To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Riding alone
Date: Sat, 04 Mar 2006 09:19:09 -0800
I spend a lot of time alone in the forest- on foot and on horseback. I
am very comfortable that way. However during a search mission I prefer
to have another with me. One simple reason- during a search I may go
places I would choose NOT to go on my own. Maybe too deep into an
unexplored canyon, across a shale slope, up into an area full of dead
fall and by extension predators. I believe that another searcher along
for the 'ride' is a modicrum of protection for both myself and for them.
IF the unforseeable happens and one of us is either injured or in a
difficult situation- help is close by. Also what would a single MSAR
rider do if they found the subject injured and 20 feet down a cliff wall
in an area where cell phone's/radio's dont' work and with night fast
approaching? It would be possible to scramble down the cliff to attend
to the injuries OR it would be possible to ride out, who knows how far,
to find cell phone or radio signal. In less strenuous territory this
might not be as much of an issue. IF a single rider was asked to simply
carry messages/information/supplies to a deployed team I would have much
less hesitation- the rider could then follow a previously laid out route
OR choose their own way as they go to the assigned area. This is much
the same way we have used vehicles with single drivers during missions.
They stay on assigned routes and deliver to assigned points.