Getting unlost (off the trail)

[Viking (US)]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, I'm still feeling my way here. The thread about maps on the AT got me thinking about the fact that I've got a lot of hiking experience, but very little real backcountry experience other than a couple of hunting trips years ago. The conventional wisdom I've always heard, like from childhood on, about getting lost in the backcountry is to go downhill until you find a stream or other waterway, then follow it downstream because sooner or later you'll hit a road or some kind of civilization. A quiz in a recent Backpacker magazine said that was a myth that will get you dead, and the thing to do was stay where you are, build a fire with green wood, and send up smoke signals. Now I can see why following a stream might be a bad idea, with cliffs and waterfalls and such. So I guess my question is, assuming you're lost and the situation is sufficiently bad that staying put seems like a bad idea (out of food or water, for example), what should you do?

[kyhipo]

well first off I wouldnt reccomend my offer like get lost a!I usually just get lost and keep hiking for days its part of my hike:eek: .But one should keep hiking eventually he will find his way back or ahead of the appalachian trail.While hiking the pct I would have been better off staying on the trail but I was pulled to all the side trails by some force,and mind you I loved it:banana ky

[SGT Rock]

The best thing to do if you can - provided you have food and shelter or can exist for a while without them is to stay where you are and make your presence as known as you can. Last year I read a book by a ranger that did search and rescue in the Smokies and it seemed whenever someone kept moving, it was harder for them to be found and they usually moved in a way that made little sense if they actually knew where they were. Also it seems that people sometimes hide from the people trying to find them for some reason - possibly out of initial fear after being lost for so long.

In my experience too looking for lost people - stay put near where you last knew where you were. Make noise, smoke, leave things hanging in trees, etc.

[Sir-P-Alot]

Well, if you do get lost. Sit tight, eventually they will build a Wal-Mart at your location.

[Footslogger]

Funny reading Rocks post. I remember as a youngster in the scouts (WAY back in the 50's) being told that if I got lost and separated from my group I was supposed to tie my boot laces together. Didn't seem to make much sense to me as a youngin but I guess the point was that I should stay PUT !!

'Slogger

[Sly]

Assuming it's not in winter, with 950 miles of trail in the Smokies and park maps at many trailheads, I'm surprised and amazed anyone can truly get lost.

[Fiddler]

The best is still stay where you are and try to make yourself known by noise, fire, smoke, or some other method.
However, if for some reason this is not possible this is sort of a last resort kind of action. If you are lost (no food or shelter, you can usually find water) and no hope of anyone looking for you, and no compass, map, or anything like that to help you, find some high ground or an easy to climb tree. Then stay put till dark. In most parts of the country from a high vantage point you can see light glowing in the sky, with a slight overcast the light is more visible. Glowing lights are usually from towns, shopping centers, factories, major road crossings, or some other civilized area. Go toward the light. Saved my butt once, after about 10 miles of walking I got to a small town. Now I never go out without map and compass, even for a one day hike.

[Sly]

Funny reading Rocks post. I remember as a youngster in the scouts (WAY back in the 50's) being told that if I got lost and separated from my group I was supposed to tie my boot laces together. Didn't seem to make much sense to me as a youngin but I guess the point was that I should stay PUT !!


LOL... That is funny!

[vipahman]

So the general advice is stay put. Nobody said anything about map and compass. Now let's assume that help might not be expected for quite a while. What is one to do? Here's my $0.02.

Look at your map and try to figure out the general location. Mark it mentally or on the map. If you are totally disoriented, look for the sun if possible. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. So around 10pm it will be slightly east and around 3pm it will be slightly west. Then try to identify landmarks (peak, river, valley, ridge, etc) in the area that match the map. If you do find a landmark, take a bearing on it and transfer it to the map. If you find another landmark, take a bearing on it too and transfer it to the map. The intersection of the 2 lines is your location on the map.

If you can't find the second landmark, then you are somewhere along the line drawn from the first landmark. Figure out if you want to move towards or away from it. If the answer is away, reverse the bearing 180 degrees. Either way, move in the desired direction until you see another landmark. Then repeat the step for the second landmark. Congrats you have now found yourself.

BTW, map and compass skills are really very simple. If you didn't understand any of the above, google it. GPS is common these days but you still need some basic skills and batteries.

[SGT Rock]

Well I took that he had very little experience based off the initial post and he wanted general guidelines.

If you are lost in a place like the Smokies, then you may have to know more than the compass points north and the map is in my hand. I have seen even experienced navigators get off track and screw themselves up more by pushing when they are wrong than they would if they just stopped and waited a little while. Learning how to do an resection with map and compass or how to work around obstacles when following an azimuth, or how to perform a good area search when your azimuth doesn't immediately take you where you were aiming at takes practice and more practice to do it well even when you don't feel panicked when you are lost. Add that too the equation and it could be easy to forget to calculate declination or maintain a bearing. Then in thick growth like that it could be hard to even work out your location because of vegetation and what not. I would still want someone to do their best to evaluate their situation and find their way out if they could if they have a map and compass, but if you are really lost - stop.

Oh, and some advice I once got is to take a deck of cards and play solitaire if you are lost. Eventually someone will walk up behind you and tell you what card to play.

[Krewzer]

One of my favorite trail jokes is, "If lost, go uphill. At least you won't get more lost as fast as you would going down hill and it will be easier getting back to where you were and where you want to be."

Seriously, every situation is different. To me, being lost in the middle of Alaska would be vastly more serious than being lost in the Smokies. But in either case you ought to know at least something about where you are and what your options are. It may be best to start sending up smoke, or it may be time to admit you're in for a lot more hiking than you planned.

Prevention is the best medicine. Check out the maps before you go. Know what's in the area before leaving. Keep up with where you are, where you've been, where you're going and how much time has passed.

When lost, do the same things only better.

I think Baltimore Jack said a map and compass is cheap insurance. I add a watch to that list.

[Shutterbug]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, I'm still feeling my way here. The thread about maps on the AT got me thinking about the fact that I've got a lot of hiking experience, but very little real backcountry experience other than a couple of hunting trips years ago. The conventional wisdom I've always heard, like from childhood on, about getting lost in the backcountry is to go downhill until you find a stream or other waterway, then follow it downstream because sooner or later you'll hit a road or some kind of civilization. A quiz in a recent Backpacker magazine said that was a myth that will get you dead, and the thing to do was stay where you are, build a fire with green wood, and send up smoke signals. Now I can see why following a stream might be a bad idea, with cliffs and waterfalls and such. So I guess my question is, assuming you're lost and the situation is sufficiently bad that staying put seems like a bad idea (out of food or water, for example), what should you do?

I have been an avid hiker for many years and have never admitted that I am lost. From time to time it takes a few extra miles to get where I am going, but I am never "lost."

[Skidsteer]

I have been an avid hiker for many years and have never admitted that I am lost. From time to time it takes a few extra miles to get where I am going, but I am never "lost."

"I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks” Daniel Boone quote (http://en.thinkexist.com/quotation/i_have_never_been_lost-but_i_will_admit_to_being/175120.html)

:D

[Ramble~On]

The situation dictates what you should do and I do not want to begin throwing out "what ifs". As mentioned it's agreed to stay put and plan a means of signaling...such as fire, waving a bright colored object, flashlight, whistle, clapping hands, banging cookset together
but the situation dictates:

First factor is does anyone know where you are and have an idea of when you should return...if you fail to return will that person or those people start the wheels in motion to help you or are you on your own ?
If no one knows where you are and no one is going to come looking for you or send others to look for you.....Finding your own way out may be the only alternative to becoming compost.

The key to any survival or "lost" situation is to maintain PMA.
Positive Mental Attitude....
I'm not going into any survival stuff...there are courses and books for that.
Along the AT anyone would be hard pressed to "get lost" but there are people out there who have a major lack of sense of direction and something as simple as stepping off the trail a few hundred feet to dig a hole for the old #2 could end up getting turned around and have a hard time getting back to the trail......I have guided enough backpacking and water trips to see this happen. Groups are one thing...being solo is another.

Letting someone know where you are going and when you plan to be back is
and should be the most important thing anyone does before taking the first step on trail.