So what if you.....

Codger_64

Codger_64

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Most of the survival questions and answers here seenm to be non-specific in the scenerio, and the answers go far afield as a result. So here is a scenario for you to try your wits and skills.

You are a part of a SAR stick. (search and rescue team). A teen aged hunter (a peep) has become lost, and a week of standard search techniques have failed to turn up a trace. The alphabet soup agencies are ready to pull the tent stakes, hook up to the command trailers, and pack it in. Your team has been called in by the parents as a last resort. Your team is to be helo-inserted on a wide grid, each member taking a seperate drainage. Because of the terrain, and iron bearing rock, communication systems are out of the equation. Extraction is set at six days from insertion. Two high altitude signal flares and a tiny strobe are provided as locators, only to be used if contact is made with the missing person, or when extraction is otherwise required.

The strobe is the size of a 35mm film cannister, the flares the size of cigars. You are given only your issue clothing, one pint flask, a U.S. stainless military utility knife, six bars of trioxane and a shoulder bag 8x8x6 to carry. You can put as much or little in the bag as you want, but you will be covering rough terrain on foot, and every ounce will weigh a pound before the end of the first day. The bag weighs two and a half pounds with the provided contents. The flask adds another pound when filled.

The weather is early fall with cool nights, lows in the forties to mid thirties, some rain expected, but none heavy. Unpolluted water is available, if you can locate it.

Additionally, you will be carrying a first aid trauma kit for the peep if you find him. You are not to open or use the kit for any reason except to aid the peep. The kit weighs four pounds.

WIth a starting weight of 4 +3.5 = 7.5 pounds to carry, plus your clothing, what do you add to your kit and why?

Woodsman64
 
Item: Zeiss 8x56 Binoculars.
Why? : Excellent quality and clarity, lots of light gathering in the darker days. They would allow you to look over an area properly without having to waste the time and effort.

Item: Whistle
Why? : Because it will help the peep find you as well if they are still able to make a sound or movement.

Item: Poncho
Why? : As well as keeping me dry it could keep 2 of us snug while help arrives. If peep is wet and immobile, wind chill is going to be a problem. If everything is wet the Triox isnt going to be enough to keep him warm.

Item: Dehydrated high calorie backpacking foods.
Why? : I'm going to need calories but I dont have enough fuel to cook. I would rehydrate the food a few hours before warming it up in my canteen in cold water then heat it enough to make it tasty. Peep is going to need something quick and easy too most likely.

Item:Paracord or Utility cord
Why? : You just never know and its weight is pretty low. Peep may have slipped and fell into something.

Item:Bivvy Bag
Why? : I'm not going to be much use if I get sick from being wet and cold. Staying dry and sleeping well is very important to ensure I stay alert and on the ball. Fatigue or extreme discomfort may make me careless in my search.

Item: Spare socks
Why? : My feet are the most important thing at this time, if they are damaged I am in a world of hurt.

I have probably missed a lot of important stuff, but off the top of my head I thought these would be pretty high on the list of important stuff.
 
why would I carry a 4 pound trauma kit if I had locator signals and a helo standing by?
 
Codger_64 said:
Most of the survival questions and answers here seenm to be non-specific in the scenerio, and the answers go far afield as a result. So here is a scenario for you to try your wits and skills.

You are a part of a SAR stick. (search and rescue team). A teen aged hunter (a peep) has become lost, and a week of standard search techniques have failed to turn up a trace. The alphabet soup agencies are ready to pull the tent stakes, hook up to the command trailers, and pack it in. Your team has been called in by the parents as a last resort. Your team is to be helo-inserted on a wide grid, each member taking a seperate drainage. Because of the terrain, and iron bearing rock, communication systems are out of the equation. Extraction is set at six days from insertion. Two high altitude signal flares and a tiny strobe are provided as locators, only to be used if contact is made with the missing person, or when extraction is otherwise required.

The strobe is the size of a 35mm film cannister, the flares the size of cigars. You are given only your issue clothing, one pint flask, a U.S. stainless military utility knife, six bars of trioxane and a shoulder bag 8x8x6 to carry. You can put as much or little in the bag as you want, but you will be covering rough terrain on foot, and every ounce will weigh a pound before the end of the first day. The bag weighs two and a half pounds with the provided contents. The flask adds another pound when filled.

The weather is early fall with cool nights, lows in the forties to mid thirties, some rain expected, but none heavy. Unpolluted water is available, if you can locate it.

Additionally, you will be carrying a first aid trauma kit for the peep if you find him. You are not to open or use the kit for any reason except to aid the peep. The kit weighs four pounds.

WIth a starting weight of 4 +3.5 = 7.5 pounds to carry, plus your clothing, what do you add to your kit and why?

Woodsman64
Click to expand...

Seems to me that by now I'm looking for the hunter for the parents peace of mind. But as long as I'm goin out with just an 8x8x6 bag and a trauma kit:

Flint and steel + a BIC lighter.//keeping warm and warming the hunter is first
and foremost. If I don't stay warm I will be next.4oz.

heavy(thick)wool coat.//If it will be light rain, raingear and the extra weight of rain gear will not be nessessary. If it rains hard I'll hold up til it lets off or get out my tarp.3lbs.

Wide brim Felt hat on my head.// Felt is wool, wide brim keeps the sun and wind off me,and it is warm and dry. I've stood in a stream fishing for countless hours in the rain wearing a felt hat in comfort.No rain down my neck and no sun in my eyes when the rain quits.6oz.

8x8 orange ultralight tarp://shelter at night, rain collecter whenever, wind brake, highly visible, rain gear in a gully washer, fits in 8x8x6 bag. 10oz.


binos around my neck:// able to search large areas without actually going there. Could save alot of time. Also keeping an eye out for predetors(I might not be at the top of the food chain in this area)??don't know the weght

As much Pemmican as I can carry,or fit in the bag/pockets://This high energy food can keep me going for an awful long time,plus I don't have to cook it and if the hunter is still alive would be the easiest thing to feed him til I get a fire going(this is what the thiroxine bars come in. A wood or debri fire is more dependable for heat and there is some kind of burnable everywhere you go!2-4lbs.

Ziploc 1gal. freezer bags(4) in lieu of the 1pint flask:// sounds crazy but they don't weigh near as much and hold lots of water, foods found along the way.
Water is easy to find and easy to carry,,INSIDE your body. I have fasted for four days and nights(no food or water)and when you drink that first drink you feel four more wouldn't be hard to do. Load up when you find it and pay attention to your surroundings.Water is everywhere if you know where to look.2oz.


All said my bedding is out there as is my heat/cooking fire. lots of food out there too. Nights are not gonna be like at home but I'll be just fine. Why? Cause I have the attitude nessessary to be!

Navigate by the stars. cloudy you say? There are MANY ways of knowing where you are. Sun, prevailing wind, clouds, limbs thicker on the south, moss grows HIGHER on the north side, warm air comes from the south, cold from the north....
 
vinny72xx said:
why would I carry a 4 pound trauma kit if I had locator signals and a helo standing by?
Click to expand...

Many a person has died shortly after being located by rescuers. What if the day (or night) the peep is located is foggy or overcast? Your flares would be useless, and the strobe would be unseen, especially since no helos can stay airborn and cover multiple drainages 24/7. I purposely did not tell you what was in the trauma kit. What if the person you find is hypothermic? Will you move him to an extraction point? What if he has injuries, or requires treatment for shock? YOU will be first responder. This bag is your kit to help the peep, should you find him, to survive the 3-24 hours until extraction. The logic behind providing you with the kit is that none of your gear will be required to help him, excepting the extraction signals. Your kit has to sustain only you.

Good answers, and good reasoning. More than one rescuer has needed rescuing, and becoming a victim yourself compounds the situation. Can you estimate the total weight of your kit? (without water added beyond the minimum pint recomended)
 
I would carry my lab Dixie. She has been out hiking with me and can easily outlast anything on two legs, she is a great hunter, and has a pack that she can carry her own food and water. I think she would be a good first warning system for predators, and would be invaluable at catching a scent.....besides she is pretty good company out in the bush.
 
i would carry a sat phone, i have a friend that has one and i can get it in short order, this should solve my commo problem. also there are some very small repeaters that can be dropped on a high peak by the chopper and will repeat transmissions automatically, might be a good thing to have for your sar support package.

i would carry some freezdied food as my food source, as water is no problem.

, a siltarp poncho that will give me and the peep shelter as needed.

a 3lb sleeping bag, to put the peep in as after this length of time he most likely will be debilitated.

my basic load out of mini kit, a couple of 1 gal. freezer bags to carry water. my s+w 329 scandium framed 44 mag pistol should handle most predators. 1 smoke grenade, becker brute or bk9 strapped to pack, gorp, hot chocolate mix, tang mix. rope, usual fire starting kit with lighters,fire steel, vaseline soaked cotton balls, 1/2 road flare. most of this will fit in a swedish army mess kit.

this should weigh about 10 lbs or so plus the med kit and bag, 17 lbs

alex
 
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