Search and Rescue from a Volunteers eyes

A conversation With Ed Weiser, A Search and Rescue Volunteer.

By Zachary Weiser

This week I got the chance to sit down with Ed Weiser, a Search and Rescue volunteer to talk a bit about what got him into SAR, what SAR does and some advice for hikers! Jumping right into it I asked a little about his outdoor background “The most relevant would be that I’ve worked in the outdoors a lot originally as a camp counselor and as a wilderness guide, I did some Search and rescue work back in the late 1960 in mains, thought about continuing with that but realized that it would not be a good way to raise a family. So, when I retired from paid work, I decided to spend some of my volunteer time to lead day trips as a volunteer and volunteering for search and rescue. “ Coming from a background of hiking and leading it, Seems SAR was a perfect Fit for Ed in his retirement. I asked Ed what Got him into SAR “I was looking for a way to continue to be challenged, mentally physically and emotional and search and rescue does all those things” He answered.

Now you probably know about Search and Rescue but what do you know? So, I asked Ed to give me in his own words what Sar is, His response was to me, A very interesting statement “In general Search and rescue use to be 70% Search and 30% rescue. In the last 15 years that ration has flipped the other way. And that’s primarily due to cell phone coverage in the back country.” That being known I wanted to know; Does SAR have a primary mission? Ed’s response is by far my favorite phrase I have ever heard “we get to go help very good people who are having a very bad day. They may be hurt, or sick. Or confused or scared they may even cause some trouble for themselves. But we don’t judge, we just go get them.” Now that we know a bit about more about what Ed did while Volunteering with SAR, “I’m a ground searcher. I am a leader on the medical team, I am a leader on the helicopter team. I do community outreach and I’m an instructor in several different disciplines.”

The next line of questions we got into Talked about the Different Aspects of Sar, I had to start lighthearted by asking about his favorite part of SAR “the people that I work with, And the people that we go get. The folks I work with challenge me, and the folks we rescue keep me humble.” I was taken aback, the teamwork that is present from the SAR team is something of dreams, In my opinion they seem to work like a very well Oiled machine but the good feelings couldn’t last forever, I asked the hardest question of the day and I never even thought about the answer. I asked what the Hardest part of being a member of SAR was “body recovers. I am happy to do it because it doesn’t freak me out. And it gives closure to family’s and loved ones. But I’m very sorry they are no longer walking this earth.” I had to follow this question up quickly with what the most rewarding Aspect is “when we rescue somebody, we are usually with them for several hours. During that time, I try to get them to reflect on what went wrong, and what can be changed next time they are out in the back country and part of that is encouraging them to go back out there again. I absolutely love it when a few weeks or months later they send us a note saying: they are back out there again stronger and smarter than before”

I was taken aback at this point, I now knew more about Ed and way more about Sar and how they worked, my curiosity peaked I had to ask, what are the requirements to join SAR: “the number one thing is you have to be able to work with in a team environment Period. And you have to be able to do that under some very challenging mental, and physical and emotional situations we generally look for people that have outdoors backgrounds, and experience working with teams either as a volunteer or paid work. Also, before they can even get an interview, they have to pass a physical fitness test while carrying a 25-pound pack.” That being the case looks like Ill need to extend my morning walks if I want to walk with Search and Recuse. At this point we have heard a lot about SAR and what they do as volunteers. So, I had to know, to help out people getting ready for a hike, what was some helpful tips when preparing for a hike “they need to tell someone where and their expected route of travel and when they plan to be back. It’s also very helpful if they can leave a photograph of their boot print. That’s the most important stuff for someone who is going hiking.” Knowing that I had to expand the question what bout someone who gets lost and has to call it in themselves “for about the last four years whenever someone calls 911 from a cellphone the 911 operator sees that person latitude and longitude on their screen. So, we always almost know Where they are, the first thing we tell them is stay where you are. Then we ask them how much battery life is left on their phone. That drives a number of different things depending on the answer. Either way they need to SIT and STAY and we will come get them.”

To wrap up this interview I wanted some advice, I wanted to know Ed would suggest as the most important things are to have! The first thing I wanted to know is advice for a first-time hiker “Advanced preparation is the key to survival and enjoyment in the backcountry.” Next as it turns out there are ten essential items to have on any hike and in Ed's own words “first of all a Cellphone is not on the list, it is a convenience not an essential” So to finish up, Id like to provide you with the list of the ten things you NEED to have while hiking!

1.Shelter

2.Insulation

3.hydration

4.sun protection

5.Navigation abilities.

6.first aid

7.repair

8.nutrituons

9.fire

10. Illumination