Lost in the Maine woods - a cautionary tale..

[Slo-go'en]

Rafe called me a few days ago and said "lets go hike the Grafton Notch loop - starting tomorrow". Okay, not much time to prep, throw some gear in the pack, buy some food. Good to go.

All went well until last night. We went from Baldpate shelter to Stewart Campsite, 17.5 very rugged miles. Needless to say, we arrived well after dark, very tired and barely able to still stand upright - and nearly out of water.

This is when the fun started. I decide to go look for water. I found a trail which looked like it headed in the right direction for water - down hill. I followed this for a ways until it started to peter out and still no water. I thought I could hear water farther down so I decide to go a little farther. Big mistake. I was quickly into the understory brush. Once I decided I had best turn around, I had no clue which way to go. It was dark, I was tired, I was very hungry and trying to push up hill through a dense pine growth and jumble of down trees and braches, with a couple of water bottles in my hands and a not very bright headlamp.

After I had been gone for about an hour, Rafe started to get worried and I was starting to think I would just have to sit on a rock or tree trunk and wait for morning, less I kill myself or break a leg in one of traps I kept falling into. Then I started to hear a whistle. A bit faint, but I could hear it and tell which way it was coming from. The occasional whistle blast was enough to point me in the right direction - I had gone way too far to one side. Finally I made it back up to the campsite, to both our reliefs. And I was still out of water!

If Rafe hadn't been there and decide to start blowing his whistle, I might have never found the campsite again. I figured if I had the energy to keep climbing, I would have eventually crossed the main trail again, but it would have been a real long struggle. I was probably never more then a few 100 yards away from the campsite, but it was a pretty small point to find on the side of the mountain.

So, the moral of the story is you can get lost, really quickly on the side of a mountain in the dark Maine woods . And the kicker? In the morning I found the water about 20 feet down that trail from the campsite! It was a small pool from a spring off the side of the trail which was completely invisible in the dark.

Other then that little incident, the rest of the hike was fantastic. I did a GPS track from Lane Campsite to the road. It tells me that stretch was 13.2 miles with 3,438 feet of gain and 5,038 feet of loss and took us 10:53:14, but that includes a lot of break time, since I didn't often remember to pause the recording. We averaged 1.2 mph and somehow we managed a 4.1 mph burst somewhere along the way. And that was for only 1/3d of the loop.

[saltysack]

Rafe called me a few days ago and said "lets go hike the Grafton Notch loop - starting tomorrow". Okay, not much time to prep, throw some gear in the pack, buy some food. Good to go.

All went well until last night. We went from Baldpate shelter to Stewart Campsite, 17.5 very rugged miles. Needless to say, we arrived well after dark, very tired and barely able to still stand upright - and nearly out of water.

This is when the fun started. I decide to go look for water. I found a trail which looked like it headed in the right direction for water - down hill. I followed this for a ways until it started to peter out and still no water. I thought I could hear water farther down so I decide to go a little farther. Big mistake. I was quickly into the understory brush. Once I decided I had best turn around, I had no clue which way to go. It was dark, I was tired, I was very hungry and trying to push up hill through a dense pine growth and jumble of down trees and braches, with a couple of water bottles in my hands and a not very bright headlamp.

After I had been gone for about an hour, Rafe started to get worried and I was starting to think I would just have to sit on a rock or tree trunk and wait for morning, less I kill myself or break a leg in one of traps I kept falling into. Then I started to hear a whistle. A bit faint, but I could hear it and tell which way it was coming from. The occasional whistle blast was enough to point me in the right direction - I had gone way too far to one side. Finally I made it back up to the campsite, to both our reliefs. And I was still out of water!

If Rafe hadn't been there and decide to start blowing his whistle, I might have never found the campsite again. I figured if I had the energy to keep climbing, I would have eventually crossed the main trail again, but it would have been a real long struggle. I was probably never more then a few 100 yards away from the campsite, but it was a pretty small point to find on the side of the mountain.

So, the moral of the story is you can get lost, really quickly on the side of a mountain in the dark Maine woods . And the kicker? In the morning I found the water about 20 feet down that trail from the campsite! It was a small pool from a spring off the side of the trail which was completely invisible in the dark.

Other then that little incident, the rest of the hike was fantastic. I did a GPS track from Lane Campsite to the road. It tells me that stretch was 13.2 miles with 3,438 feet of gain and 5,038 feet of loss and took us 10:53:14, but that includes a lot of break time, since I didn't often remember to pause the recording. We averaged 1.2 mph and somehow we managed a 4.1 mph burst somewhere along the way. And that was for only 1/3d of the loop.

Glad it worked out....this is confirms why I always get water with my pack before setting up camp and carry a good head lamp not a weenie ul light...I've been glad to have the 300 lumen zebra light for similar reasons.....Smart move on Rafes part......

[MuddyWaters]

Sound and lights are very good ways to get people to move in the right direction.
I cant help but wonder if they used those for Gerry.

Once I couldnt find trail out of woods in dark when hunting late. I was about 1/2-3/4 mile from my 4 wheeler. I called my wife with my last blip of cell phone batt and told her Id probably be spending the night, not to worry. I had to turn phone off for a while before it would even call. Then I settled in for the night. I could have gone cross country by dead reckoning, but would involve wading thru thigh deep swamp, , brush thickets, etc.

About an hour later I heard whoop whoop of bullhorn siren.
Wife had called police.
Police called sherrif in area I was
Sherrif called game wardens
and a couple of game wardens drove a 20 mile road till they found my truck
then followed trail till they found my bike
then started down the faint trail and started a light/sound display

It was quite embarassing. They said it happened all the time.

faint trails are very easy to lose in dark, even if they are distinct in daylight.

[Heliotrope]

Fatigue
Hunger
Dehydration
Darkness
Steep terrain
Dense brush

All adding up to a very disoriented hiker.

I've had similar experiences here in Maine. Thanks for sharing yours.


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[egilbe]

You were following the path to the old water source, which is barely a puddle. A huge blowdown fell into the trail obscuring the path. Its difficult to find in the daylight. You should have crossed a stream on the trail just before the campsite. I've stayed in that campsite three times and twice, I was dehydrated.

[rafe]

Here's the scene from the night before (Thursday night) at Baldpate shelter, with a bunch of thru hikers. That's Slo on the right.

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[iAmKrzys]

Once I went away from my gear in High Sierra in order to answer nature call. I kept going farther and farther in search of privacy, and then I started wondering - what if I couldn't find my way back? It was not a real issue there since we were surrounded by mountains on pretty much all sides, but sometimes it's so easy to get disoriented and walk in the wrong direction. The lesson learned - I don't go away from my gear or campsite without my gps anymore.

[iAmKrzys]

Here's the scene from the night before (Thursday night) at Baldpate shelter, with a bunch of thru hikers. That's Slo on the right.

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I was amazed at how good this picture was given almost complete darkness until I noticed on another thread what camera you used. Wow!

[cmoulder]

That's a bad feeling... glad it all worked out.

Fortunately we took 3 liters of water each at Chase Hill Brook and were ready for the dry camp at Stewart. That creek right at the campsite was very dry and I'm surprised you found any water at all!

We were on the trail at 5 am the next morning to catch sunrise at the top of Puzzle mtn.

40332

(Yep, that was my Caravan in the south parking lot. :))

[jefals]

Once I went away from my gear in High Sierra in order to answer nature call. I kept going farther and farther in search of privacy, and then I started wondering - what if I couldn't find my way back? It was not a real issue there since we were surrounded by mountains on pretty much all sides, but sometimes it's so easy to get disoriented and walk in the wrong direction. The lesson learned - I don't go away from my gear or campsite without my gps anymore.
How about unrolling some guy line chord while you're walking out... I usually have plenty of that stuff, and seems it would make a great "bread crumb" trail...

[Venchka]

How about unrolling some guy line chord while you're walking out... I usually have plenty of that stuff, and seems it would make a great "bread crumb" trail...

The Order of the Gram Weenies will excommunicate from the Backpacking Tribe.
No worries. That's a great idea in places like Wyoming. Be sure and leave room in the cooler for the line.
Wayne


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[MuddyWaters]

Once I went away from my gear in High Sierra in order to answer nature call. I kept going farther and farther in search of privacy, and then I started wondering - what if I couldn't find my way back? It was not a real issue there since we were surrounded by mountains on pretty much all sides, but sometimes it's so easy to get disoriented and walk in the wrong direction. The lesson learned - I don't go away from my gear or campsite without my gps anymore.
I think many arent that concerned about privacy. Just be quick. Remember trail direction. Dont go too far.

And what you cite is what happened to inchworm apparently.

[Puddlefish]

Thanks for sharing your story. Highlights how minor mistakes can quickly compound, even for an experienced hiker... not to mention the importance of having a hiking partner who isn't embarrassed to pull out the emergency whistle and use it.

I just moved my emergency whistle from my pack to my belt.

[Slo-go'en]

Thanks for sharing your story. Highlights how minor mistakes can quickly compound, even for an experienced hiker... not to mention the importance of having a hiking partner who isn't embarrassed to pull out the emergency whistle and use it.
I just moved my emergency whistle from my pack to my belt.

I should have thought to also carry my phone with the GPS tracking app I was running down the water trail. But, I wasn't going far, so how could I get lost?

[jefals]

How about unrolling some guy line chord while you're walking out... I usually have plenty of that stuff, and seems it would make a great "bread crumb" trail...

The Order of the Gram Weenies will excommunicate from the Backpacking Tribe.
No worries. That's a great idea in places like Wyoming. Be sure and leave room in the cooler for the line.
Wayne


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I have 6 pieces and I think they're each 20' long. Packed up for guying out the tent. I usually just use two of them. That stuff ain't heavy.

[middle to middle]

Nice, i like it !

[KCNC]

In flight training I was taught, and I have always followed, the rule that accidents tend to happen when you put together a chain of three (or more) bad decisions. The challenge is recognizing the first two strikes before you swing and miss a third time.

Glad your situation ended well and thanks for sharing. The older I get the better I am at learning from others.

[rafe]

Thanks for sharing your story. Highlights how minor mistakes can quickly compound, even for an experienced hiker... not to mention the importance of having a hiking partner who isn't embarrassed to pull out the emergency whistle and use it.

I just moved my emergency whistle from my pack to my belt.

This was the first time in about forty years of hiking that I've actually used a whistle for its intended purpose.


In flight training I was taught, and I have always followed, the rule that accidents tend to happen when you put together a chain of three (or more) bad decisions. The challenge is recognizing the first two strikes before you swing and miss a third time.

Glad your situation ended well and thanks for sharing. The older I get the better I am at learning from others.

Being dog tired and well into the night, yeah, that's two strikes right there. I had wanted to stop earlier and camp in the woods along the way, but Slo prefers camping at designated sites, so we marched on. That final uphill in the dark to Stewart campsite left us both kind of frazzled. I had (just enough) enough water to get by, so I stayed put once we arrived.

[rockyiss]

take some surverys tape with you tie some pieces in the trees as you walk when you turn around and come back untie the tape and put it in a baggie use it over and over again Always stay close enough to see the tape. when ur going to pee turn around and face the direction you came from to pee stand up and walk back

[imscotty]

Well done Rafe,

and I hate calling it a night without some water available to drink. My last hike a case of dry-mouth forced me up after midnight to find a water source about a 1/2 mile from my camp. Fortunately the trail and my headlamp held out for the trip.

[rickb]

This was the first time in about forty years of hiking that I've actually used a whistle for its intended purpose.

I have carried one for about as long but cannot be sure I would have thought to use it to call in lost hiking partner in as timely and ffective way as you did.

Way to be focused in a stressful situation!

[cmoulder]

That final uphill in the dark to Stewart campsite left us both kind of frazzled. I had (just enough) enough water to get by, so I stayed put once we arrived.

That climb is a bit over 800' vertical but feels like even more at the end of the day.

We felt like Larry, Moe and Curly going up it with 3 liters and then like Einstein when we crossed that dry creek at the campsite! :)

[The Solemates]

similar thing happened to me one time. i had to get up in the middle of the night to take a leak. That turned into me having to do more than a leak. I had brought my headlamp, but it was almost completely dead. it happened to be really foggy out that night as well. we were staying at a shelter, and so I headed towards the direction I thought was the privy. I knew the privy was particularly far from this shelter, greater than a quarter mile, but after 10 minutes i couldnt figure out why I hadnt found it. by that time, i had to go privy or not. When I was done, I couldnt for the life of me find my way back to the shelter. my headlamp had died completely. i yelled for my wife back at the shelter. nothing. i wandered around for a good 30 minutes, all the time yelling for me wife. finally i made it back to the shelter, to find my wife snoozing away and the two other shelter inhabitants scared outta there wits for some crazy man walking around in the woods at night. apparently no one had heard me leave - and didnt realize I was gone - and I wandered why nobody answered!