Signaling Equipment

In case of an emergency, its good to have a few weapons in your arsenal. I carry a signaling mirror, 3 marine flares, and a SPOT. The flares serve multiple purposes: signaling aircraft, firestarter , and frisky wolf pack deterrent. I would not be above cracking one off and bludgeoning a wolfs head with my flaming baton. My buddy Borge Ousland carries the same on his polar treks and has video on his facebook page  doing just that with a polar bear. Very effective. But hey, can't we all just get along?
The SPOT is a Personal Tracking Beacon. It has three settings on it: OK, HELP, and 911. OK and HELP are pre-programmed messages that load through your online account notifying your intended audience via email and/or text message and includes your latitude and longitude. You simply go to your online account and create your own message; this presents some challenges in the HELP department because you can't predict what you need ahead of time. For this particular trip I will be sending an OK message to my wife daily via text and email, and my pilot will be receiving OK through email only. For the HELP message, I have preprogrammed a message requesting another 48 hours on bushplane extraction--this message will be sent to my wife, and my pilot--and it will be sent with text and email. If I have to hit the 911 button I'll probably be getting a very expensive ride on a US Army CH-46 chopper out of Fairbanks. I really don't want to push that button--on purpose or mistake! We will also be carrying whistles: even though you are traveling with a partner communicating can be challenging; wind, the sound of ski and sled on ice and snow, and a little bit of distance between you can hamper speech. One toot on the whistle means stop and gets your attention. Three toots means come back and assist. Attach the whistle to your pack on a lanyard for instant accessibility.