I carry flagging and a Sharpie (and sample bags, I am a geologist after all) in my kit at all times. I often flag trails. You can write on the flagging a name, time and direction of travel. Thankfully, I have never needed it to be rescued , but I have used it many times to leave messages for other workers or crews in the field.

Respectfully,

Jerry

There's always the traditional technique - leave a trail of bread crumbs. The modern variationwould be crumbled bits of plastic foam....

Depending on the terrain -- Hot pink surveyor tape tied near eye level.

Here are some trail signs you can leave using natural materials:


Image from the Scouts Canada Wiki article on Trail Signs

This image is taken from the Scouts Canada Fieldbook & similar information is in the Cub Book. An activity we've done with our Cubs in the past is have the different sixes go off and make their own trail using these markings and then have the other sixes try to follow them from beginning to the end.

Regarding what Grylls did in his shows, I don't recall specifically, but it was something similar to the above.

Bad idea, it was the breadcrumb trail that resulted in Hansel & Gretel not being able to find their way home .

After reading the Grimms' fairy tale, I always thought it was odd that the breadcrumb trail made it into our culture as an idiom when the story so clearly showed such a trail was useless (the forest animals ate them before the kids were able to follow the trail home, resulting in their capture by the witch).

My feeble attempt at humor just didn't make the grade....

No, I just went off on a tangent that really didn't need to be followed . The whole breadcrumb thing just bugs me for some weird, likely overly pedantic reason ...