Got this off of Sierra Topix and figured it belongs in here as well. There's a lot to read but you might learn a few more things from it, I did..

Let people know (where you're going)

New postby AlmostThere on Sun Jul 10, 2011 6:59 am
I just got back from a Search and Rescue that reinforced the old piece of advice that you should always leave your itinerary with someone before you go. What is not often said - make the information you leave as detailed as possible.

We were looking for four males because they had told their mother they would check in with her at a couple of points along their trip. Their itinerary was five days - over Piute Pass, Sally Keyes Lake, then south to Cedar Grove. (Those of you who know the area already see where this is going, right?) They did not make a check in. They were late getting out. Mom was freaking. Mom also had NO INFORMATION - well, she did, but it was all confused, and confused information is in a way worse than none. They'd driven in the dark and she couldn't remember where she and a friend dropped them off!

Point Last Seen is VERY IMPORTANT, especially when you are ending your hike in a different jurisdiction - important to SAR, that is. We have not a lot of resources (cutbacks happen) and miles and miles of high country between entry and exit point on the wilderness permit. In this case we had three potential SAR actions - Inyo, Fresno County/Sierra NF, and Kings Canyon NP. We were given a description of what sounded like Edison Lake as the dropoff - within 24 hours documentation was found at North Lake that the group had registered there to camp the night before their search. (These are both at the end of 168 - which does not actually cross the range. Sort of an important piece of info - she said 168, but could not verify which one, probably didn't know there were two. They came from Southern California.) The confusion on the part of the folks dropping them off is a reminder that the non-outdoorsy folks we ask to help us will not always know how to describe where you are going or what you are taking - so help them out by leaving the details on paper they can hand to an officer.

Had these young men not taken care to do the safe thing and finally exited the wilderness as we were launching our search from Florence, things could have been very different. We would have wasted a lot of resources and time not having a clear idea of where they might be.

We always tell people to write down your itinerary to leave with family/friends - I'm going to suggest some additional info. Give them recent pictures! Give them a list of make/color of tents and backpacks. Also size and make/model of boot - we have trackers. A list of clothing you are taking, colors and sizes, so if we find a discarded/left behind shirt, we know there's a good chance it belongs to the person we're looking for and can focus on the area. Heck, stand there at the trailhead all geared up and have them take a picture with their cell phone! We would have had an easy time of knowing where to start if we'd had a shot of the four standing in front of a trailhead sign at North Lake. The pic could have been sent directly to a sheriff, who could have redistributed it far and wide. SAR volunteers could have been showing the pic to people on the trail.

If you decide to stray from what's on your wilderness permit, get a new wilderness permit and cancel the old. Some folks just ignore the quotas and do that. When looking for a lost person the first thing we pull is the permit. Theories we had included that the folks had just gone on a different route because no one questioned had seen the four on the route listed, so we questioned if they had even gone out there at all. Additionally, if you do decide to go somewhere other than backpacking because conditions or plans change, don't forget to call your family/friend to tell them.

Pre-planning helps! Know weather patterns, terrain, etc before you go - research what you need and how many miles you, in your current condition, might do. These guys had assumed summer and not packed cold weather or rain gear. It did pour down rain on them, twice, and they had to delay to build a fire and dry off. They did a lot of things right, FYI - but the things they did not do had us out in helicopters.

Our SAR teams and the various jurisdictions really work well together. We had two counties and the National Park Service on this one. Most of us county SAR folk are volunteers, with a few sheriff deputies - who are often also volunteering time. Have mercy on us. We need to know where you entered and where you plan to exit, what you are carrying, and we will come and get you even if you are determined to do your own thing wherever and whenever without a thought or expectation that we'll search anyway. We still have open cases on the books and still (years later) search the areas people have gone missing for clues or remains. Do yourself and your families the favor of listing out your itinerary, your gear and your dropoff and pickup points. We can only go on the information we receive! So make it good, clear, accurate information!

P.S... this is not a thread to bag on the stupidity of lost people. Most lost people are not stupid. Just not prepared. This includes the experienced hunters, backpackers and others who have been hurt or deceased while out there... you cannot be prepared for some of the things that happen, just as prepared as possible... and judging people for their behavior when the unpredictable happens is to judge without complete information. Remember that sane and rational people can be made stupid by dehydration, hypothermia, and just the panic of being lost despite whatever measures they took - lost person behavior does not correspond to the behavior of people in familiar surroundings, and is not a reflection on the intellect or level of preparedness of the lost.