The Hiker's Guide to Search and Rescue

Gaining a better appreciation for search and rescue can make you a safer and more confident hiker. Your knowledge of who to call, when to expect help and what to do while you wait could just save your life.

: Rescuers discuss the safest route to ascend Infinite Bliss.

In Washington alone, search and rescue conducts more than 800 missions a year to help lost and injured outdoor enthusiasts. Yet despite the large number of hikers, climbers, skiers and bikers they help each year, most people know very little about the elite group behind the heroics.

Gaining a better appreciation for search and rescue can make you a safer and more confident hiker. After all, at some point you might be the one in need of help. And in that moment, your knowledge of who to call, when to expect help and what to do while you wait could just save your life.

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Part 1: Meet the Heroes of Search and Rescue

What search and rescue is, what kinds of missions it conducts and who volunteers with the organization. >> Read more

Part 2: Learn the Anatomy of a Rescue

What goes on behind the scene of a rescue and what you should do while you wait for help. >> Read more

Part 3: Help Search and Rescue Help You

How to test your layers, leave a detailed itinerary, call for help, make good choices on trail and wait productively for rescue. >> Read more

Part 4: Support Search and Rescue

How to donate your spare money and your spare time to help this amazing organization. >> Read more