Lost in the Boonies? What's Your Most Important Task?

[jpurdy]

People who find themselves lost in the boonies, whether it's forest, field, desert or other terrain, frequently make the same mistake. If you find yourself unsure which route leads back to civilization, the following story offers a clue about your most important task.

Stories about people who become lost in national parks and other outdoor locations often include a common theme. A recent example occurred last week at the Buffalo National River in the Arkansas Ozarks. According to a park report,

more at ...
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...rtant-task5298

P.S. you may have to scroll down the linked page to see story

[richardvg03]

This is an easy question... What I do is... not get lost

[SilverMaggie]

In my opinion, another important thing is to always have fire. I make it a point to have lighters on me when I camp and hike. And a cell phone is good to, even though there may not be any service, can't hurt to have it just incase.

[Waterfowler84]

Great article to share thanks, and great topic!
Being a survivalist my brain got ahead of my reading when I saw this thread and I was starting to think of the most important task when "lost in the boonies." Water, shelter, fire, food, leaving signs to rescuers. I didn't stop and think...oh wait....#1 rule for people who become lost and are not well educated on survival process is STAY PUT!. As the article stated more people put distance between them and rescue because they are moving away from rescuers more and more every hour they are mobile.

Another aspect of this that was not mentioned is self panic, and group panic. When you become seperated from a group, or lose your way on your own a feeling of dread and realization of being alone in the vast wilderness can overwhelm individuals. This can tend to keep them moving telling themselves "ok, its just over this next hill...and then the next...and then before they realize it the sun is setting and they are further away from their destination instead of just around the bend where they could have been rescued much quicker.

Group panic is a much more common state of panic which is induced by several different minds thinking in different ways. A persons immediate thought when becoming lost with a group is "How am "I" going to get out of this mess?" One person may suggest staying put, the other may disagree and say its best to keep moving so they can get back before dark. In some instances this can lead to a group seperating due to tempers flaring because of arguments and other mishaps about decisions that should be made. When this happens rescuers jobs are are multiplied and now it turns into more than one rescue needing to be made.

Another problem,(usually with males),some have their pride get in the way. Avid Campers, outdoorsmen/women, hunters, hikers/backpackers often tend to have the outlook of "oh well I will just wait out the night here and in the morning I will get my bearings and be home in time for lunch. This group tends to believe that the skills they have honed for their recreational activity is suffice enough to get them back to safety on their own. Cockiness is another aspect that can get you into a huge mess.

It has been said countless times, and will continue to be said as long as neccessary, If you even have a question in your mind that you "might" be lost...you are. If you don't know where you are you are lost. You may be lost only half a mile off, or you may be several miles from where you should be. No matter what, if you do not have a means of contact to civilization and you know you are lost stay put. Make yourself visible as much as possible from all directions and be patient.

One other thing that is crucial is to have a rendevouz time/place, or if alone, let more than just one person know where you will be and what time you are expected to be back. The reason I say more than one is to increase the chances of someone realizing you are missing that much sooner and able to contact help.

[SilverMaggie]

I recently saw this story on the show "I shouldn't be alive". A couple met on MySpace and decided to take a tram ride to the top of Mt. San Jacinto.

They wandered off the trail following the sound of a waterfall or stream.
As I watched the show, I noticed a few mistakes. The first, they kept MOVING! Another was, they crossed a stream (in the middle of winter) and I said to myself "Big mistake". Now their shoes were wet...

Here is the link

http://www.traditionalmountaineering..._TwoHikers.htm


An amazing story that really sticks in my mind is that of Danelle Ballengee.

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/2...73267154070231

She is a strong woman! She really shoulda let someone know where she was going though

[Eaglebait Ranch]

I have to agree........... Don't get lost!

When I step on the trail, I have quad map/s covering every inch of territory I will be near/around, a compass/ mirror, whistle, gps, and Personal Rescue Beacon.

I have a GPS map program on my home computer. I draw out on the program the trail/s I will be on, and where I should be spending the night/s. Those are saved for future reference. I then print out two sets of maps: One set goes with me, the other set I leave with my wife in case a rescue is needed. I may need to print out 4-6 "typing paper" size pages in order to get all the quad map areas where I will be traveling.

Last year, I failed to look at the print outs. One of the trails I was on went off the page in the upper right corner, was off the maps I had for about two miles in the wilderness, then came back onto the next map at about the middle of the top of the page. Because the trail was not easily readable as I was on it, I chose to not go any farther. Yes, I checked to see if my gps had the trail on it. Nope....... No luck there.

But, I will be going back there some day. I will have the map section I need and I will finish what I started to do.

I don't necessarily have my gps on all of the time, especially if I have good maps, clearly showing trails. On the other hand, IF/WHEN I go off trail, I ALWAYS turn on my gps, and mark a waypoint where I go off the trail, and don't turn the gps off until I am at my destination or someplace that I recognize/know on my map/s.

Again, last year this proved so rewarding. My map/s showed the trail going around a lake. But, I couldn't find/see a trail at the spot where the trail headed for the lake. I got out my gps, set a waypoint for that spot, started a "route" in case I had to retrace my tracks, and went out trailblazing, trying to find the trail.

About an hour into this search for the illusive trail, something spooked my llama, he bolted, and headed towards the lake. I got him, went back to the trail using the waypoint as a reference, found another way to do what I wanted, and off we went.

At the end of my day, I settled down at a campsite next to a small lake, I went to make camp. The tent poles were missing from the llama's pack. Obviously, earlier in the day, they came out when he bolted.

The next day, I went back to where we went off the trail, went to where the "trail" I made made a sharp right turn towards the lake, followed the "trail" on the gps to where the llama bolted, and started looking around........... There, no more than 10' from where I was standing were the tent poles!

I kind of got off topic there, but here was a story of just how valuable knowing where I was, and having/using a gps, really helped.

My wife and I have an agreement: If I will not be home by 4:00pm of the day we say we will be home, it is my responsibility to call her (I carry a cell phone in my vehicle) and let her know when I will be home. If I am not home by 4:00pm, and she has not heard from me by 4:00pm, it understood there is a problem and Search and Rescue needs to be contacted. THIS GOES FOR WHEN SHE GOES BACKPACKING, TOO.

Three winters ago, I called Search and Rescue at 6:00pm on the day Susan was due back from a 3 day winter backpacking trek. The short version is she misread her quad map on her way out and got lost. Search and Rescue found her at 2:00am the next morning: She was tucked in her sleeping bag, in her tent, really upset that she was "lost", but ok.

We sent a check for $100 to the Search and Rescue, and bought them a new coffee pot, as I remember, as a "Thank You".

[Waterfowler84]

Wow, thanks for sharing that short story Eaglebait. Its pretty amazing to hear about someone needing to contact search and rescue. Very glad they had a successful rescue and it sounds like she did what she was supposed to and stayed put.

[Eaglebait Ranch]

The mistake she made was using the quad map at home, to get the coordinates for where the trail head is, and putting that information into her gps - so she could find her car when she returned. What she should have done was make a waypoint where the car actually was when she got there.

What she didn't know was the trailhead had been moved 1/4 mile away from where the map showed the trailhead to be. She had gone to the spot of the coordinates she put in, but there was no trail head there.

She bedded down at that spot, after spend about 6 hours "searching' for the vehicle - figuring I would give those quadrants to Search and Rescue. that is in fact what I did............ Making the rescue easy.

A couple days after the rescue, I was talking to the county sheriff in charge of Search and Rescue. He had just finished a classroom training for something like 25 new members of the unit, and were waiting for a "live call" so they could put into practice what they learned.

He said he was elated that, for a first call, he was elated that a body bag wasn't needed. He was also truly elated that he was able to lead a rescue where those invovled (Susan and I) had done everything we could do to make the act of Search and Rescue easy.

I was able to give them the coordinates of where Susan should have spent each night and her route. So, it was a "win-win" situation.

When we go out IN THE WINTER we always drop off a set of maps, with our goal/s shown on the maps, and coordinates of where we will be to the local fire department. We also let them know when we will be back to let them know we are back. If we don't do that, they have permission to call Search and Rescue, too. They think we are nuts for backpacking in winter conditions.............. Oh, well.