The time to prepare to be rescued is before you ever need to signal for help. Following these survival tips will greatly help. When you travel, leave an itinerary of your trip with a responsible, trusted person at home. List the times you expect to be at points along the way. Write down where you are going, your route, and when you are due.

Plans can change; if yours does, notify your friend as it occurs. Make notes in your itinerary that show contingency plans. Have pre-arranged meeting places for members of your party if you become separated. This will enable emergency personnel to locate your party if you’re lost.

It’s also helpful to include entries about the physical condition of the group members, medicines, tents, clothes, water and contact information for immediate family and physicians.

Trailblazer and explorer, Daniel Boone said, “I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.”

Whenever you find yourself “confused” and wanting saving there is an assortment of methods by which you can alert your rescuers of your position.

To signal for help you may use a variety of items such as radio beacons, colorful cloth, fires, flashlights, smoke, whistles or mirrors. The ability to calm yourself will enable you to creatively consider ways to alert rescuers to your location. Knowing your options can save your life by keeping you from making a deadly mistake.

At the moment you realize you are lost, create a marker to designate your spot. Heap some stones in a pile, twist a few brambles, or create an easily identifiable mark in order that you’ll locate the place. This will be your base. If you choose to attempt to exit on your own, this is where you’ll come back to make another attempt should your initial effort fail. This will also be the place you wait for rescuers.

If you choose to move away from your base, leave a note at the marker. Detail your intentions and the direction of your travel. As you move along your path, mark your way with piles of rocks, broken sticks or some other sign at even intervals. This will help rescuers find you.

Discover exactly how to signal for help and many more ideas from Survival Scoop.