i have been thinking about this idea for awhile,a YouTube of an planned wilderness canoe trip to help a SAR unit home in on you faster.i'm going to have knee surgery this spring so i won't be doing this until late in 2014 but in the meantime this may help someone else.
the idea is to set up a campsite showing what sort of gear you use and then make a video to explain to a SAR's what you look like,the gear you carry and where you plan on going.
at the start i would say that if i set off my PLB it's the real thing and i'm just not tired and want a ride home.i would be having a medical emergency or washed ashore someplace without my canoe and gear.i would stand in the clothes and PFD i wear to help ID myself and show the tent,shelter and canoe.
i would talk about what sort of signal devices i would use,flasher,fire,smoke or water dye.
a map of the trip and expected camp site would be included.
now this may seem like alot but i'll be into my 70's soon and i want to keep canoe tripping as long as possible and i have run into several old guys out on the canoe trail so it's not a unreasonable thing to do.
info on the PLB set up would have a note to look at my "help me" Youtube along with info left with my family.
you feedback is more than welcome.

Nice! Sounds like a very good idea. And yeah, you might as well keep canoe tripping as long as you can. You don't really get "old" until you give up doing all the things that keep you young!

Phaedrus..this is a update of what i do now.over the years i've gone from a informal talk with a couple friends and people at work on when to expect me back and where i'm going " up in Quetico around Burke lake maybe",too leaving a photo from a past trip of me and my campsite and a marked up map on the dinning room table.on my first trip in 1983 i just left a note on the car dashboard " if this car is still here on september 20th try and find me because i'm in trouble",well i was young and what could happen.with a YouTube a SAR's unit could access my "help report" from anywhere with a better idea of what to look for.



"well he's not in his shelter but he's got to be close by"

You know, I've always wanted to do some canoeing up in your neck of the woods. It was a dream of my dad to be able to take a month to do a trip through the Boundary Waters canoe area. Somehow he never got around to it, and he passed away two summers back now. Someday I hope to be able to do the trip, for myself and in memory of my dad.

Heck, I'm right across the border in Sioux Falls, SD! Just need to get my ducks in a row.

Great idea, but rather than a video, why not a written narrative and still shots. Particularly a duplicate map of the area you'll be in and any Plan B's you might have in the back of your mind. Granted, if the PLB goes off (I assume your unit has GPS) they'll know where you are, but it's nice for them to know what you know. I'm not sure the video conveys that much more info.

Russ..this was a idea that struck me on my last trip.i had a buddy along and we did some around the camp shooting,meal prep and that sort of thing.at some point i was going to make that video with him doing the camera work but with being busy i never got around to it.
i would want a SAR's unit to have every bit of info i could give them before they came looking for me,even with the GPS on the PLB.mulling it over this just might be for my peace of mind than anything else and as i post YouTube's it would fit in with that.

I do think it's a great idea.