14. I volunteered on a SAR team for several years and here are a few pretty strait forward things that if people had known may have saved their life. If you fall in swift water float on your back with your knees slightly bent and feet facing down river. This lets you push off rocks without breaking your legs or being pulled under. You can use your arms and legs to try to direct your path downstream to avoid obstacles.
Avoid crossing areas of rock where the rock slope steadily increases to a cliff or drop. This is common in granite slabs in the Sierra mountains. Even on pretty gentle slopes there can be loose gravel and once you start sliding it can be extremely hard to stop. So always keep in mind what would happen if you were to slip. When lost in dense woods it is very easy to wonder in circles. To avoid this line up 3 trees in the line you want to follow. Move to the middle of the 3 trees and then select a new tree keeping it in line with the others. Keep doing this to navigate in a strait line.
You do not need cell service for your smart phone to have GPS or for the compass to work. If you get lost take note of your gps cords and use the compass to get a sense of your surroundings. Then turn off your phone and save the battery. Check for cell service if you find a high point. Your phone may still have some maps loaded so check that as well. You may get lucky and be near a trail or road. If you are stuck out side and getting very cold you will start to shake pretty violently. This is a good thing and means your body is trying to warm you up. If you start to get tired or feel warmer even tho nothing had changed DO NOT fall asleep. Do literally whatever it takes to keep yourself awake. If you fall asleep there is a very low chance you ever wake up. Along these lines if you suddenly stop shivering and feel a bit drunk you may be in the final stages of hypothermia and are in serious trouble. Even warming up may not be enough, seek medical attention quickly.
@Spelunker101
