In Part 1 we covered ways to avoid getting lost and preventing trail ride breakdowns. In this issue we will cover how to effectively cope with the various predicaments which you aren't able to avoid.

Blocked trails

If your customary path is blocked and you are unable to continue on a familiar trail, take a few moments and consider your situation and all of your options. How much daylight is left? Is there sufficient time to simply turn around and go back the way you came? Is it early enough in the day to scout out a detour but still return to your starting point or last camp if things don't work out? No matter what you do, you want to be in familiar territory by nightfall.

If there is not sufficient time to return to your point of origin, you should at least ride back to your last watering hole to take care of your horses and then find some kind of shelter for the night. It's at this point that those riders who always carry hobbles or rope halters with extra long lead ropes are going to look pretty smart. They can secure their horses for the night. What are you going to do with yours?

Particularly in drier climates and higher elevations, things can get pretty chilly after dark. After securing your horses your primary concern should be shelter from any wind or rain which you might encounter.

If you are lucky enough to find a campsite, you could possibly light a fire. When lighting a fire for warmth, consider the overall fire danger, whether combustibles are a sufficient distance away from the campfire, and wind direction and intensity. There are certain geographic areas where campfires are extremely dangerous. Accidentally setting the forest on fire will probably bring you help, but not the kind of notoriety you seek!

If you have to light a campfire to survive and you are not in a designated campsite with proper fire pits, make sure the area you choose is on bare, level, mineral ground. If you can't find bare ground, clear 30 feet around your campfire to mineral soil. You can use rocks as scrapers if you have to. Place a ring of rocks around your fire to prevent coals from blowing or rolling out. Although you may need sleep, take turns watching the fire. In addition to causing forest fires, unsupervised campfires have been known to catch campers' clothing on fire, an additional complication which you don't need.

When morning comes, you can resume your search for a route around your obstacle or return from whence you came. If you lit a campfire, be sure all coals are completely out. Coals have a nasty way of staying hot for a long time and wreaking havoc hours later when the wind comes up!

Just plain lost!

If you absolutely don't know where you are, stay calm. Your best chance of a speedy return to civilization is through careful observation and logical thinking. There will likely be persons in your party who are going to get upset and possibly panic. You need to calm them down and assure them that a composed, sensible approach to the problem is the quickest way out. If they are unable to contribute toward a rational evaluation of the situation, you will have to do your best to ignore them and maintain a non- emotional, solution oriented state of mind.

If it is apparent that the group will not make it back before dark and the area is not thoroughly familiar or is unsafe to ride at night, locate a suitable spot for an emergency camp and try to get the group organized and working cooperatively.

Field studies have shown that lost persons working together, constantly evaluating and thinking as a group, have a much higher survival rate than those which get emotional, waste time affixing blame or bemoaning the situation. The situation needs to be approached just as one would organize a task at work and everyone needs to do his/her part to successfully get out of the situation. An extra ten or fifteen minutes getting composed may save hours of struggling later.

The following list will help you organize "getting found". Such activities can be informal, for situations such as a couple of riders straying off course and needing to get reoriented, to formal structures in cases of larger groups who may be deep in the bush or in life threatening situations. Informal survival activities involves simply making mental checklists and carrying them out. More serious situations should be organized with aid of pen and paper, with specific issues and objectives outlined and responsibilities assigned to various individuals within the group.

Finally, someone has to be in charge. Remembering that group decisions are statistically more successful than individual decisions, the group leader should be more of an organizer than a dictator. Organizational skills are more important than survival skills for this role since the group leader needs to be a cool headed manager, not an expert.

Elements to consider

1. The Situation

   • How lost are you, or why are you unable to continue?
     Is the situation so bad you need to get formally organized, or can you simply scout out a solution?

   • Are there / will there be medical problems to contend with?
     Did the ride break down due to an emergency, or will you have an emergency if things continue unchanged?

   • Are there / will there be environmental problems to contend with?
     Would you expect to contend with heat, cold, wind, snow, rain, flash flooding?

   • What are food and water requirements?
     Do horses need water? Do humans need water? Do the horses need to eat?

   • What are shelter requirements?
     Will environmental conditions require some form of shelter to be constructed?

2. Available Resources

   • What is available and where is it?
     List all practical resources that you can see or that you remember passing such as sources of water, meadows for grazing, food carried by the group, possible shelter areas, etc. Estimate the distance and travel time to reach each.

   • How much daylight is left?
     Consider that in unfamiliar territory you probably won't want to ride longer than an hour after sunset.

   • What are the conditions of the horses and riders?
     How far can the group continue without someone breaking down?

3. Forecasts / Probabilities

   • What is the weather going to be like?

   • What is the likelihood of finding someone who can help you?

   • If an emergency (injury, storm, etc.) caused the breakdown, what is likely to be the situation in 24 hours? In 48 hours?

4. Needs

   • What is necessary to cope with present or expected emergencies?

   • What is necessary to sustain the horses?

   • What is necessary to sustain the riders?

   • What is necessary to "get found"?
     Note that horses are listed in priority before riders as they are probably doing most of the work and are a requisite mode of travel.

5. Plans

   • What are the possible objectives (actions which can be taken) which could solve the various "situation" problems?

6. Logistics

7. What will it take to accomplish each objective under consideration?

All of these facts and probabilities should be outlined before getting involved in debate and discussion. Each objective should be considered. Those which are impractical or risky (e.g., setting the woods on fire to get attention) can be put aside. The remainder should be reviewed with the following criteria in mind.

• If an objective is successfully attained, will it solve the problem or an essential component of the overall problem?

• What will it take to execute the objective?

• What is the probability of success?

• Can the objective be attempted now, or do we need other resources first (e.g., rest, daylight, water, etc.)?

• What is the cost to the group if the objective fails?

• What are the risks to those attempting the objective if the objective fails?

• After complete analysis, is the objective worth attempting?

Prioritize your objectives. Try to stay practical. Don't try riskier endeavors unless they are necessary when more sensible approaches fail.

If you have to take cover

If you have to find shelter due to bad weather conditions or to protect an injured person, there are several issues to consider.

During thunderstorms or unstable weather you should be concerned with lightening and in some areas, the possibility of flash flooding. Don't take cover near promontory points or under tall trees as they are more likely to be struck by lightening. Take cover in lower lying areas, but avoid those which are likely to be affected by rising water. In narrow canyons it doesn't take much heavy rain to force you out from your shelter or render your escape route impassible.

During hot weather, seek shade. If water is unavailable or in short supply, conserve your energy during the heat of the day and move about in the early morning and evening to minimize dehydration.

During frigid weather, protect yourself as best you can from the wind, rain and sleet. Your head, neck and hands account for 75% of body heat loss. During freezing winds, for example, you can improve your chances through such simple acts as protecting your head and neck with your helmet and saddle blanket and keeping your hands in your pockets. Plug up the vents in your helmet with rags or handkerchiefs or place duct tape over the openings.

Make your presence known to would-be rescuers. Injured or "holed up" victims are often within a few hundred yards of advance rescue personnel who are checking trails, but hidden from them. Sufficient personnel for a more time consuming "grid search" may not arrive for hours. Something as little as a piece of tack or clothing left on a commonly used trail could narrow the search area and expedite rescue.

You may be in good shape when you first seek shelter, but you may not be in any condition to shout for help or go out to meet rescuers when help arrives. Searchers will be checking trails and many areas also have air search capability, typically through using helicopters.

If you don't need to wear your bright colored wind breaker, place it in the middle of a trail or meadow, visible from the air, secured by rocks or sticks so it won't blow away. Spread it out as broadly as possible and point the sleeves in the direction where you are taking cover. Leave something with your name on it in or on the jacket. Better yet, write a note explaining the situation and where you are. An alternative is to scratch out your name, an arrow and a brief note in the dirt. Make the word "HELP" and your name the most prominent in your earthen message since the wind or rain may start to dissolve your writings.

Other gear such as saddle blankets and even saddles can prove to be practical visible markers. Your safety takes precedence over losing a saddle and it is doubtful that some back woods hiker or rider is going to think "Gee, someone lost this!" and try to pack it out without looking around for whomever left it. A saddle, with a trail of tack pointing in a specific direction is an obvious sign of something wrong. Just remember, if laying out gear to be seen from the air, solid colors best stand out and catch aerial searchers' attention.

Sending riders for help

Sending riders for help is a practical idea in situations where the ride breaks down due to some kind of accident or horses and/or riders who are unfit to continue, provided there are riders and horses still fit enough to make the trip to safety.

Avoid sending anyone out alone. Good riders with reliable, well conditioned horses, preferably carrying a map, have the best chance of making it out. In dismal conditions, a pair of riders have a better chance of working through problems and obstacles than a single rider. When fatigue sets in, a lone rider is more likely to make a critical navigation error.

Only send out riders and horses who can be expected to make the trip without difficulty. Burdening a rescue party with a weak horse or rider only increases the likelihood of a second breakdown resulting in two separate rescue problems. Many people feel the need to help and will insist on riding out. A practical evaluation of the horses and riders should be made and whether each goes or stays should be based on those findings.

Assure the riders who remain at the emergency camp that there is plenty to do in order to put together some kind of shelter and get them involved in the organizational process. "Thanks, but no thanks" to people who want to help will start to polarize and divide a group under stress. "Thanks, but we really need you to do this..." is a much more productive approach.

Reconnaissance

Sending riders to scout out the area for help and/or a way out can be valuable. Scouting distances are generally not great and horses and riders who exhibit some fatigue and are not fit for a longer rescue ride may be suitable for this purpose.

Reconnaissance should be organized. Reconnaissance teams should have specific objectives, such as going back to the last big trail intersection or riding up to a higher elevation to get bearings. Reconnaissance teams should work within their assigned areas and go out for a predetermined period of time. It is conceivable that help could arrive at the emrgency camp while the reconnaissance team is out and rescuers should know where to try to contact them, or how long it should be before they return.

What about the horses?

What to do with horses can pose a variety of problems depending upon your situation. Optimally you will be able to corral your mounts so you will have them in the event you need to ride out. If you can't hobble or tether all of the horses, you may have to release some. Less dominant horses are more likely to stay with the group, especially if there is anything to eat nearby. Your biggest concern may be getting stepped on by one during the night. Just be careful that you don't release a young horse whose best buddy just left with the rescue or reconnaissance party or that group may discover it has a spare mount tagging along!

In instances where the ride broke down due to an emergency and there is not water and food for the horses in the emergency camp, someone may need to lead the horses to the closest source of refreshment. In severe situations where rider survival is in question, the horses may have to be released to fend for themselves. These are issues that change with each situation and the group should consider carefully the ramifications of either choice and make the best decision that it can.

Recap of key points

The best way to deal with getting lost is to not get lost in the first place! Remember the 6 "P"s... Proper Preparation Prevents Plenty of Precarious Predicaments.

Carry maps in case the unexpected happens and you have to deviate from a customary route or send someone for help.

Let someone know where you are going and when you expect to get back, so if something awful does happen, it doesn't take days to for someone discover you are gone and/or where you went to ride.

When things break down, take a few minutes to get organized. If alone or in a small, familiar group, run through a mental checklist of your situation and options. If in a larger group, get formally organized and have someone take notes to avoid confusion and overlooking something important.

Set up an emergency camp and don't move it unless all riders, especially rescue riders and reconnaissance teams, know of the changes.

Leave visible "help" signals on well traveled trails or open areas visible from the air.

Don't send tired or unfit horses out for help or reconnaissance.

Stay calm and organized. Your chances for a favorable conclusion to your predicament will be significantly increased.

A final note: As a result of government budget cuts, some agencies are charging lost riders and hikers for search and rescue costs if those who have to be rescued were irresponsibe or showed careless disregard for their own or their group's safety. Proper preparation may not only keep you from getting in trouble, but might save you thousands of dollars in the event something does happen beyond your control and you have to be rescued!