The plan is simple: you and a buddy are calling in sick, throwing a few armloads of gear in the truck, and heading to some far-flung locale. Let鈥檚 assume, though, that, being the astute, informed, and perceptive wanderer you are, you鈥檝e already packed the essential gear you鈥檒l need in case you end up in a tough, potentially disastrous situation. Here, then, are 12 items that will not save your life. Should you, say, accidentally leave them next to the couch on your way out the door, you鈥檒l still make it back home in one piece. But these items聽will make your trip more pleasant and help ensure that you鈥檙e ready to embrace whatever adventure may come your way out there in the great open yonder.聽

Helio Pressure Shower ($99)

If you鈥檙e eschewing hotels or plush campgrounds, don鈥檛 be surprised if you find yourself craving a shower after a few nights of sleeping on the ground or in abandoned parking lots. With the , however, which holds just shy of three gallons of water and packs down to a tidy 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches, you can spray off just about anywhere with a spigot or water source to fill it. Unlike other portable camp showers, it relies on a foot-pump system to build pressure and drive the water from the hose. The effect is on par with using a strong kitchen-sink sidespray, but the water pressure is certainly strong enough to rinse the dirt and sweat off聽or to clean food from utensils and plates. Roughing it is a lot easier knowing that you can聽wash聽off the grime every so often.聽To avoid “rinse” repeat.

The New Primal Grass-Fed Beef Jerky (8 for $55)

I love pork rinds聽and cheese puffs as much as the next red-blooded American, but when facing serious road time, you should bypass gas-station fare for substantive snacks. A good place to start:聽the original grass-fed beef jerky, which is gluten-free, soy-free, low in sugar, and 鈥減aleo friendly.鈥� Taste, though, is what distinguishes New Primal jerky鈥攏o overly aggressive flavors or weird aftertastes, just hearty, smoked meat, lightly sweetened with pineapple juice and honey. It鈥檚 among the least gussied up jerky on the market, which plays only to its favor.聽

ExOfficio Give-N-Go Boxer Brief ($26)

ExOfficio鈥檚 tag line for the 聽is, 鈥�17 countries. 6 weeks. One pair of award-winning underwear. (Ok, maybe two).鈥� Though that鈥檚 hyperbole (a pair will begin to smell foul after two weeks without a wash, trust me), the briefs dry quicker and remain odor-free for far longer than your typical pair would, as well as prevent filling up valuable bag space with underwear. Here鈥檚 what to do: buy two pairs. Wear the first for a day or so, then trade them out for the second. Rinse the first pair in the sink with shampoo or body wash, wring them out, and then let them hang-dry someplace in the car with ample sunlight as you drive. Repeat the process in a day or two. ExOfficio also offers the Give-N-Go in women鈥檚 versions.聽

Thermacell Repellent Camp Lantern ($50)

I once asked a group of hunters and anglers which piece of gear was the best value for the money. Nearly without exception, they all answered a Thermacell. The 聽uses a heated butane cartridge to throw up a 15-by-15-foot聽mosquito and fly shield, and produces 300 lumens of light. Because if you鈥檙e camping after a long day on the road, you don鈥檛 want to fight bugs all night聽or be fumbling in the dark with a cell-phone light.聽

Aquis 国产吃瓜黑料 Microfiber Towel ($10)

Bringing along a towel is key if you plan on swimming or getting wet, but full-size towels seldom dry well enough if you stay on the move. Moreover, given their size, they can be a chore to keep clean and to fit into a bag. Fortunately, the 聽is a solid alternative. It measures a mere 10-by-14 inches, but even at that size, it鈥檚 absorbent enough to dry off with, due to its space-age microfiber material. You could buy a larger (and more expensive) quick-dry towel, but there鈥檚 no need: the 国产吃瓜黑料 Microfiber Towel serves its purpose well and demands almost no space.聽

Orvis Encounter Fly Rod Outfit ($169)

Fly fishing has a high barrier of entry, in part because, for someone new to the sport, figuring out how to assemble a decent rod-and-reel setup involves wading through a dictionary鈥檚 worth of jargon. Since its introduction,聽in 2013, however, the 聽has demystified the process by packing most everything you need in a single, quality kit. Unsurprisingly, it鈥檚 become a favorite among budding fishermen, but seasoned anglers have taken to it, too, as a road rod, for its durability and workingman鈥檚 price. The 5- and 6-weight models will work well for trout and smallmouth, while the 8-weight can handle steelhead and most saltwater species.聽

BlastMatch Firestarter ($25)

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A cigarette lighter may get a fire going, but it鈥檚 far from the most reliable way to do so. The flint-based , on the other hand, throws out a tight concentration of sparks, three times the heat of a match, and will purportedly last up to 4,000 strikes. If a BlastMatch can鈥檛 set your tinder ablaze, then it鈥檚 doubtful another firestarter will.聽

16-Quart聽Stanley 国产吃瓜黑料 Cooler ($60)

You鈥檒l save time and money, and eat healthier, on the road if you can avoid pulling off for every meal. The best way to achieve this is to swing by a grocery store and pick up a few essentials to keep in a small, well-stocked cooler. (Bread is guaranteed to get squashed, though, so if you鈥檙e into sandwiches, opt for wraps instead; plus, peanut butter and honey wraps make for a filling, not-terrible-for-you snack.) A small, hard-shell cooler, such as the , is best because you can keep it in the back seat where the person riding shotgun can easily reach it, and if stuff happens to fall on it, your food won鈥檛 get pancaked. And it's got a reasonable price tag.聽

Otis Technology Flugz Earplugs ($25)

You鈥檙e rolling the dice when sharing close quarters with someone on a road trip. Unless you and your buddy have gone on an excursion in the past, you鈥檒l likely have no idea whether he or she will pay you the courtesy of turning down the music should you want to pass out in the passenger鈥檚 seat for a nap聽or whether he or she snores, which can cost you much-needed shuteye. Play it safe and stash earplugs in your bag. ,聽albeit horribly named, are comfortable, boast a 21-dB noise-reduction rating, and are reasonably priced for custom earplugs. To mold them the first time, just drop them into water, microwave for 30 seconds, and then wedge them聽into your ear. It鈥檚 magic.

聽4,000 Questions for Getting to Know Anyone and Everyone聽by Barbara Ann Kipfer ($14)

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Fair warning: you won鈥檛 feel super badass pulling 鈥溾�� out of your pack on long car rides, but there are few better ways of passing the time or getting to know your road mate better. Likewise, the book provides you the opportunity to ask those messy, probing questions about family, sex, and religion that would come off as too brash otherwise, though, of course, they reveal the most interesting details about ourselves.聽

Behring聽Pro EDC ($275)

You鈥檒l need a knife. You can either buy a cheap one that will wear out and need replacing every few years聽or you can spend the money on a decent one that won鈥檛 fall apart on you. The 聽is one of the latter,聽with a 4-inch hand-forged tool-steel blade, an epoxy-treated paracord wrap, and all-weather sheath. As an all-purpose knife, you can use it to cook, cut up kindling, eat, and clean fish with. There鈥檚 a reason old men cry when their knives get stolen鈥攜ou can rely on a good blade unlike much else in life.聽

The Outlaws and Friends of Old Time Music ($35)

Road trips are not the time to deep dive into that new shoegaze band you just read about聽or to wade through Swans鈥� discography. The sound of the engine and other cars on the road tend to muddle musical texture聽and grate on nerves. You need simple, straightforward songwriting鈥攖hree chords and the truth. Start with , released 40 years ago this year, a primer on the Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings spearheaded in the early 鈥�70s, then move on to , an anthology of 鈥渉illbilly鈥� and blues heavyweights from yesteryear.聽

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In July 2013, 66-year-old Geraldine Largay was hiking in western Maine, nearing the end of a three-month, northbound solo journey on the Appalachian Trail. She鈥檇 logged more than 950 miles and traveled through ten states, sending regular texts to her husband, George, who was pacing her by car and meeting up with her from town to town with fresh supplies. On the morning of July 22, the two arranged via text to meet at a nearby trailhead the next day. George arrived on time and waited, but聽Largay聽never showed up.

George phoned authorities, and a search party combed the wilderness near Largay鈥檚 last known location on the trail, but found nothing. Then, last October, more than two years since聽Largay聽vanished, foresters surveying a U.S. Navy facility near Mount聽Redington聽found Largay鈥檚 remains and some of her belongings near a stream about two miles from the AT, not far from where she was last seen,聽. According to the coroner鈥檚 report, released in January,聽Largay聽died inside her tent, zipped in her sleeping bag. The official cause of death: inanition鈥攖he effects of dehydration and starvation鈥攆rom prolonged environmental exposure.

It鈥檚 unclear what exactly happened to聽Largay, but wilderness experts familiar with the AT point out that a potential factor in her death聽reflects a major problem among hikers: an over-reliance on technology to navigate and call for help in times of distress. 鈥淥ne of the worst trends we鈥檝e seen in the past 20 years is the proliferation of cell phones and technology in the backcountry,鈥� says Tim Smith, a registered Master Maine Guide and the founder of the Jack Mountain聽Bushcraft聽School, which instructs students in brush living, guide skills, and long-term winter survival.聽鈥淚t gives people a false sense of security. It's the idea of,聽Who cares how bad of a jam I get myself into?聽Because if there鈥檚 cell coverage I鈥檒l call and someone will come get me. But if you had no outside line, no way of contacting other people, you鈥檙e way less likely to take risks.鈥�

Over the past three years,聽the number of thru-hikers on the AT has steadily聽increased. In 2014, about 2,800 thru-hikers and between three and four million day hikers took to the trail. The week after Largay鈥檚 disappearance, the Morning Sentinel听辫耻产濒颈蝉丑别诲 聽noting that about 28 AT hikers get lost in Maine聽each year, and that 95 percent of them are found within 12 hours and 98 percent within 24 hours. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that promotes and encourages hiking the AT, doesn鈥檛 maintain records of deaths or injuries on the trail. But land managers up and down the 2,168-mile trail say they see hundreds of na茂ve and unprepared hikers pass through.

Hikers land聽in聽dangerous situations all the time when technology fails. In March 2014,聽聽got lost on a local trail and were unable to call rescuers once their cell phones died. The next day, other hikers discovered and helped save the young woman among the pair, who had fractured a leg and was unable to walk, but her male companion died, mostly likely from a fall, after leaving聽her to try to find help. In a case last October, a woman required rescue when she became separated from her husband and her cell phone ran out of battery. She was the fifth person saved in the park that weekend, which a lead rescue official attributed to hikers聽both putting too much trust in their phones and聽failing to prepare or do enough research.聽鈥淲e keep stressing to people you cannot rely on your cell phone in the backcountry,鈥澛爐he .聽鈥淭he cell service is really terrible up there.鈥�

Cell phones bear much of the blame for these type of mishaps, but personal locator beacons, designed specifically for survival applications, are not fail-safe, either. In 2009,聽a fell 15 feet聽down a cliff in the Southern Alps, breaking an ankle, a number of ribs, and a wrist鈥攁nd losing his PLB in the process. The man survived, despite having no apparent backup plan, but only after being stranded for more than a week and then hobbling two days in immense pain to safety. Then, in 2011, a 聽went missing in a wilderness area, but searchers didn鈥檛 pick up the signal from his PLB until the following afternoon, likely because of tree cover, leaving him unaccounted for for nearly a day.

of 235 overnight visitors to a California wilderness area聽found that self-identified risk-takers聽said that they were more likely to聽potentially put themselves in dangerous situations if they had a cell phone, GPS, or similar communication device with them. Moreover, 80 percent of all 迟丑别听respondents聽admitted to having done something in the wilderness they considered unsafe at the time. The majority of respondents acknowledged, too, that they believed technological communication devices create a false sense of security in the wilderness.

鈥淭here is little (if any) disagreement that technology like personal locator beacons, cell phones, and satellite phones makes it easier to request a rescue, often leading to an increased, and sometimes unrealistic, expectation of rescue,鈥� the study states.

Likewise, an often-cited 聽concluded聽that, as we come to depend on our devices more and more, 鈥渃onfidence in the ability to go anywhere is likely to increase, and the willingness to turn back declines.鈥� So hikers may not only be relying too much on their devices in emergencies, but they may also be slower or less eager to try to find a way out of tough situations on their own.

鈥淚f you couple the increased numbers [of hikers] taking great risks due to technology, we鈥檝e just set ourselves up to see more backcountry mishaps鈥攅specially on the Appalachian Trail,鈥� Smith says.

Rather than entrusting a cell phone or GPS device for safety, thru-hikers should consider bringing along an old-fashioned compass and a map鈥攕pecifically a 7.5 topographic quadrangle鈥攁nd know how to use them to navigate. Beyond that, Smith says, the best antidote is simply experience and preparation: 鈥淚f you鈥檙e waiting for something bad to happen to then come up with a way to get yourself out of that situation, you鈥檙e relying on rational problem-solving, which probably isn鈥檛 available to you under extreme stress.鈥澛�

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Tim Marsh doesn鈥檛 remember blacking out behind the wheel of his truck, but when he came to, he was 20 miles from the nearest highway, on a muddy logging road in the middle of the Oregon backwoods. It was a rainy Saturday in November, and the 51-year-old Desert Storm veteran had set out in his F-250 with his 12-year-old golden retriever, Rusty, from Florence toward his home in Newport 50 miles north.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I had a seizure or what,鈥� Marsh says. 鈥淚 just drove through Newport without knowing it and went up through this pass into the mountains.鈥� Marsh suffers from PTSD and chronic back pain. That day, however, he hadn鈥檛 taken his medication, which, he guesses,聽spurred the episode. His truck had become stuck in the mud, and聽after trying and failing to free it, Marsh, exhausted, climbed back inside the cab and fell asleep聽with the engine running. When he woke up, the truck was dead, out of gas.

Marsh would later learn that he was in the mountains of Yamhill County, in coastal Oregon. It鈥檚 one of the most rugged places in the world, says Brian Wheeler, founder and lead instructor of the , which trains federal agencies and military outfits in wilderness how-to. 鈥淚n the fall, with the constant moisture we have and temperatures down to freezing, hypothermia can kill you in a short amount of time,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 need to be really cold, just a mild breeze and saturated clothing will do it.鈥�

At first light, Marsh surveyed the surroundings: dense stands of pines and steep ridges in every direction. 鈥淚 knew I was in a bad situation,鈥� he says. The road he鈥檇 taken unspooled back over harsh switchbacks that he doubted he could scale, given his back problems. He had no cell reception, and his phone would die before the day was out. No one expected him home鈥攈is ex-wife was聽in Oklahoma and his grown kids didn’t live with him anymore. Only his brother in Florence knew that he鈥檇 been on the road, but Marsh was sure that he鈥檇 driven far from where anyone would think to look for him.

Marsh鈥檚 primary concern that morning was finding drinkable water. Though Rusty had no problem lapping from the muddy puddles in the road, Marsh vomited when he tried to do the same. He soon resorted to shaking rainwater from pine boughs into Rusty鈥檚 dog bowl. 鈥淏ut that took a long time to get just a little water,鈥� says Marsh. 鈥淪o I just started sucking the water off the boughs with my mouth.鈥�

Wheeler commends Marsh for turning to the trees for hydration. 鈥淵ou can even get a trash bag and wrap it around a tree limb that鈥檚 soaking wet and shake the water into the bag,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f nothing else, it鈥檒l help prevent you from dehydrating. But if I got to the point where I needed more water than that, I wouldn鈥檛 hesitate going after puddled water.”

Marsh had learned basic survival skills in the service, and knew that he stood a greater chance of attracting rescuers if he stayed with this truck. He spent much of his time that day shouting into the distance, hoping hunters would hear him. When not calling for help, he鈥檇 walk down the trail several hundred yards and arrange sticks into arrows pointing toward the truck and to form the word “help.” He had a Glock .380 with him, too.聽He fired one shot at a time into a tree trunk, trying to attract attention, but he emptied the magazine to no avail.

Each of these strategies has a low chance of success, according to Wheeler. 鈥淚t鈥檇 be difficult to find those signs in the road unless someone was really paying attention,鈥� he says. Instead, he advises focusing on creating signals, whether audible or visual, that are聽foreign to the landscape.

鈥淚f I鈥檓 on a rescue, I鈥檓 looking for color contrast or something out of the ordinary, like smoke from a fire聽or survey tape run back and forth across a trail,鈥� Wheeler says. Also, blocking a road with debris to force drivers to stop and clear the way will improve the odds that messages or symbols left nearby are spotted. 鈥淢ake a disturbance that鈥檚 obvious that it was done by a human, that somebody was there.鈥� As for the gunshots, save your rounds, he says. 鈥淭rying to signal others is smart, but [Marsh] was out during hunting season鈥攁 single gunshot now and then means nothing to anybody.鈥� Creating noise that鈥檚 clearly out of place, by, say, beating the truck with a large stick in peculiar rhythms, would鈥檝e likely been a better use of effort, Wheeler says.

Marsh鈥檚 second and third day in the woods passed much like his first, but his condition gradually worsened as he struggled to stay warm. The temperature sunk below 20 degrees at night, and the truck offered little relief from the cold鈥攚ater聽dripped聽in and the windows froze over. During the days, Marsh tried to stay dry, but, while out collecting water or calling for help, he was often聽caught in 迟丑别听rain before he could make it back.

Wheeler notes that in this situation Marsh could鈥檝e cannibalized his truck for materials to keep his body temperature up.聽鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of insulation in vehicles: the padding in the seats, the headrests, the carpeting. With that, you can stuff your clothing with all that dry foam and fabric to keep heat next to your skin.鈥�

Also, Marsh, having no lighter or matches, didn鈥檛 think that he could start a fire, on account of the rain. Though a vehicle鈥檚 batteries may not have enough charge to turn an engine, in many cases, Wheeler says, they鈥檒l have enough juice left to create a spark, and that even in the wettest conditions, with the right tender, it鈥檚 possible to start a fire: 鈥淚 may have to walk around a long time to find what I need, but聽I鈥檓 looking for suspended deadwood. You really don鈥檛 want to gather stuff off the ground; it鈥檚 usually more saturated than what鈥檚 stuck in the air.鈥�

By his fourth morning in the woods, Marsh knew that he couldn鈥檛 wait for help any longer. 鈥淚 told Rusty, 鈥榃e鈥檙e not going to make it another night,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥溾�極r at least I鈥檓 not going to make it another night.鈥欌�� At 6 a.m., he and the dog departed from the truck and hiked farther up the logging road, hoping to find an easier route to the highway. Along the way, he found clean puddles to drink from, which provided some relief, but after four-and-a-half miles, the road hit a dead end on top of a mountain.

When they made it back to the truck a couple of hours later, Marsh, increasingly desperate, began crying out with all his strength, certain that if he didn鈥檛 attract help that day rescuers would find him dead in his truck. 鈥淚 screamed for help for three days on that mountain鈥攁nd finally someone answered me,鈥� he says.

A hunter in the area responded to his cries and called local authorities. A deputy sheriff soon arrived on the scene and recovered Marsh and got him in his vehicle. 鈥淭he deputy asked me, 鈥楧o you know what day it is?鈥欌�� Marsh says. 鈥淎nd I said, 鈥楴o.鈥� And he said, 鈥業t鈥檚 Veterans Day.鈥� And I said, 鈥榃ell, happy Veterans Day.鈥� And he said 鈥楬appy Veterans Day to you, too.鈥� Then I just broke down and started crying.鈥� He鈥檇 been lost for five days.

Marsh made mistakes, Wheeler says, but he helped offset them through sheer grit and willpower. 鈥淲ith his skills and knowledge, I might have done a lot of the same things,鈥� Wheeler says. 鈥淏ut he had the will to survive and he did. He kept his wits about him, yet he still knew the situation was dire. He could have died, but he didn鈥檛.鈥�

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