If you saw a signaling mirror or heard a whistle, would you investigate or run away?

U

ukknifer

Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
424
Hi All,
I was thinking about this today.
If you were on your own in a remote aria and saw a signaling mirror that will take you far away from your path, would you go there? What if it is a mile or 5 from the trail and you are unarmed?

My concern is what if you are being tricked into a trap by some psycho?
If I did not go and called the authority, could i be charged with disturbing the authorities if they found nothing? If I did not go, wouldn't it be kind of hypocritical for me to carry a mirror and a whistle hoping that if I get hurt, someone would help me?

YES I watch too many movies.

Thanks
 
IDK, the chances of the scenario presenting to me are quite remote (I can never seem to find a point farther than a mile or less from a road).

I suppose I would have to first answer the question, "Am I even capable of helping someone?" I rarely carry much beyond basic first aid. I do carry a cell phone (always) so I would probably call an emergency responder that could actually provide more than band aids and para cord.
 
Reporting the sighting of a distress signal would be hard to construe as disturbing authorities, IMHO. I know that it is against maritime laws to ignore a distress call or signal.
 
If I thought I could help, I would. If not, I would report it. I'd not ignore it, as if it were a situation where someone was lost or injured, I'd feel bad if it appeared on the news a day or two later, knowing I could have helped in some way. If I were in that situation (lost) I wouldn't want people to ignore my signaling.
 
Use my cell to alert Sheriff's Deputies I know then get out. I live near the border and I'm not taking on a bunch of Cartaloonies by myself.
 
Just stay safe and don't leave the net, the world can be scary
Seriously if your confidence level is low enough to consider running away from a whistle or flashing light off trail that could be someone injured or just kids playing you should join a walking/hiking group for morale support when outdoors, safety in numbers...don't forget your helmet in case you fall.

Man card now revoked pending testicular upgrading
 
If I hear three whistle blasts, three shots, or see flashes of course I am going to act.

I feel it would be irresponsible to ignore a standard distress signal.
 
TheGame said:
If I thought I could help, I would. If not, I would report it. I'd not ignore it, as if it were a situation where someone was lost or injured, I'd feel bad if it appeared on the news a day or two later, knowing I could have helped in some way. If I were in that situation (lost) I wouldn't want people to ignore my signaling.
Click to expand...



I agree 100%
 
for a whistle, sure. I would check it out. i guess i would even try for a flash/mirror, but i doubt i would be able to see that. we keep signaling mirrors in our crash survival kits, but the idea is that if my plane crashes there will be other planes out looking for me. i'm generally not trying to signal someone on the ground with my mirror. (then again, if it were my life at stake, you know i would give it a shot.)
 
Call in a 6 figure ref. RAF search and rescue or coastguard can get a heli there much quicker than I can get there. They've got all the tools they need in place to treat a casualty on the spot or to CASEVAC them. There's zero incentive for me to involve myself unless an easy photo opportunity presents itself.
 
TheGame said:
If I thought I could help, I would. If not, I would report it. I'd not ignore it, as if it were a situation where someone was lost or injured, I'd feel bad if it appeared on the news a day or two later, knowing I could have helped in some way. If I were in that situation (lost) I wouldn't want people to ignore my signaling.
Click to expand...

+1^ - and calling in w/a 6-digit grid coord, az/distance from my poz and my complete grid coord's.
 
This question kind of makes me sick. When I was 13, some guy robbed my friend and I on a bus during full daylight by putting a razor to our face and boxing us into our seats against the window. Several passengers looked back and I mouthed to them: "GET HELP! GET HELP!" After staring for a long time and reading my lips and assessing the situation, the passengers either turned around and stared forward or exited the bus quickly. Same story with victims of assault or injury lying in the street while pedestrians side step their body, stand there starring, or snap cell phone pictures before walking off.

That incident along with other re-confirming incidents has turned me into a cynic, pessimist and ingrained in me the "survival of the fittest and let everyone else get screwed" mentality.

At the least I would report the distress call immediately. To actually think a distress call would be a trap, is taking it one step further than my own pessimism. What could a person possibly want to gain from bringing in a hiker into a trap like that? Money--how much money do you carry hiking if any? Your nice custom knife maybe? A ransom or a chance to murder someone? Seems a little far fetched. More likely the person signaling actually needs help. Running away without getting help makes me sick just like that day on the bus when I was young and still innocent.
 
I can't recall how many times I've helped out fellow motorist on the road. If I see a vehicle in the ditch, a semi truck on it's side, a vehicle on fire, or even people stuck on the side of the road in bad weather, I stop to help if they don't yet have authorities helping them. Even if someone has already stopped, I will still stop to help since I feel I'm likely more prepared then most motorist and they may be more comforted knowing many strangers have stopped to help, as opposed to just one. I don't assume they may have staged something just so they can rob whoever stopped to help them.

Also, I never run. I skip and do cartwheels.
 
I'll go check it out. I don't watch tv or movies so I'm obviously not as jaded as some. Also I'm rather confident that I can handle most situations that come up.
 
That scenario IS a weird movie. If I saw someone broken down on the side of the road, I'd ask them if they need help through my car window. I think that there are higher numbers of good people out there than bad, but I have lived long enough to know that many of the opposite exist also. Let's say I'm a cautious helper. In this day and age I could make a cell phone report to the authorities if I felt that the situation was wonky, and my conscience would be clear.
 
Being a paramedic and a SAR tech, I am required too, however I will all ways take my limits as a deciding factor.

I want to help everyone, but I also don't blindly walk into things. I dont pick up hitchhikers, and if for some reason I need to I make them sit up front with me, and If my wife is with me, she drives and I sit in behind the person with them in front with her. she chats, and I watch what there doing.

I have had people say never mind when I ask them to sit in front. only had to transport two people, one was ok with it the other wasn't.

As for the mirror or whistle, what type of whistle blow is it? if someone knows to carry one, they most likely know three of anything is sos. depending on your area may be a considering factor. If I heard it in town, I may not think too much of it, however, 30 miles in the bush where I'm almost certain Im the only one, its getting reported.
 
TheGame said:
If I thought I could help, I would. If not, I would report it. I'd not ignore it, as if it were a situation where someone was lost or injured, I'd feel bad if it appeared on the news a day or two later, knowing I could have helped in some way. If I were in that situation (lost) I wouldn't want people to ignore my signaling.
Click to expand...

^ This.

generallobster said:
Your nice custom knife maybe?
Click to expand...

I think they'd stand a bigger chance of winning the lottery, considering how many hikers are carrying surgical steeled cutlery.
 
My late backpacking buddy is a true nature man, so much so that he makes a point of keeping his mouth shut. He does have his own cat call and often signals with a light instead of shouting back and forth, and now that I've picked up on it, I notice just how much nature I was scaring away. Yesterday we went hiking in the Owyhees, which is a largely uncharted, unused, unexplored chunk of canyonland and high desert. One of his buddies works for a company that is promoting the establishment of national wilderness area in the Owyhees, so we put on lots of miles yesterday getting back into crazy canyons and gulches, running cameras and traversing stuff just to see what was all out there, in prep for a report to the county commissioner. Communicating by whistling to each other and flashing lights, even at high noon in the high desert, we were able to signal our locations to each other in very complex terrain without shouting and scaring away the wild horses, mule deer herds, jackrabbits, coyotes, burrowing owls and other desert wildlife. It was a fantastic day that definitely tested me, and I learned the skill of communication isn't one that should be taken lightly. It can be utilized in ways other than just a tactical or survival recovery operation.

In sticky situations, most people I've run into in the PNW are more than willing to assist people in trouble. The few times I've seen stiff responses is in places where people live extreme lives on a regular basis, and 'one of those damned tourists' winds up doing something stupid or preventable and tries to get local help with a credit card, when the nearest ATM is 200 miles away. One thing that should always be in your mind is that if you can't get yourself out of your own mess, you are putting someone else's life in danger expecting to be rescued. If you're willing to bet not only your own life, but someone else that is not responsible for your actions on your abilities, only at that point should you put up the risk.
 
It's been mentioned, but I'll investigate and help if I can do it safely, like if it's not too far off a trail or down a cliff. But I'll always alert the authorities if it's legit.

That said, I ran into some idiot deliberately giving a false alarm before. Some "frat bro dude" or something.

I'm also very wary of people's motives in general. I grew up in a bad part of Brooklyn. I know a lot of people in this thread have scoffed at the idea of being ambushed, but there are messed up people out there, and the wilderness is very easy pickings if you were so inclined. The chances of something like that are pretty slim, but you only get one life.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top