How does one get lost?

[Tin Man]

The recent SAR mission begs the question: How DOES one get lost? To qualify the question somewhat, have any of you normally sighted hikers really been lost in the lower 48 for more than a few minutes or perhaps longer than an hour? Seriously, it strikes me as odd that someone could lose the trail so bad they need more than a few minutes to find their way out of it again.

I am sure there will be some wisecracks, so join in - it's all good, but I would like to hear some serious replies.

[Tin Man]

Of course, just as I hit enter, I remembered this lady I heard yelling for help after dark up in the Daks about 10 years ago. She was on the trail, just kind of panicked that she ran out of daylight and had no idea where she was. My buddy and I brought her into our camp and walked her out in the morning. No big deal and I wouldn't say she was lost, lost, just late.

[freefall]

I am sure there will be some wisecracks, so join in - it's all good, but I would like to hear some serious replies.

Well I've been called a lost cause before, does that count?

But seriously, the closest I've come to being lost while hiking is one day I hiked about an hour in the wrong direction. So I wasn't really lost, I knew I was still on the trail, just not where I intended to be at that time.

What would be your definition of lost, beyond the Webster 5 a: unable to find the way b: no longer visible c: lacking assurance or self-confidence?

[Desert Reprobate]

I always know what state I'm in. Sometimes I'm fuzzy on the county though.

[Egads]

I started out on a hike at 3:30 one morning and missed a blaze marking the BMT/DRT trail which branched off to the side. I mistakenly kept following the more traveled trail right down to the Tocooa River. I new I was in the wrong place when the suspension bridge wasn't in sight.

I wasn't lost, I knew exactly where I was. But it took 2 hours to find the error of my ways and get back on track in the dark.

[Chaco Taco]

I have gotten lost, but after realizing that all trails lead somewhere, i just walked and walked , i found myself in Bryson City.
Tin Man you bring up a very valid topic. Id like to hear some of the issues in certain weather conditions.

[fiddlehead]

I got lost in the Smokies big time on my first thru-hike.
Went off trail to get some water and there were a few white blazes mistakenly (or old, relocated trail) painted on some trail going the wrong way.
Of course, we didn't know it was the wrong way at first.

ended up being lost for about 4 hours and finally got to the bottom of the ridge.
Had maps but since we thought we were on the trail, they didn't seem to make any sense.

Anyway, sh1 t happens of course.

Once i did some desert hiking and snow travel, i learned that getting lost is where the fun starts!

[Alligator]

I overshot a shelter once in the rain and later made camp in the ensuing fog close to the trail. I had crisscrossed the trail looking for a flat spot and the next morning I hiked the wrong direction (maybe 20-30 minutes if I remember correctly.)

[The Weasel]

The recent SAR mission begs the question: How DOES one get lost? To qualify the question somewhat, have any of you normally sighted hikers really been lost in the lower 48 for more than a few minutes or perhaps longer than an hour? Seriously, it strikes me as odd that someone could lose the trail so bad they need more than a few minutes to find their way out of it again.

I am sure there will be some wisecracks, so join in - it's all good, but I would like to hear some serious replies.

Yes. Relatively often, in the sense that I wasn't where I intended to be, including off-trail hiking. Sometimes it occurs on badly marked trails, especially in wilderness areas where signage/blazing is poor or non-existent. This can result in leaving "the trail" and following a game trail that is more heavily traversed than "the trail."

Keep in mind that the AT is more of a one-path highway than a "trail" in most of it's length: It is massively blazed (too much so, I think), and often accurately called "The Rut." Even so, you can get lost on it, especially during the winter and spring snows. Other trails aren't nearly as good.

In some cases, "lost" is also a state of mind. You more or less know where you want to end up, and you have a sense of where you are, and there is no established pathway to getting there, so you do your own navigation. That can end up being anywhere from mildly to seriously mis-located, even with a GPS since a GPS location is only as good as it was written down by the person who was there ("garbage in, garbage out") and mistakes happen there too.

Then there was "Wrong Way Corrigan." Dude lost an entire continent, not just a trail. Left New Jersey for California in his airplane and ended up in Ireland. Darn those clouds! Look it up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas...atlantic_flier

TW

[Tin Man]

I have missed trail markings and trails, but it was easy enough to figure out where I was. I guess if you can't be bothered with maps, it is hard to tell whether you are lost or not.

Weather and darkness can add to the feeling of being lost. Regardless of how you got 'lost', if you figure you're way out within a certain threshold of time, were you actually lost? I don't think so.

[Kirby]

I could have easily seen myself getting lost in PA in some spots if I was not paying careful attention.

Sometimes it's a combination of poor trail maintenance and poor blazing.

[modiyooch]

1. I got lost between my tent and my bear bag. honestly. It was my first backpacking trip, I was alone, SNP, terrified of losing my food. and the bears. I went far from my tent and failed to bring a flashlight or a long sleeve shirt. It was Oct. The sun went down while I was struggling with the hanging, and it got cold fast. lesson: always carry my light and shirt at dusk. I lecently read in the thread of backpacking tips to leave a light on in your tent to find your location.

2. Also, on the same trip, I started following county markers instead of trail blazes. I was coming out of SNP and just thought that the trail wasn't as well marked because it was outside of the park. Now, my major problem is it is getting dark, and some sobos has previously interrupted their hike to teach me about the trail. They were carrying some of my gear including my tent and my sleeping bag so that I could get 17 miles in. Again, it got cold quickly. This is when I climbed to the sounds of the skyline drive and rejoined the others and my tent. Lesson learned: Carry your own gear.
Please keep in mind, this was 1980, I was 21 years old, alone and female, and from the coast. The whole advnture was a life changing experience for me.

[TOW]

Well I got lost behind Watuga Lake Shelter back in Feb of '01. It was a cool overcast day and I weht in behind the shelter to collect some firewood and I got lost. And had it not been for two hikers talking I doubt I would have gotten out of it alive. I yelled and they talked me out.........

[Tin Man]

Certainly lost is a relative thing. Everyone gets side-tracked, but really lost for say for one day or more, has to be fairly rare, no?

[modiyooch]

I also got lost in my neighborhood woods. I couldn't figure out how to get out of the woods and had to come through someones backyard. I then asked where I was. I was within a mile from my property. It was embarrassing.

[modiyooch]

Certainly lost is a relative thing. Everyone gets side-tracked, but really lost for say for one day or more, has to be fairly rare, no?

my problems both times on the trail, is that I was separated from my survival gear.

[bigcranky]

How does one get lost? One simply follows the obvious trail -- the really obvious trail -- until one realizes that, "Hey! I haven't seen a blaze in a while!" Then one turns around and realizes that there is no trail, and no way to return to one's starting point.

When this happened to me several years ago, I used my map to figure out my vague general location, and an azimuth that would get me to a cross trail. I managed to hit the cross trail at a trail junction with a sign (how's that for luck?) But still, it's easy enough for a sighted hiker to get lost -- happens all the time.

[coldspring]

Adhering strongly to the BPL Bible. Not carrying any unnecessary ounces, like a map, a gps, a spot, an extra 16 oz of water...

[sheepdog]

Hiking in Georgia in the rain and fog in November.The days are short and a flash light doesn't do much good. There are leaves all over the ground it is easy to lose the trail. It could happen. But as long as I have my stuff with me it is part of the adventure.

[skinewmexico]

I used to work with a guy who had a shockingly bad sense of direction. He got lost in flatlands, driving cars, daytime, nightime. Some people are just that way.