Communication in the wilderness is a matter of survival, as well



as convenience. Before even leaving home, communications must

begin. In fact, our first two communications tip do not even

require equipment or gadgets.

"Make sure that somebody knows when you leave, when you expect to

return (or get to your destination)," advises Chad Brown, owner

of Farm And Field Outdoors Equipment Auctions (

http://www.farmandfieldauctions.com ). "Provide as much

information about your route as possible.

Things can happen. Rocks can fall on your head while hiking.

Boats can tip over. Firearms can malfunction. Somebody needs to

know that you are late in arriving...and where to send search

parties to find you. In fact, this is the same advice I used to

give drivers in winter weather when I was spokesperson for CAA

Ontario.

The second tip is to never head into the wilderness alone. Just

as one should never go swimming without a swimming buddy, nor

should one go long-distance cycling or hiking, nor hunting,

camping or fishing in a remote area without a buddy.

My wife's uncle took the business end of large falling branch on

his skull while out in the forest, knocking him unconscious and

cracking his skull down the middle. Eventually his skull will

heal, but only because he had companions to get him into town.

Otherwise, he might still not be found.

Here is another report, this one from the New York State

Department of Environmental Conservation about a fall from a tree

stand: "The subject had no communications equipment with him. No

phone or radio. If the subject had left word of where he would be

and approximate hour of return, a response may have been quicker.

Cause of Death: The subject suffered a broken shoulder, multiple

broken ribs on one side, a punctured lung, and a punctured

spleen."

This is hunting equipment?

Assuming you are still conscious, it helps to have some

communications equipment while out hunting, fishing or camping.

Of course, there is the ever popular cell phone, which brings

instant communications to almost everywhere in the world. Except

maybe your wilderness trek.

But there are many places where cell phone range covers your

fishing lake or hunting woods. The best part about a cell phone

is that, even in the wilderness, you can have utterly normal

conversations with pretty well anybody.

A two-way radio is a much surer piece of equipment, because it

does not depend on the cellular network to connect. The downside

is that you get to speak to a much narrower range of people:

other two-way radio owners.

"Hi there, Big Bear, do you read me? Can you get a-hold of my

wife to see if I have to pick up milk and peanut butter on my way

back into town? Do you copy?"

Before you leave on any outdoors trip, it is wise to check the

weather forecast. But the weather forecast can change quickly,

so a cell phone or radio serves another purpose.

"Whaddaya mean thunderstorms and hail?!? I just got here,

darling, I don't want to come home just yet. Oh...alright..."

Of course, you could just have someone email the weather forecast

to you on your cell phone.

Chad Brown also advises keeping a very loud whistle hanging from

your neck. If you are trapped under a tree, pinned down by a

boulder, or wrestling a grizzly bear, you might not have reach or

the attention span to dial a number. If anybody is within

earshot, they will come running...if not to help you, at least to

capture it for "America's Funniest Home Videos".

Our final tip might seem obvious, but make sure you know where to

call. Have the emergency number taped to the back of the cell

phone (ignore your wife's idea of tattooing it to your forehead;

where would you find a mirror in the middle of a ravine?) and

make sure you know what frequency to call for help on the two-way

radio.

There you have it. You are prepared to go out into the wild and

communicate. And if the animals don't understand what you are

trying to communicate to them, you might not be any worse off

than in the city.

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