How to get found if you’re lost or injured while hiking
The wide-open spaces of Colorado are unbeatable — unless you happen to wander off the beaten path.

There are few things as rewarding as a day out in the great outdoors.
However, there are fewer things more terrifying than losing your bearings while hiking and getting completely lost. Finding yourself out in the open with an encroaching night, freezing temperatures and wild animals is not a tempting package.
We asked Outdoor Pursuits Associate Director Bryan Ferguson to suggest a range of ways to get “un-lost” should things go astray. His advice incorporates high-tech, low-tech and no-tech techniques, so there’s something to suit everyone.

Make some noise!
If you were walking with other people when you became lost, your friends might not be too far away. In such cases, try yelling, clapping your hands and whistling — whatever you can do to be heard. If possible, find a higher location where you’ll be more visible and the noise you make will carry farther.
Use what nature gives you
The very landscape you are lost in holds lots of materials that could help you get found. For example: You can pound rocks together to make a loud sound, or if you’re near an open space, pile them up to make an eye-catching cairn.
Use rocks and stones to create a large “X” shape (sizeable enough to be seen from the air) indicating your location. When you hear an aircraft, use loose tree branches to light a signal fire in an open space and add green boughs to help create smoke.
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Dress wisely and brightly
If you’re completely lost, drape items of clothing on trees or across rocks to mark your ongoing location or route to potential rescuers. But remember to keep any warm clothes or outer layers — you’ll need them as the temperature drops or, worse, if you’re stuck out overnight.
Another simple tip: Wearing bright clothes means you’re more likely to be seen by searchers should the need arise. That’s why Ferguson recommends packing a bright orange or yellow poncho in your kit at the outset. Also, remember that green or brown clothes blend in with the natural colors of the landscape and won’t make for good markers. Wearing those colors, you’ll be close to invisible from a distance.

Whistle your way home …
Whistles are impressively loud and distinctive. Use one to give three sharp blasts, pause and then repeat. (Three signals of any kind — whether whistle blasts, flares or gunshots — are an International Distress Signal and universally understood as a call for help.) The advantage of a whistle is that you can continue to blow it at intervals for hours with minimum effort, whereas your voice will falter after just a few minutes of shouting for help.
Pack a tiny signal mirror
Signal mirrors take up hardly any space in your pack and work incredibly well. They can be a real lifeline out in the wild, especially if you are injured or immobile and trying to signal an airplane to activate some emergency support.
The trick is to make sure you keep the mirror’s bright reflection targeted on any passing airplane as best you can. A single flash will likely not prompt a rescue, but repeated flashes from the same location will alert the pilot that someone is signaling them and is in real trouble.
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Remember your humble cellphone
Hikers today have a big advantage over earlier generations of walkers in that most of us carry around a sophisticated GPS computer in the form of a cellphone. And in recent years, increasing signal coverage in remote areas has made cellphones indispensable in rescue situations. But use your device wisely.
First, be careful to conserve battery power — you don’t know how long you will be lost. Also bear in mind that texting uses less battery power than voice calls and often works where a voice call would not. Finally, continue to send texts periodically, even if you are not getting any response. This is important — you might be successfully sending messages, even if you’re unaware of it.
Get a Personal Locator Beacon
Want to be really prepared? Invest in one of these small transmitter devices. When you’re lost, it sends out a personalized emergency distress signal to a monitored satellite system, which in turn activates a rescue effort via an international network of search-and-rescue organizations. A PLB can make all the difference in a life-and-death situation.
P.S. Take these steps before you leave …
For any outdoor trip, planning is key. Don’t forget these vital predeparture steps, which will do more to help you get found than any devices or equipment:
- Tell someone where you are going and when you plan to return.
- Have a check-in time and method established.
- Leave a note on your dashboard that can be read from outside and describes your itinerary.
- Avoid traveling alone in the backcountry, unless you’re intentionally seeking a solo wilderness experience.