Search teams will be looking for you from the ground and the air, so it's critical to create some kind of visual signal that lets them know you're there. The guidelines are simple: Use anything that will catch the eye, and think big.

Geometric patterns, unnatural shapes or colors and columns of smoke are all good. Make your signals bigger than you think you need to, "10 times bigger" Holmquist says, because everything looks much smaller from a helicopter.

A signal mirror is a must to take into the wild, as a flash from a mirror can be seen for more than a mile. The key is making sure the mirror flash hits the search vehicle.

"You need to sight it," Holmquist says. "Hold the mirror in one hand, close to your face and hold your other hand out, toward what you're trying to signal and use your thumb like a gun sight. Place your thumb directly over the target. Say it's a helicopter: If you can hit your thumb with the mirror flash, and your thumb is directly over the helicopter, then the flash is hitting the helicopter."

One more piece of advice: If you hear a helicopter or plane and want to be visible, don't stand up and wave your arms. Lie on the ground and do jumping jacks. It gives searchers much more to see.

GEAR
The sidebar provides some recommendations for survival gear, but understand that with even the most basic equipment -- knife, fire-starters, food, water, compass, maps and the right clothing -- your chances of survival are much greater than if you neglect to take those items along.

Mike Burditt credits his safety to the handful of plastic garbage bags he carried, which he used to keep all his gear, including his sleeping bag, completely dry. Had his sleeping bag gotten wet, he doesn't know whether he'd have survived that first night.

One more suggestion; someone once wrote: "Every survival kit must include a sense of humor." That makes a very important point. Survival can depend in large part on attitude. "My attitude played a thousand percent role in this," Burditt says. "I just decided I was going to see this through."

YOUR NO. 1 SURVIVAL TOOL

You though the most important survival tool is your brain, but that's only half right. Survival also requires getting rescued, and getting rescued requires that you plan your hunt and, before you leave, share that plan with someone who can tell rescuers where to look for you. Then you must stick to your plan. How Important is that? It can be the difference between life and death. "In the wild a simple injury can become fatal because no one knows where you are," ays Sgt. Randy Nixon, Search and Rescue coordinator for the Inyo County Sheriff's Office. Leaving a note on your vehicle at a trailhead isn't enough. You should leave detailed information with a friend or spouse, including copies of maps and an itinerary and make sure they understand what you tell them and when you should return. -- Bill Romanelli

Burditt spent three days alone in the wilderness before Mono County's Search and Rescue Team found him. His decision to survive teaches a great lesson and puts his story in league with other tales of survival from around the world. Each experience is different, but a decision to survive is common to all.

WHAT IF NO ONE'S LOOKING FOR YOU?
If, despite all the admonitions here, you break all the rules and self-rescue is your only option, here's what rescuers suggest: