Most people who plan for the backcountry think about shelter, water and food, and stop there. Calling for help gets a line on the gear list, if that. Yet you can survive the first bad night, the fall, the wrong turn, and still lose the whole thing because nobody knew where to look. Signaling is the part of survival that turns “alive” into “found,” and it is worth practicing before you need it.
Don’t count on your phone. In the wilderness there is often no network at all, and even a full battery does you no good without a tower in range. The methods below don’t depend on one. Some need nothing but a few sticks, some cost a few dollars, and two of them cost real money. Knowing the signal is only half of it, though. A pilot who sees a mess of smoke and doesn’t recognize it as a distress call will not turn around, so the form and timing of each signal matter as much as the signal itself.
Fire and smoke #
Smoke and fire are the most recognizable signals outdoors, and search crews are trained to look for them. They split the work between day and night: smoke carries in daylight, flame shows at night.
One fire is just a campfire. Three fires are a signal. The standard layout is a triangle with a fire at each corner, about 100 feet apart, in an open area where they can be seen from the air. Three fires in a straight line, again 100 feet apart, also work. If you are alone and hurt, or just short on energy, building three fires may be more than you can manage. In that case, make one large fire and layer other signals on top of it. The more signals you put out, the better your odds.
In daylight, flames wash out against bright sky, so make smoke. Build the fire, then feed it green vegetation or damp material once it’s burning well. The thick column that results is far easier to see than the fire itself. If you can, hold a blanket or a large piece of fabric over the fire and lift it off every so often, so the smoke rises in bursts instead of a steady smear. The rule of three still holds: three columns of dark smoke in a triangle read as a deliberate signal.
Fire has limits. Rain, snow and heavy wind all work against you. Wind flattens the smoke and carries sparks into dry vegetation, and a signal fire that turns into a wildfire is a second emergency on top of the first. Clear the ground around it, and keep it where you can watch it.
Mirrors and anything shiny #
A signal mirror is low-tech and, in clear weather, nearly as effective as fire. It takes practice. A flash from a small mirror has to land on a plane or a ridge line that may be miles away, and without a method you will mostly miss.
Purpose-built survival mirrors reflect more light than a bathroom mirror and usually include a sighting aid, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of aiming. With a plain mirror, there is a simple trick. Hold the mirror just under your eye and stretch the other hand out in front of you. Tilt the mirror until the spot of light sits on a fingertip. That finger is now your line of sight. Move your hand until the finger points at the target, and the flash goes with it. Once you have a plane in line, rock the mirror back and forth and up and down. A pilot is more likely to notice a flicker than a steady glare.
No mirror? A CD, a belt buckle, the face of a wristwatch, a flashlight reflector or a piece of aluminum foil will all throw a flash. They are weaker, but a person scanning the terrain will often catch a moving point of light.
Sound #
Shouting works only if someone is close, for example near a road or a settlement, and you can’t do it for long. A whistle goes much farther and costs almost nothing. Keep one on a zipper pull or around your neck, not buried in a pack.
The pattern is three blasts. Each blast should last about five seconds. Leave a gap of around 30 seconds, then repeat. Nearby searchers who hear three evenly spaced signals will take it as a call for help. The same pattern works for other noise. Three gunshots, evenly spaced, carry the same meaning. If you have neither whistle nor gun, hit a dry log with a stick three times. Dry wood cracks loudly and the sound can travel several miles.
Sound carries best downwind, so if you have a choice, face the direction the wind is blowing toward. Air horns do the same job as a whistle at higher volume, and a sound-making device like a small horn is worth packing if your kit has room. Pace yourself either way. Blow in sets, then stop and listen for a reply. A rescuer who answers will be easier to hear in a quiet gap than over your own noise, and you’ll spare your lungs.
Ground-to-air signals #
The methods above all depend on someone looking at the right moment. Ground signals are passive. You make them once and they keep working while you rest. They fit best when you are stranded somewhere that rescue will most likely arrive from the air, such as an island, a desert or a heavily wooded area.
Find a large clearing. Collect rocks, branches, logs, clothing, anything you can lay out in a big shape. The message has to contrast with the ground around it: dark logs and rocks on pale sand or snow, green boughs on a white field. Make each letter about a yard wide and several yards tall. Smaller than that and it vanishes from altitude.
Use standard symbols. “SOS” and “HELP” are understood everywhere. A single “V” means you need assistance, and an “X” means you need medical help. A big arrow shows searchers which way you went if you’ve had to leave the site. Brightly colored tarps, ponchos and signal panels in an open area do the same job with less labor if you carry them. The advantage of panels is that you can spread them in seconds.
Know how a pilot answers. If the plane circles your message, the crew probably can’t read it or hasn’t understood it. If it rocks its wings back and forth, they have seen you and understood. Either way, now is the time to add fire or smoke to confirm exactly where you are. Standing with both arms raised high in a “Y” shape is another recognized distress signal, and waving a bright jacket or blanket in large sweeping motions helps a crew spot a person on the ground.
satellite phones and beacons #
Phones fail in the backcountry because they run down or lose the network. A satellite phone avoids the network problem. Instead of towers it talks to satellites, so it works wherever it has a view of the sky. It is expensive, and you have to pay for service, often with a prepaid card, but it is a dependable way to reach someone who can send help. Some newer satellite messengers let you pay a modest monthly or single-use fee to send text messages out through satellites, and for many people that is enough.
A personal locator beacon, or PLB, is the cheaper option. A PLB sends a distress signal with your position to the global search and rescue satellite system. Aircraft and boats use a similar device called an EPIRB. When you trigger a beacon it reports your location; you don’t have to describe where you are. The thing to check before you buy is battery life, because a beacon that dies in the second day is no use to anyone. Both devices are especially useful at night, when mirrors, ground panels and most of the audible methods stop being practical.
Markers for the people searching on foot #
Suppose you’ve signaled and no one has come. They may be combing the area near you without knowing exactly where you are. Ground markers help a search party on foot, and they matter even more if you have to move before help arrives.
Leave a trail. Tie a strip of cloth around a tree trunk. Scratch a large arrow in the dirt pointing in the direction you took. Write a short message on duct tape and stick it at eye level on trees, or mark the bark with permanent ink if you have no tape. Give the date and time, and the direction you’re heading. Make everything big and bright enough that a person would notice it from a distance, and think about color: a light-colored mark on pale bark disappears.
Practical points to keep in mind #
- Choose the method for the conditions. Smoke and fire at the wrong moment, in rain or high wind, will delay rescue instead of speeding it up.
- Never depend on one signal. Use several at once, and use each correctly.
- Pay attention to color and size on any written or laid-out marker. Small, dull marks get missed.
- Satellite phones and beacons are the best bet at night, when ground markers, air signals and sound all lose much of their use.
- Stay in a group. If you are with several people, you can split into small groups and keep in close contact, but avoid walking alone in the wilderness.
- Get your equipment in order before the trip. The time to find out your whistle is cracked is at home.
Adding signals to your kit #
Not every signal needs the same tools. A basic kit should cover three jobs: something loud, something bright and something that marks your position from the air.
For loud, carry a whistle and, if you have room, a compact air horn. For bright, carry a signal mirror, and keep it somewhere you can reach with the pack off. A flashlight can also flash; it is worth learning Morse code, because dots and dashes sent with a light or a flag let you pass a real message. SOS is three short, three long, three short. Signal flags in bright colors, waved in a set pattern, carry messages over distance in the same way. LED flares are modern devices that make a bright light visible from miles away when waved in a circle, and they are reusable and waterproof. For marking your position, carry a brightly colored tarp or poncho. Flares are good in low light and bad weather; follow the safety instructions to avoid starting a fire or hurting yourself.
If you travel with others, agree on signals before you leave. A raised fist might mean danger and a thumbs-up might mean all clear. Set a check-in time, and use your devices to confirm location and status at that time. If one person has a problem, the rest should already know what the signals mean, who is in charge and what to do. A chain of command sounds formal for a hiking trip, but when something goes wrong it saves time to have one person deciding.
When youre lost: keep priorities straight #
Signaling is not your first job if you are cold, wet and out of water. Shelter and water come first, because you’ll be better at everything else if you stay hydrated and out of the weather. Natural shelters like caves, rock overhangs and fallen trees can help. After that, signal during both day and night, and shift methods with the light: mirrors, smoke and ground panels by day, fire, light and sound by night.
Stay calm. Panic burns the energy you need for fires and for staying alert, and erratic movement makes you harder to find. Use universal signals: three of anything, or a standard SOS. Don’t invent your own. And don’t waste flares or batteries on every faint sound; save them for when you can see or hear a search aircraft or party.
Practice before you go #
None of this is hard, but all of it works better when you’ve done it. Build a smoke fire in your backyard or a safe spot on a day trip, and see how long it takes to get thick smoke. Aim a mirror at a distant object until you can hit it on the first try. Lay out letters on a field and look at them from a rooftop or a hill to see how big they have to be. Learn the three-blast whistle pattern so you do it automatically. Then pick the right method when you actually need help, use several together and keep them up until someone answers.
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