Communications Equipment in the Wilderness

by: David Leonhardt
Communications Equipment in the Wilderness
For Hunting, fishing, hiking, boating or cycling
By David Leonhardt

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.

"OK, darling. On my way back into town I'll pick up some milk
and peanut butter and...wait! Was that a whitetail? Gotta go."
Click.

Not only that, with a cell phone you can even catch up on your
email while crouching in your tent or scaling a cliff, with an
email to phone service, such as http://www.email2phone.net .

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.