Mounted search and rescue

[Una Smith <una@lanl.gov>]

Brenda Durham wrote:
>We are selective on night searches.  We will only send the horse/riders on 
>trails cleared for horses (don't want eyes poked out) although everyone has 
>goggles to wear at night.

You know, eye pokes are something I have never worried about.  I have
spent many nights (and one complete solar eclipse) traveling on foot
in the dark under dense rainforest canopy and clouds (so little or no
sky light), and a few nights under starlight.  It may be necessary to
go a little slower than in daylight, and for the one in front to use
a light to check for above ground obstacles.  In a group, I find it
very helpful to have one person toward the back of the group hold a
steady light low down to illuminate the path ahead for everyone else.
That way, most others in the group do not need to use their own lights
except to search either side of the trail, and no one gets lights in
their eyes.  This cuts down on the amount of nausea-producing swinging
lights.  Training in light awareness is important, especially for
those wearing helmet lamps, so they learn not to shine their light in 
everyone else's eyes and not to swing their light unnecessarily.  It
takes practice, to learn to move your eyes more than your head and/or
hand.

I really wouldn't worry about eye pokes for horses.  Horses see well
enough in the dark that as long as they are calm and moving no faster
than a walk, they should have no problem avoiding hazards.  Of course,
both horse and rider need to have normal night vision;  don't assume
everyone does, though!

Night searches on trails along cliffs sounds extremely dangerous but
my (inadvertent) experience has been that it sounds far worse than it
is.  But then, when working at night I assume that anywhere I cannot
see the ground there *is* no ground.  I learned this lesson stepping
off a curb on a city street.  The curb's shadow hid a narrow wash-out
that was ~12 inches deep, and I stepped into it and fell, ripping the
skin off one knee on the pavement at the lip of the wash-out.  I have
some proud flesh to remind me of it.  Anyway, use this safe operating 
assumption and you will move safely in the dark across all manner of
vertical hazards.

One thing I agree on:  night searching in icy conditions is extremely
dangerous.

        Una Smith
        Santa Fe County Sheriff's Posse, in New Mexico