It is actually better than a flashlight because you can see it from any direction while it is hanging there.

We like the cool orange ones, but you can get any color you want for your pack.

Then just curl up in the fallen leaves and stuff by your tree and settle down for a sleep.  You will be surprised how quick you can fall asleep on a bed of soft forest ground with the gentle glow of your lightsick.  

Know that while you are sleeping the searchers, especially the search dog teams are still looking for you even in the dark.  So rest and wait. 

In the morning, you can step out into the opening by your tree.  (An opening is an area where you can see up through the trees to the sky.) 

Keeping an eye on where your tree is at all times,  you can gather rocks and make a signal like an arrow for searchers to see.  If you make it big enough, they can even see it in the helicopters and planes that WILL be looking for you after the first light of morning.

So if, while you are making your rock arrows, or just sitting in the warm sun BY YOUR TREE, you hear a plane or helicopter, Look up and you will see them.....

THEY ARE LOOKING FOR YOU.  

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO GET THEIR ATTENTION?

Quickly go back out into the open area of the forest.......Grab your fanny pack and get out your blue bandana (A few years ago we did a test to see what color was most noticable from the air.   Red and Orange looked like the dark shadows,  green just blended with the forest floor and trees, White was often confused with large boulders and rocks, but BLUE was like a bright shinining star from the ground.  Blue is the most un-natural color to be seen from the sky looking down on the earth) 

Put your blue bandana in one hand, and anything else, like an extra shirt, or t-shirt or last nights dirty socks in the other hand......Lay down flat on your back.......

And make a SNOW ANGEL with your arms and legs.  See how much bigger you will look when the searchers look down from the sky.  

The picture shows how big you would look just doing a snow angel,  but imagine how much bigger you would appear if you were swinging your bandana too.

Plus you can use your bandana as a big bandage or a hat ect....use your imagination.....

Good Job everyone dog and human, tomorrow we will talk about some very important things to know about being lost and running out of WATER. 

Responses to Yesterdays Comments

Just Ramblin' said...

 I often worry about how the dogs will get taken care of when something happens with their handlers!

Dear Just Ramblin,

We can only speak for ourselves, (American Search Dogs) but when we go out, we go out to find everyone.  Dogs included.  On one search the dog was so frightened that we had to go back daily to put down food, and sit in the area where we had seen him, hoping he would start to trust us.

It took about 9 days before we were able to catch him and return him to his family.

You may have also read about the dog last year that they couldn't find after the owner fell a hundred feet down and was recued by SAR.  Then a special group of friends of the family with professional rock climbers went back to find him.

I think the world is full of us dog lovers and if anything should happen to you, someone in the group of searchers is going to see to it that your dog is safe.

For those of you who are avid hikers, they do have gps collars for dogs now.  Bert and Jamie have always worked very close to me and are always making sure I don't get lost during a search so I never used one, but I think they are a wonderful invention for two and four-legged hikers.

My Vickie