Rescue is Embarrassing

No one ever wants to admit they they need help. Especially when they packed their bags, spent the time and money to go on the adventure, and tried to reach the summit. Getting lost, medical emergencies, and weird freak accidents can happen to anyone, at anytime. I always do my best to take the time to read about survival stories that happen, so that I may study the patterns and statistics of situations so that I may be able to communicate the proper skills to my students. No matter the situation or "mechanism of survival", the backlash on social media is absolutely terrible. I joined the NH 4,000 Hiking group on Facebook a few years ago, and I was absolutely disgusted by the bullying, language, and backlash when a rescue was published. Folks tend to get into the "shoulda, coulda, woulda" when things go wrong instead of looking at the objective facts. If an experienced hiker has an accident (ie sprained ankle), and needs rescue, there should be nothing but support and kindness to someone who just had an unfortunate accident. The media publishes the full names, the town people live in, and an inaccurate story of any situation that happens. This leads to people judging and unhelpful advice or words to the people who just simply had an accident.

There are ways to prevent accidents, as survival situations usually do not just JUST happen all of the sudden. Although they could happen all of the sudden in some cases, usually they lead up through a series of choices a person makes. A slip and a fall leading to a twisted ankle could just be a simple accident that happens to anyone. A medical emergency is no joke. Most situations however, tend to have a few aspects involved. New trail, forgot your map at home, forgot the GPS, stepped off trail to go to the bathroom and left your pack on the trail, hiked alone, and didn't stay put upon first realizing your lost. This is a common lead up to a classic survival "lost in the woods" situation that happens time and time again. If this happened to you, would you want people bullying you on social media, or would you want people asking "what do you need and how can I support you?".

The embarrassment of rescue leads victims to not asking for help when they really should. Being able to judge "is this the right time to ask for help" is a question anyone should ask themselves when a situation happens. You are putting other people's lives at risk when a search and rescue team is called for you. This is why it's important to use proper judgement, have the proper training, and keep yourself "found and fine" on the trail. But, things happen. Do not get the "it can't happen to me" mentality.

Let's create a community of education and support instead of shame and bullying. Of course people to TONS of dumb stuff in the wilderness. And that's why we are here to teach people proper wilderness etiquette. Take the precautions and carry a small survival kit with you for those "just in case" moments on the trail. Always tell someone your plan and when you plan to be back. Do not do anything you know you're not capable of. Start small and build up to the big stuff. Competency and confidents should never be mistakes for complacency. Get out there and train in a reasonably challenging environment. And make sure to go slow and use proper judgement. If someone needs rescue, put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself "how would I like to be handled in this situation?".

Have fun, be safe, and make sure to always turn around before an accident happens.