One woman recently learned the hard way how important it is to always be prepared for the worst. Ann Rodgers, 72, and her dog Queenie were rescued after spending nine days in the Arizona wilderness.

On March 31, Rodgers was driving to visit her grandchildren in Phoenix when her car ran out of gas on a remote back country road. Unfortunately, she had no cell phone service.

“I waited until sun up the next morning, hoping a truck or car, anybody, anything, would go by, even a steer! I didn’t care, anything alive,” Rodgers told CBS News. When no one showed up, she realized she had to do something. However, she became lost after climbing several ridge lines in attempt to find cell phone service.

Rodgers and Queenie survived by eating desert plants and drinking water from a pond. To make it through the freezing desert nights, Rodgers created a shelter and built a fire. Eventually, she came across an old elk carcass and used the bones, which had been bleached white by the sun, and some rocks and sticks to spell out the word “HELP!” on a canyon floor.

Rescue teams noticed her distress signal near the area where Queenie had been found a few days earlier and sent a rescue helicopter to her aid. She was discovered near a signal fire as she waved her arms to get the attention of her rescuers.

Thankfully, Rodgers had enough wilderness experience to have the foresight to create a shelter, build a fire and create a visible distress signal. Without these tools, and her access to edible desert plants and water, the situation could have turned out differently.

Because you never know what type of situation may arise, it is smart to keep a survival kit with you. Rodgers wasn’t planning to go on a hike, but she knew she would be driving through remote parts of the desert on her way to Phoenix. She also apparently failed to tell anyone where she was going, so her family didn’t immediately realize that she was missing.

Your survival kit should include:

  • Plenty of water (at least one gallon per person per day)
  • Fire starting tools
  • Shelter
  • First aid kit
  • Signaling tools

If you’re headed on a long drive through remote areas, let someone know where you’re headed. If you find yourself lost in a remote area, stay with your vehicle. Cars are much easier to spot from the air than a person. Most importantly, don’t panic. Do your best to remain calm and make strategic choices to maximize your chance of rescue.

 

A personal locator beacon (PLB) is a portable device that will transmit your location in case of an emergency so that rescue crews will be able to find you.  A personal locator beacon must be activated manually, and it transmits data to a satellite system, allowing rescuers to track your location within about 2-3 miles. Some PLBs allow integration with GPS units, which can dramatically improve the ability to track your location.

Until 2003, PLBs could only be used in Alaska as part of an experimental program. After the experiment proved successful and helped save hundreds of lives, the FCC approved the program for use nationwide.

Alerts Rescuers to Your Location

If you spend a lot of time out in the wilderness, it is a good idea to carry a PLB for your safety. You are highly unlikely to ever need it, but a PLB is good to have with you in case you have exhausted all other methods of self-rescue and have run out of options. When activated, it will alert rescuers to your location, no matter how remote. It takes less than an hour for your location to be identified with a PLB. If your PLB is integrated with a GPS, it will take about five minutes to identify your location.

Initiates Search and Rescue Procedures

Personal locator beacons transmit powerful signals at 406 MHz, a distress frequency that is monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC). When activated, PLBs communicate with a network of satellites that relay your information to AFRCC, which will initiate the search and rescue procedures.

Long-Lasting Battery

Each PLB has a long-lasting lithium battery that remains dormant until the PLB is activated. The batteries will typically last at least 24 hours, although the battery life may be somewhat diminished in cold temperatures.

No Recurring Fees

You must register your PLB with NOAA, but you do not have to pay any recurring fees to maintain your PLB. You will be given a Unique Identifying Number that is linked to your personal information including your name, phone number, address and any medical conditions rescuers should be aware of.

Only Use as a Last Resort

A personal locator beacon should only be used as a last resort when all of your other attempts to be rescued have been exhausted. Your survival kit should include equipment to help rescuers find you, such as a signal mirror, fire-starting tools, a whistle and an emergency blanket.

Are all 7 of these essential skills in your survival inventory? Taking some time to see if you’ve safely covered all of the essential elements of survival skills.

1 – Find and Keep Clean Water Water is critical to our survival and is a top priority if you’re faced with a natural disaster or other emergency situation. While it’s a good idea to stockpile plenty of water, there’s only so much you can pack with you if you have to leave your home. Learn how to identify water sources and purify the water so it is safe to drink.

2 – Find Sustainable Food Sources Growing your own food in a garden is a great way to ensure you will be able to feed your family if the food supply is affected. If you have to leave your home, or if you need supplemental food supplies, it is essential that you are able to hunt and gather food outdoors. Hunting and fishing are excellent ways to supplement your food supply. Learn to identify edible plants and bugs to supplement your meals.

3 – Start Fire Fire-starting is one of the most important skills you can learn. Fire gives you the ability to cook food, boil water and stay warm. Make sure you include fire-starting tools in your survival kit. Learn how to build a fire in wet and dry conditions.

4 – Use First Aid Techniques Every survival kit should include first aid supplies, but they don’t do much good if you don’t know how to use them. It is important that you learn basic first aid skills such as CPR, cleaning and dressing wounds, making splints or slings and treating shock.

5 – Master Simple Sewing Many people fail to consider sewing when thinking about survival skills. However, this skill is one of the most important skills you can learn. This skill allows you to repair clothing, blankets and other fabrics that you will need to survive.

6 – Use Self-Defense Techniques In a true emergency, you may be required to defend yourself from desperate people or hungry wildlife. It will be up to you to defend yourself and your loved ones. Take self-defense classes and learn how to use a firearm. Make sure you have a quality knife in your survival kit.

7 – Develop a Survival Mentality When you’re faced with an emergency situation, it is important that you stay mentally strong. Survival training teaches you how to deal with a variety of possible scenarios so that you will be prepared when disaster strikes. With proper training and preparation, you will be ready to face any situation that may arise.

If you want to be prepared, do an inventory of your survival skills and start practicing the elements that need work.

Maintaining a healthy level of fitness is about more than just keeping your mind and body in good shape. Fitness is also part of being prepared for the unexpected.

When the time comes, you need to be prepared to get places without a vehicle. You’ll likely be carrying your gear over long distances when disaster strikes and you need to get to a safe place.

While cardiovascular exercises, weight lifting and stretching can all help you be ready to move, there are a few simple tests to make sure you can get yourself and your gear to your destination. Wilderness professionals use these tests to gauge their readiness for their jobs.

Wildland Firefighter Pack Tests

The wildland firefighter pack tests are set to make sure Forest Service personnel are prepared for the physical demands of battling wildfires. Search and rescue teams also use these tests for fitness exams. There are three tiers of testing, each carrying an increased level of difficulty. All of these are done on level terrain wearing boots.

Remember to train before doing these tests and also consult your physician before substantially increasing your level of physical activity.

Light: The easiest of the three. The light test is a one-mile hike in 16 minutes. You don’t need to be carrying anything, but feel free to bring a small amount of water and equipment.

Moderate: This is the first test involving a pack. It comprises of a two-mile hike with a 25-pound pack in half an hour. For many of us, this could comprise of a general field kit. If you’re adding weight to your pack, make sure it’s evenly placed. Many people use sand bags to weigh down their rucks.

While this is an easy way to give you the required weight for the test, it can also cause a it of discomfort with how the sand will pull down on the pack. How this works out will depend on the type of pack to use. Remember, you don’t want to go far beyond your body’s tolerance for these exercises. It doesn’t make sense to delay your training with avoidable injuries.

Arduous: This test involves the most weight and the longest hike. Carry a 45-pound pack for three miles in 45 minutes. Lane county Search and Rescue uses this as one testing option for candidates and members. However, because 45 pounds can be a substantial amount of weight for someone who may weigh, say, 120 pounds, EMR adjusts the weight for 45 pounds or one third of the person’s body weight, whichever is less.

Search and Rescue Pack Tests

While Eugene Mountain Rescue and other Lane county SAR teams do use the arduous test for members and candidates, we have other tests that we use to assess physical fitness.

Search and rescue missions will often go off of flat land and into higher elevations on steep slopes over long distances. Our tests have longer distances than the arduous test with more elevation gain, but with more time for members to complete. Here is an example of one our more commonly used tests.

Load a pack with 25 percent of your body weight, up to 40 pounds. Hike a hill that allows you to travel up, down and up again for an uphill elevation gain of 2,000 feet. This test must be completed in less than two hours. Sometimes the downhill leg of the test will vary depending the hill you use.

For instance, a hill that goes up 1,500 feet will only require 500 feet of downhill travel to allow for the 2,000 feet required uphill. The distance may also vary. One slope we use for this test covers a little more than four miles.

These pack tests or “rucks” can give you a good benchmark for your physical fitness outside the weight room or treadmill. Try them out and see what works for you and the kit you plan on carrying.

People who enjoy the outdoors can find themselves many miles away from civilization and aid. While this doesn’t faze many adventurers, it does pose a significant risk that should not be taken lightly.

Many people are well versed in how to take care of themselves outside the comforts of home. There are also others who aren’t. Either way, but some means or another, misfortune will befall someone.

It can come as bad weather, an animal attack, illness or injury or any other situation that puts someone in a bad spot.

It’s those times when they’re counting on someone to get them out. That’s where Search and Rescue comes in.

How SAR operates will vary between states. In Oregon, the responsibility of SAR falls onto the county sheriff.

Eugene Mountain Rescue, my unit, mainly works with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office and also assists other jurisdictions around the state. There are also non-profits that will various regions of the state and are called upon but not necessarily a part of a sheriff’s office.

Individual units can specialize in fields such as all-terrain vehicles, K9 searches, emergency communications and diving. EMR is a unit that focuses on rock, alpine, snow and ground search missions. Most SAR personnel in Oregon are volunteers.

Four Reasons to Join a SAR Team

1. Public Service
You’ll be serving your community in an area that really doesn’t ever run low on demand. There’s a huge sense of satisfaction that comes from missions and training for SAR. You’re saving lives, and that counts.

Don’t worry too much about equipment. There’s a good chance you already have plenty of the equipment that you need for SAR such as a pack, boots, medical and field gear. Your team will provide more advanced equipment such as radios and GPS units.

2. Diverse Training
SAR training will involve anything from land navigation to tracking to criminal investigations.The training not only helps you be a better rescuer, but will also help you in whatever you’re doing outside of SAR.

I’m a better-prepared hiker and snowboarder thanks to the survival and avalanche training I’ve done with EMR. I’m better able to plan trips and more prepared to help those around me.

3. Have a Story to Tell
Your conversations at work, the dinner table and the bar will be far more interesting. Your newfound knowledge of the outdoors and field craft will likely interest someone, and it makes for decent talk over a pint. Mostly.

4. A Network of Friends
You’ll find that most of your team members are a lot like you. Many will come from different backgrounds, but they’ll share a love of the outdoors and service. My unit carries a bunch of types. Some are teachers, firefighters, ex-military, businessmen and doctors. They’re a great bunch, and I know I can count on them in the field. Outside of SAR, you’ll probably join them for adventures where you’ll probably use the very skills you’ve learned in training, but just for fun.

If you’re ready to get these benefits and more, do some research on what’s available near you and get involved. Your skills can mean the difference between life and death.

A Boy Scout leader and a few scouts were out for a hike when he had a dangerous encounter with an angry bear. The bravery and survival skills of his son and two other Boy Scouts would end up saving his life.

Check out the video below to hear from the brave scouts and see the area of the attack.

The Bear Encounter
Christopher Petronino, a 50-year-old Boy Scout troop leader, was reportedly mauled by a bear on Dec. 20, 2015 while on a hiking trip at Splitrock Reservoir in New Jersey, about 30 miles from Newark. 

During the hike, Petronino climbed up a rocky hillside to a cave. He says that he has explored the cave on a regular basis since the 1980s, but had never run into a bear.

When he entered the cave, a black bear reportedly grabbed him and pulled him further into the cave.

After the bear grabbed his foot, Petronino struck the animal twice with a rock hammer, pulled his shirt up to cover his head, curled into the fetal position and pretended he was dead. This let the black bear know that he was not a threat, and the bear eventually left him alone.

Desperately Seeking Help
The injured Petrino then yelled to the Boy Scouts to get help. The boys immediately called 911 but could not describe their exact location. They left food outside of the cave in attempt to lure the bear from its den.

One of the Scouts, 13-year-old Frankie Lepore, credits his training for helping him remain calm during the situation. “I thought this was a serious situation—he might not make it alive if we don’t do something,” he told ABC News.

The boys also started building a signal fire to help rescuers locate them. Eventually, the bear left the cave and a dog that was with the Boy Scouts barked and frightened it, causing the bear to run away from the cave.

Petronino says he was in the cave with the bear for about an hour and 20 minutes.

Rescue crews were able to determine the party’s location based on one of the Boy Scout’s cell phone GPS coordinates, and rescued them several hours after the attack.

Petronino was airlifted out of the area and treated at a hospital. The bear had reportedly bitten his leg and both of his shoulders. He was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening and the three Scouts were unharmed.

Winter weather can cause flash floods that make roads you thought you knew take on a new, and very deadly, risk.

Trevor Thorlakson, 16, didn’t notice the water until it was too late when he was driving on a rural road in in Gerald, Missouri. He and a friend were crossing a bridge when trouble began.

Trevor said that the creek was about 20 or 30-feet below, so he didn’t think that the water would’ve been over the road. After two straight days of torrential rains, the creek was flooded after water covered part of the bridge. The teen reveals that he didn’t see the water — which was about waist-high — before his car got submerged.

It was a nerve-racking moment, but the teen didn’t panic. Instead, he used smart survival skills in order to get himself and his friend out of the harrowing situation. He said that he and his friend stayed in the car as it floated. Eventually it stopped. The two managed to call 911.

Rescue crews found the pair clinging to the top of the car. They reached the teens by boat; both were uninjured.

His harrowing survival story should wake drivers up to the dangers of bridges and quickly rising creeks or rivers. The swift current makes these waterways unpredictable.Take note of weather conditions before getting on the road and tell someone what route you’ll be taking.

If you find yourself in a submerged car, don’t panic. In this scenario the car floated along with the current but every situation will be different. Attempt to get to the highest point possible and use a flashlight or bright clothing to remain visible to rescue personnel.

If you’re not sure about the depth of the flooded roadway, don’t try to test it. Water can move quickly and depth can be unpredictable. It’s tempting to speed through it, but it could end up causing you much more trouble than it’s worth.

The rush of whitewater rafting is pure adrenaline. Your first sight of the set of wild rapids just down the river sends your heart rate pumping. You grip your paddle with knuckles as white as the water.

While floating rivers and group river rafting tours are a common outdoor pastime, they aren’t without some inherent dangers. It’s that risk that makes rafting so exciting. Here’s what to do if you find yourself thrown from the raft, and into the whitewater.

1. Get properly equipped before you even hit the water.
If you’re going out with a guided tour, take a look over their equipment first. Helmets and maintained life jackets are crucial to whitewater safety.

Wear light clothing that dries quickly and won’t take on bulky weight when they hit the water. Items like boots and denim jeans get wet, they’ll weigh you down if you’re in the water.

Keep your life jacket snug and buckled, making sure that you can breathe but the jacket itself can’t be pulled up to your neck. If it’s too loose, or not buckled, you run the risk of turning the life-saving device into a hazard instead.

2. If you’re in the rushing water, keep your legs out in front of you.
If you’ve been tossed from the protection of a raft and into the whitewater, keep your legs out in front of you to defend yourself from rocks or tree branches hidden under the surface.

If your life jacket and helmet are secure, your legs are the first line of defense as you tumble downriver. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your body flexible.

Push off of obstacles or, if they’re unavoidable, try to use the momentum of the water to push yourself up and over anything in your way.

3. Help your rescuers.
If possible, keep in contact with those still in the raft. Watch for them to throw you a flotation device or rope that you can hold onto.

When you’ve reached your rescuers, allow yourself to be pulled in face first. This way, you’ll be able to bend at the waist and roll into the raft.

Before venturing out into water, whether in a raft or while wading for angling, keep the dangers in mind. If you stay calm and follow these tips, there’s plenty of fun to have out on the water.

An Australian hunter survived the scorching Outback desert for six days by eating ants. Reginald Foggerdy, 62, was on a hunting trip in the Great Victoria Desert in mid-October when he went missing wearing only a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops. He had gone on a hunting trip with his brother.

Foggerdy got stranded about 9 miles from where he went missing after he trekked to the area to hunt animals. He wound up being in the Australian Outback for a whole week until someone found him.

He was seen in photos under a tree talking to rescuers before he was put in a helicopter. The hunter was alert and sitting up when he was found.

The Australian hunter obviously put his survival skills to the test  while he was away from home for those six days. As the report states, ants and other insects are considered “possible sources of nutrients” by survival experts. What’s more, is it’s a miracle that Foggerdy was able to stay alive that long in a region where temperatures typically escalate well above 90-degrees. It’s especially shocking given the fact that the hunter survived so long without water.

This is a true tale of survival in the harshest of elements. Australian authorities add that the Great Australia Desert is the largest desert in the country. It has “red sand dunes, stony plains and dry salt lakes” but permanent surface water is non-existent.

A Washington wildfire nearly claimed the life of Mark Desdier in mid-August.

The 62-year-old was in his Okanogan County cabin near Omak when things got dangerous fast. The Washington native was in the midst of trying to save neighbors in nearby cabins around 4 p.m. on Aug. 21 during the natural disaster before his own life was in peril.

A large gust of wind up to 50 miles per hour pushed a nearby wildfire down Cave Mountain, leaving Mark with a limited escape plan.

Thinking fast on his feet, Mark sped on his four-wheeler to the nearest way out. He hit a bank in the overwhelming heat and blinding debris. His ATV flipped, but luckily landed back on its wheels. At that moment in the Washington wildfire, Mark was able to use the lake as a means to survive the disaster. He later encountered a nearby dock that helped him stay afloat … shielding himself from hazardous debris.

While the resourceful man made it out of the water, he spent seven hours sheltered in an alfalfa hay farm building that was owned by some people he’d met earlier that night. After waiting a while longer, Mark was rescued by firefighters who then transferred him to Omak Hospital since he sustained several injuries and burns.

As the wildfire played out during Mark’s ordeal, his wife, Janet, thought he’d died.

Janet is amazed at the skills her husband used in order to survive the harrowing natural disaster. Mark says that is ability to stay calm and focused in the potentially fatal situation is what helped him. He learned the value of these skills when he attended fire academies while working with the Washington State Ferries for 30 years.

Wildfires over the summer had claimed the lives of three U.S. Forest Service firefighters, injured four, and destroyed 200 homes in the process.