Backpacker Magazine – September 2008

How to Rescue an Injured Hiker

Your partner can't go on. Should you stay–or go for help?

by: Tyler Williams

When a friend goes down–whether it's a broken leg or a snakebite–you have a potentially life-or-death decision to make. Go for help, or stay and help? The answer depends on everything from the nature of the injury to your location and the weather.

• Can you hike out safely? You don't want to become a victim yourself. Wait for rescue if dark is approaching, the weather is bad, or you're also injured.
• Where are you? "In a well-traveled area, stay put, stay visible, and make noise," says Tod Schimelpfenig, curriculum director for the Wilderness Medicine Institute. "In a remote area–especially if no one is coming to look for you–go for help [when conditions allow]."
• What's the nature of your friend's injury? In a life-threatening emergency, go for medical help immediately. Exception: Reconsider if traveling will put your own life in danger. "There's no point in both people dying," says Ken Iserson, medical director of the Southern Arizona Rescue Association.

• Flag down rescuers with a flashlight, a signal mirror, or a fire.
• Call 911 on your cell phone. Even without service, rescuers can sometimes locate a phone's signal.

• Leave the victim in stable condition, making sure he has shelter, food, and liquids (and a pee bottle, or cooking pot for women).
• Leave a note in case someone else finds him unconscious. State when you left, your plan, and how others can help.
• Take a map with your location marked.
• Tell rescuers your friend's age, gender, nature of injury, supplies, and exact location.

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