Re-thinking the BOB philosophy

Looking over the contents of many Bug-Out-Bags, I noticed that they are heavy on wilderness survival/ camping items. In my mind most of the time I'll be bugging out to a hotel, shelter or relatives house. Prob 99% of the time.

Requires a whole different set of gear:

-My faveorite pillow
- spare work shirts
- Sleep mask
- robe
- Phone charger
_ work ID
-Contact lens solution
- night light

This is timely, as I am rethinking my plan based on Martin's post. (need to set up a second BOB).

For me, meds are number 1 on the list, and since the meds include insulin, some (even short term) cooling is needed when I bug out. Mostly I use those freezer packs and a small insulated cooler.

If I can bug out to a hotel, I'm OK. What is the thornier problem, is if I were taken to a "shelter" which might or might not have the facility to refrigerate insulin for a longer term. So I'm wondering about a small 12 volt refrigerator/cooler with a converter so I can set up wherever I can plug in to a wall outlet.

Agreed. You need to think about what your probable scenarios are. We've got a mixed bag here so we keep a hotelling-it BOB and a going-ta-have-ta-rough BOB. With a little luck, we won't need either but I suspect the hotel bag is the most likely one to be used.

Top three things in the hotel BOB are:
-cash and docs
-clothes
-toiletries

Top three things in the roughing it BOB are:
-shelter, including clothes
-water
-fire

I have a "EDC" bag Which is a Portion of my Bug out System for this reason. It contains everyday items and more and gets used for short term trips such as 3-4 hour drives/overnights/unexpected overnights. This is Why I tend to promote a bug out system more then a singular bag. The requirements for each portion of the system is to have bare basics in case only one part is taken along.

Thats why I have two different kits. One is a Camelbak backpack which fits the normal BOB stereotype. I then have a suitcase/travel kit for those kinds of situations.
I built that kit based around us doing some traveling ourselves and reading different travel sites where people who travel for a living. I keep a good sized toiletry kit always stocked and rotated which has a small first aid kit. Then when I buy new things like socks or underwear I buy two packs and put one in my dresser and one in my travel kit. So as I buy new stuff it goes in the kit and what was in the kit goes into use.
Of course now when we travel I take both kits

If I am bugging out to a hotel or any reasonably stale urban environment, all I really need is important papers, prescription meds and cash/plastic.

When we have had to prepare to bug out, my wife and I have found a check list to be most invaluable. The first things on it are what I call the four Ps - people, pets, photos, and papers. Perhaps we should throw in Prescriptions, as well.

I always thought a hotel bug out bag was called a suitcase

I wish I could give your post more prominence on this site because it's 100% useful and correct. Nobody is going to be living off the land in a wilderness situation if there's a hurricane or a hazmat incident. You'll be indoors, in a big place, or at a friends place or a hotel or a church, and that's what "go" means. If you travel a bunch, you already live with a Go Bag - its called your carry-on bag, and if you don't have what you need for the next few days in there, you're not really ready to travel anyway.

My carry-on bag and briefcase - with a few minor additions - IS my go bag. Its packed with everything I need to do a business meeting, sleep in an airport, make phone calls, eat something, drink something and so on. Its always packed, except for a few moments when I get home from a trip and I change out the spare socks and underwear or refill the consumables I might have used on the trip.

Turning that into a "go" bad for an evacuation entails putting my backup hard drive in there and grabbing a small bag with a sleeping bag, batteries, some books and a few other items that I might like to have. Thats it.

Earplugs.

Hotel, campground or Red Cross Shelter -- someday you're going to wish you had earplugs.

I never travel without them (a few pair are in my car).

Throw some cash in that BOB, too.

.

Situations vary, but you should always be thinking about worst case,or at least bad case, scenarios and what you would want to have handy to deal with those situations. Right now I am working in the local county elections office - recruiting and training poll workers for the upcoming event. As the election draws closer, job demands could keep me up a great part of the night, or even all night. I keep a supply of food available, both in my desk and in my briefcase, along with a razor, soap, etc (fortunately we have showers available). Pretty soon I will give up bike commuting and drive a car, stocking it with a sleeping bag and at least one change of clothing. It can get pretty crazy and one needs to be able to roll with the punches.

Years ago, when I was making regular trips to the Channel Islands, it was routine to bring at least one extra day's rations. All kinds of events would mess up our schedules and you darn well had to be flexible.

Bug out bags for Hotels sounds good, the main problem though, how to bag a room and how to get there with the rest of city of London, LA or New York deciding that a Hotel would be the place to head off too as well.

How do you book your room, if communications/power are out, how do you pay when most Hotels require a Credit Card and won't accept cash.

Hoping to bag a room, when you eventually get to your hotel of choice could be quite a risky option if you don't have something to fall back on in the BOB.

I agree with the OP but an "emergency" means that circumstances are fluid and anything can change to anything anytime.

A few decades ago, I travelled to the U.S. for business and decided to have my annual vacation after business was done. My wife and I toured part of the U.S. and when we reached Disney , my wife liked it and we decided to sleep in a hotel and come again next day to see more of Disney. However, we just couldn't find a hotel vacancy in the area. So, we HAD TO keep driving to the next town

So, while we all prefer to reach a nice comfortable hotel room with a hot shower, it my not be available.

Also, you may plan to reach a friend's house, but on the way, the weather becomes so bad (or there are car problems) that you have to stop. And even though you are only a few feet from the highway, being there in bad weather, oe when the area is under some crisis, you are practically camping in the wilderness. That is why when I drive to visit my parents, I try to spot possible points of "emergency camping" if need be.

For the above considerations, I highly recommend we make sure that "wilderness camping" is always be taken in consideration.

There was another time when I couldn't find a hotel and kept driving. Matybe it is useful to narrate this one too, although not related to the topic.

It was a 55 mph highway , and I was so exhausted, I was driving at 35 mph. Also, I was new to the U.S. knowing the language OK but not a whole lot about the rules and lifestyle. In my country, I have never heard of anyone stopped for driving "too slow". That was a new thing for me. LOL

Police stopped me, and asked me to walk in a straight line !! Now, for you guys , you know what uit means, but for me (please don't laugh) I thought : (%&^$%) .... This cop is "DRUNK", and he has a pistol !!! ... I am doomed.

Later on, he asked me if I was drinking something and I pointed at the orange juice bottle. When he opened and sniffed it, I began to understand what he was thinking and why he asked me to count and walk. LOL ... only then I felt some relief to explain to him that I found no vacant hotel room and was driving to find some motel somewhere.

While this is not within the scope of this thread, but understanding or misunderstanding others (especially in tense situations) can make a big difference. Make sure you put stuff in your bag that will help you better communicate with others. That includes small gifts , if need be.

I would also attempt to put together a database of potential bug out accommodation (including contact names and telephone numbers), which would not only include Hotel accommodation. In my area, holiday cottages are very popular and during the winter occupancy rates can be quite low and prices very reasonable compared to city hotel accommodation. Dealing with individuals may get you that bug out accommodation rather than dealing with a Corporate Hotel Chain call centre (assuming of course they have turned up for work during a SHTF event)

Here is a typical example of a cottage within a days bicycle ride of my location.

http://www.cottageguide.co.uk/glencroftcottage/

Located here

There are also many many other alternatives for Bugging out rather than using tents, tarps etc out in the wilderness during a SHFT, although you may need to reassess whether any one else knows about your Bug out Location.

I thought that this cave might have been a potential BOL out in the depths of the Sidlaw hills about 8 miles away. It had, nearby a handy 16th Century Castle, a handy water well called St Peters for medieval weary pilgrim travelers and even a handy public Telephone nearby.

Failing that there is always the off chance one the holiday cottages would be available.

The OP is well taken. However wilderness gear isn't only useful in the wilderness. When a hurricane slammed our state years ago some of the most popular items were backpacking stoves, since electricity was out and natural gas was shut off. A sleeping bag is a wonderful thing to have when you're in a hotel in Nebraska that doesn't have heat due to the situation. Being able to purify water is just as valid when the municpal supply has been contaminated with floodwater as when you're in the woods.

Myopia works both ways.

I can't remember if I've posted this before or not, but essentially I totally agree and have done this in practice for two years. I travel at least one weekend a month and as a result I have a pretty good little kit put together. I virtually always bring rain wear, a wool sweater, and in the winter I add long underwear. Now I also keep a space blanket, knife, and fire making tools in the same bag, sometimes a gun. I look at my weekend bag as my bugout bag too. It wouldn't suit me very well if I end up in the deep wilderness, I admit, but I could rough a night out during 8 or so months of the year. In the winter I should try and keep a sleeping bag w/the go bag or bug out bag. I don't call it a bug out bag, I prefer go bag or ditch bag, as it isn't geared towards wilderness survival like it seems most BOBs are these days.

You're so right, Glock. Losing power, heat or water at our bug-out locations is well with-in the realm of possibility, and another illustration of how my GHB and BOB keep growing. About once or twice a year I strip things down in terms of contents and weight, but it doesn't take long for it to creep back up again.

I travel frequently and to a wide variety of environments. My BOB goes everywhere with me, it just may change its appearance (switch to an environment appropriate bag) and lose some things that can't go on an airplane (until I retrieve my checked baggage, then it returns to its normal composition). I carry it to work, to the beach, to meetings (although it may stay in the car) and to my friend's house. Each member of my family has one, and they carry it as well, within limits (kids can't carry a pocket knife into school, or lighter of matches); and I generally maintain their bags. Regardless of the emergency or environment, I have the essentials, just in case. I may add if I have time, or I may pack an appropriate suitcase or duffel bag if time permits. Time of year, weather, destination and time dictate what goes in them. But my BOB goes with me and it gets used, and repacked, resupplied and checked upon my return.

+++ Earplugs. Man, they help in a noisy place.

Having slept on the floor of many an airport, I can assure you that hotels are preferable, but not necessary.

Let us also evaluate several recent situations in NYC and London and see what happened.

Most recently, Hurricane Irene, an event in which yours truly was ordered to abandon his shore vacation by the Governor of the State of Delaware, and also a time where large swaths of New York City were placed under evacuation orders. Yes, the hotels filled - but the shelters opened and nobody who wanted a bed didn't have one.

Back a little further, 2003 - the great east coast blackout (again, I was on vacation...). Not only were hotels unable to process credit cards, cash machines were out. So they took a pad and paper, wrote down the guests information and charged them later. Or let them stay for free.

London's subway bombings. The city was shut down. Yet the milk got delivered, the electric got generated and life went on.

Over and over again, I think we see a fragile, ready to fall apart society when we forget just how strong our desire for stability and order is and how powerful the idea of "Keep Calm and Carry On" really is.

I think we could all take a lesson from this guy:

You still check bags? Really? I've just plain given up on checking bags after having stuff stolen - repeatedly - out of my bags.
I sometimes used to check a handgun with my luggage for trips to where my CCW permit was honored, which made the luggage less likely to be tampered with, as those bags are monitored, but since I go to LA all the time now, that's not really an option anymore. How do you deal with the extra 45 minutes of waiting time at each end of your trip? I have to involuntarily check bags every now and then, I can't stand the wait for the bags at landing.

This all great stuff and certainly great food for thought. I'll have to see how I can start some of this now as I build my GHB/BOB.

-Jason

You have come to a good site for this discussion! Let me encourage you to take another look.

Your scenario includes some assumptions that might let you down. First, there is the assumption that you will travel safely and arrive as planned, but how will you deal with a different outcome? Second, there is the assumption that you will arrive at a location which has all the resources you need, but what if some or all of those resources are not available? Third, there is the assumption that your relo

The strength of this community is in its challenge to the assumption that everything will be okay because somebody else will take care of us. Being "equipped to survive" asks us to prepare as best we can for the opposite assumption.

A BOB is to give us independent survival resources and is not built on the assumption we will arrive safely and on time. Most BOBs look like wilderness encounter kits because theyy are designed with the thought that the thin veneer of civilization can be just that.

I usually have to carry to much to be able to carry it all on the plane, unavoidable. I have never lost anything out of a bag, and never lost a bag. I have had some show up late, but they got there.

I have found that TSA will not search my bag if I ziptie each compartment shut. Ziptying the the zippers togther, that is.

I have found their notice of search in my bag (not sealed) and I have seen where a bag was searched (my E&E Kit enclosed) with no notice being left. I haven't "lost" anything yet.

Should be noted, I don't fly commercially unless there is no other choice.

I fly a lot. I have had a lot of damage to luggage (I use rolling duffel bags now, they last longer, hard side get destroyed quickly) but never lost or anything stolen. I have had things broken. My baggage almost always gets searched, likely because of the stuff I carry (survival gear, field gear, electronics). I have begun to Fedex Pelican cases to myself with my more expensive or sensitive stuff. It is reliable and safe, and there is insurance, so an incentive to actually get it there unharmed. My company has a Fedex account, so it is easy. Since my travel is for work, I don't have to pay out of my pocket for shipping. Most hotels are pretty good about receiving shipments like that.

Like Montanaro, I've never had any luggage lost or anything stolen from my luggage. A few late bags, but everthing always arrived eventually. I too have had good success with rolling duffles.

The few problems I've had with late bags have generally been when I've had to make connections, espcially when using more than one airline. Hence I fly direct whenever possible, or try to make connecting flights on the same airline.

Mont,darn clever the shipping idea,never would have thought of that.

Havent flown once since TSA,avoid it,thankfully not required by job.

My new job will have me flying more. I've avoided air travel totally for some years, and honestly I'm not looking forward to it at all. One upcoming trip is for two weeks and will require me to check luggage.

My previous experiences both post- and pre-TSA is that theft of and from checked baggage is rampant. The airlines do a uniformly wretched job of preventing and reacting to it. I will say goodbye to everything that goes in my checked bag before I get to the airport.

I've UPS'ed my tools and parts to my hotel numerous times for work recently. Include "Attn: Hold for Guest John Smith" in the address.

Time it to arrive a day or so before so you can check the tracking and then call the front desk to confirm it is there and remind them when you're arriving.

If you can generate a return label and send it along for the trip back, do that. Include a mostly used up roll of packing tape so you can pack it back up to ship home. The hotel will probably not have a regular UPS pickup but you can request a pickup or just locate the nearest UPS store or whatever.

I also pack only 3-4 days of clothes and just make sure the hotel has an in-house laundrymat - hopefully a free one.

I hate traveling for work but I try to make the best of it.

Flying is certainly not as enjoyable as it was, say, in the 70s or 80s, but at least it is still a very safe way to get from here to there.

Most of my flying since retiring in 2000 is to South Dakota, where I have participated in an annual dig for mammoths in Hot Springs, South Dakota. I am there for a month, flying both ways. Each summer we bring in two crews of around twelve Earthwatch volunteers, who mostly fly in and out. Over the past twelve years, this group has made easily two hundred incoming flights. All or nearly all of them would have been connecting flights, with greater potential for lost or strayed luggage. There have been cases of delayed bags, perhaps one a season - twelve or so. Instances of items pilfered from luggage - none. I won't dispute that pilfering doesn't occur, but, from what I have experienced, it isn't rampant or out of control.

The worst thing about flying today is the crowding, high prices, and the inability to board without even an itty bitty knife with which to clean your fingernails. Oh, the flight attendants back then were prettier, but I am sure they could say the same thing about me (On the other hand, maybe I am just as ugly as ever)....

Add pets, pet porter ( kennel) food, leashes and their documentation as well

And treats. Dogs do better with treats

Have fun with that while the rest of us have real a BOB.

Teacher has a point. Not all of us have wilderness experience. Nevertheless, the place we bug-out to may not have electricity. Therefore, replace the nightlight with a flashlight.

Jeanette Isabelle

Most of the bug-out crowd with dillutions of carrying a 100# BOB on their sojourn won't get 10 miles before they cave. Where I live, 10 miles doen't get me to the city limit, let alone "wilderness". If you don't have a specific place to go, why bug-out? If you do have a place to go, why not cache your bug-out supplies near that location and carry a smaller/lighter BOB focused on getting there -- if you can't simply drive there with your BOB in the trunk.

We all have slightly different perceptions of reality, that's why cognitive dissonance is such an important concept. Anyone/everyone with a survival mindset, or what they think is a survival mindset should analyze their situation based on reality and not on a possibly misguided perception of reality.

Just my $.02

I think it really comes down to what you seriously think you might be bugging out from. Leaving because our house burnt down is going to be different than if there's a rail crash with a chemical spill, and significantly different than leaving because one of the nuclear power plants around here melted down, don't ya think?

Another thing to consider: if we ended up at my in-laws for any significant amount of time, setting up my camping gear in their backyard would become more and more attractive as time goes on.

We've got two set-ups for a reason, and I suspect that a combination of both would be the most likely outcome. We've been stuck in a hotel out of town due to a vehicle breakdown before, while on the way to a camping trip, and our camping gear came in just as handy as our typical suitcase stuff. We just didn't need the tent.

I can look back on decades of backpacking, climbing, SAR and field work (often in a true wilderness setting), and from the perspective of this thread, I have been practicing for a BOB event all that time. The gear I would choose is basically light weight stuff suitable for a wilderness because that is what I possess and what I am familiar with.

If fate should choose to direct me to a five star accommodation with chocolates on the pillow, fine linen, and all that stuff, I suppose I am adaptable enough to make the change, but when I walk out the door, I am prepared for much rougher accommodations.

BOB would not be my first choice- in the event of a major quake here in SoCal, I would prefer to camp in place on my property and salvage/repair whatever is left. On the other hand, a wildfire would dictate q quick exit from the premises.

One must stay on top of the situation and remain flexible.

Izzy, I used to check your blog when there was a link here to it.
When the link disappeared I thought you had given up the blog.

I agree. That's why we've spent the last couple of years actively practicing just that. Taking our BOBs out for trial runs, both in terms of the contents and also the weight. Basically hiking and camping with those specific kits. Camping/hiking/backpacking have always been a part of our lives, but thinking of those activities in terms of the kids and in and under the added stress of some sort of a disaster, adds two elements that can only be conquered, IMO, by actually practicing. Kind of like CPR. You hope you never have to use it but you take the refresher course every year so you're ready if you do anyway.

I'm confident that I can hike comfortably with my BOB, that the contents are sound (much trial and error, and a little downsizing/adjusting every time,) and that our skill levels (as individuals) are in a state of constant improvement, to the point where we could get by with much less than is in our kits. We've been working this Spring and Summer at integrating the baby into those plans, which quite frankly, have changed drastically since she was born. Believe me, I am in no rush to have to take her anywhere on foot for any length of time. Bugging in is still option #1, but thinking about and preparing what we'd need for her is a big priority.

Going to a hotel or relatives house by Jeep is our most likely scenario, but I do foresee the potential for us (in our AO at least) to be on foot, or at least ending up on our undeveloped five acres for a while. I'm not a Doomsdayer, I don't have an INCH kit, and I don't expect to be living the book "The Road" ever, but I have bugged out for a manmade disaster and bugged in during some of Mother Nature's specials. Our AO has a high potential for both, and I just think that the more mobile our family is, and the more comfortable we are living out of our packs, the more adaptable we'll be in general, but especially if a bug-out situation does arise.

It occurs that if one wishes to be really ready to bug out, then one should consider volunteering for the local SAR outfit, especially if you will likely operate in wild terrain.

It has been a while since I was an active participant, but the basic contract seems the same; you are ready to go at any time, regardless of weather or other circumstances. You will soon find that the best way to meet this challenge is to have a bag ready to go, usually seasonally adjusted for prevailing conditions. Obviously, you don't want the weight of this bag to be excessive, but you also want all the fundamentals. You will need them if you participate long enough. You will be carrying some excess (mostly medical gear) since it is a given that you will be responding to situations involving injury and trauma.

You will become accustomed to rapid changes in your daily activities, which can become somewhat disconcerting to family and friends. They are likely to understand with time. If a bug out situations occurs, it will be just another day in the woods for you.

I make this post because, looking back, the time I devoted to mountain SAR (in Tucson with the Southern Arizona Rescue Association) is some of the most gratifying and worthwhile activities in which I have engaged. I received far more than I contributed - the rewards, in the final analysis, are immense.

Great suggestion hikermor!

I have looked into our local SAR group. They're called the Ontario Volunteer Emergency Response Team (OVERT) and they recruit about twice a year. I had it on my radar for this year or next, but then the baby arrived and set that plan on hold for a while. For now, I'll keep working on keeping the next generation found via Scouting.

Doing local SAR seems like an awesome way to not only increase your own personal skill level, but also your knowledge of your local AO.

Some scenarios where I'd use my Bug Out Bag;

1. Going to Aunt Nancy's while the kitchen gets remodeled.
2. Going to the Raddison while the power is out
3. Going one city over to avoid an approaching storm
4. For the gear to 'shelter in place.'
5. Hopping on the Red Cross Shuttle bus to get to the shelter
6. Driving to a new, more inhabitable area. (Getting out of Dodge city/ INCH scenario.)
7. Walking/biking a short distance to avoid a flood or small scale event.
8. Hiking to the woods to live.


Of these eight, #8 is the least likely for me, but seems like the one most people plan their gear for. Also, in most of the likely scenarios, I'll be driving, so capacity is huge. (Room for dog kennel, computer, water, fuel, air mattress, professional tools, framed art, etc.)


"Plan for the likely events; not the unlikely."

That right there is a big contribution.

Jeanette Isabelle

I admire people who can do this. How do you just put down everything and go on the assignment? It sounds like sometimes it might go overnight. Family is one thing, but how do rescue volunteers arrange for this with their paying jobs? What kind of demographics are these rescuers?

My work is fairly flexible, but I can't imagine disappearing for two days straight at the drop of a hat. I don't think they'd be understanding about volunteerism. It does sound like one could learn an immense amount from SAR! Many of us are either armchair/backyard/camp trip preppers...

Perhaps everyone is over thinking the BOB with its philosophical and psychological aspects, it really is just a Portable Bag of Kit, which allows a person to remain unsupported for a period of time in what could be difficult environmental and security conditions. Just tune your kit/bag and train with it to meet the conditions you would expect to encounter when the accoutrements of the modern convenient lifestyle begin to break down.

It always seemed that late Sunday afternoon, the very time I am responding to you,is prime time for operations to begin - people aren't returning on time and calls are made. I routinely pulled out of the driveway, looking into a setting sun, as I proceeded to base camp. A lot of the operations were fairly brief, about two hours or so (typically conducting a rescue/recovery at a known location, as opposed to a wide ranging search),but the duration varied between less than five minutes to more than two weeks. There was a definite peak on the weekends and on holidays. Unexpected weather events and all hall broke loose.

We were a fairly varied lot, ranging from teenagers to "mature." About 20-25% female. Obviously, it helps if your work situation can tolerate your absence. I found an obscure clause in our personnel manual that allowed up to forty hours administrative leave for public service of this type; sometimes I took vacation time. Eventually I finagled a schedule where I worked four ten hour days, taking the weekends and Mondays off. Some of our personnel had positions at the University of Arizona; quite a few worked for a local engineering firm that accommodated their interest. We had both MD's and RN's in our group. Obviously there are job situations that can't or won't compromise on the flexibility that is so useful in SAR.

While a fair number of use were competent in technical rescue, rock climbing, and all that, not all of us were, or needed to be. One thing I learned is that many people lacking superior outdoor ability could contribute, before, during, and after operations in all kinds of ways. I don't believe that any of us were available 100%of the time - I had a project that took me out of town during the summer most years I was active Our rescue group did not require mandatory attendance - you did what you could and participated when possible. You were a member as long as you paid your annual dues.

Most of all,I suppose, you acquire a "SAR mindset," realizing that the bell can ring at any time, and you may need to do the Clark Kent thing. This can lead to assembling two packs - one for the office and one for home.

It would be naive to think that activities of this sort can't stress your family and personal relationships. My first marriage ended during the time when I was most active, and while SAR was a factor, the dysfunction went far beyond SAR and its demands. I also know that the bonds you build with fellow rescuers are solid, deep, and substantial.

Bingley, your employer just might surprise you. Don't be discouraged by initial skepticism, but when you show continued activity, and, especially,leaving a comfortable workplace to do battle with the elements, you are likely to garner support and assistance. You are making a valid contribution to a better community and that is a win-win all around.

You will eventually encounter some rescue situations that will make a lot of but out scenarios seem mighty tame.

Federal SARs and DMATs (Disaster Medical Assistance Teams) get paid while deployed and employers are required (by law) to allow members to go (similar to the military reserves). Members are classed as "intermittent employees."

State SARs' rules will vary by state.

And, Izzy, DMAT's do have psychologists on the team.

Being on any of these teams would certainly be good experience.

I would echo everything that hikermor said. I would also add that most volunteer groups try to recruit enough people and reach a critical mass so that someone is always available to deploy. The other point I would add is that my experience has been that volunteer SAR folks as a group are some of nicest sort of people you will find. Part of the reason I stick with it is that I enjoy working with the kind of people who will volunteer to go out in the middle of the night to help a total stranger.

Helping out total strangers is usually pretty straightforward. When you are involved in the rescue/recovery of a friend, the situation can become very emotional and involved.

I want to thank hikemor, aksar and everyone else on this forum who has or still does put their life at risk to make sure the rest of us make it home everytime we play in the outdoors.

Thanks for the info, Hikermor and AKSAR. I'll look into it -- I was thinking of taking some SAR courses that'd certify me for my state, actually. (Not that certification necessarily means much. I am guessing legal liability is one of the motivations behind the certification.)

The main problem is work -- in addition to the pressures of the job itself, I really have to be there for certain tasks. But if it's Sunday and Monday, I just might be able to make a schedule in such a way as to give myself the most flexibility on those two days.