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Backpacker Magazine – November 2011
Rip & Live: Lost
More than 1,000 hikers go missing every year in our national parks alone. Most are found within hours, but basic skills can help you get home without making a serious—or even fatal—mistake. Follow this advice for staying on course.
Photo by This signpost is a clue that you're on the right track. (by Seaver)
Photo by A white blaze is a standard trail marker. (by J. Chow)
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Tags:
- Survival |
- Skills |
- Navigation |
- Experts |
Stay Oriented / Look For Landmarks
Sit. Think. Observe. Plan / Signal For Help
Survive Overnight / Read Your Rescuers' Minds
Carry a Beacon
Sit. Think. Observe. Plan / Signal For Help
Survive Overnight / Read Your Rescuers' Minds
Carry a Beacon
SURVIVE OVERNIGHT
>> Conquer fear. Don’t let the onset of darkness cause you to panic. Hysteria drives lost hikers to keep moving (getting more lost) and boosts heart rate and muscle tension. Both responses compound stress. Try belly breathing to relax: Lie down on your back and place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Inhale through your nose, expanding your belly, and hold it for seven seconds before exhaling through your mouth. Repeat for up to 10 breaths.
>> Prioritize water. Dehydration undermines decision-making and endurance, and three days is your survival limit without fluids. If your supply is scant, look for a water source. If it’s plen- tiful but you have no way to purify it, collect the clearest water you can find. It’s better to stay hydrated than hold out for purification; most water-borne illness won’t strike for weeks, and by then, odds are you’ll be close to medical care.
>> Build a shelter. Settle on a suitable location—near water, but high enough to avoid potential flooding and cold-air inversions that settle into depressions. Fashion a modified lean-to (see Illustration above): Gather materials (body-length sticks, saplings, and bits of bark, moss, or leaves) anidentify a fallen log or upturned root ball that will act as your shel- ter’s support. Pile dry boughs to create an insulating bed beside the log and lean 5- to 8-foot branches against it, above the bed and approximately one foot apart. Interlace them with saplings to form a slanted roof, and cover the frame- work with leaves or bark to form a water-resistant surface. The structure should be just big enough for you to wiggle into without knocking it down.
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Read Your Rescuers’ Minds
Don’t make assumptions. Here, we debunk missing-hiker myths so you can think like a rescuer. Make the right decisions and you’re more likely to be found quickly.
Myth: Disoriented hikers travel downhill.
Truth: More than half are found uphill or at the same elevation as the base of rescue operations (usually a nearby trailhead); increasingly, hikers in trouble walk uphill in search of cell reception.
Correct Action: Hiking to an open hilltop is OK if it will connect you with rescuers. If you veer up, leave notes or signals (like arrows made of sticks) at saddles, drainage entries, or other intuitive decision points.
Myth: A hiker’s dominant hand dictates his preferred turning direction.
Truth: Right-handed people don’t nec- essarily turn right. People veer away from annoyances such as dense vegetation or wind. Without visual clues (in the dark or in fog) most people will eventually wander in a circle.
Correct Action: Rescuers will predict your route by weighing variables at key terrain changes (trail junctions, saddles, drainages, etc.). They’ll usually assume you took the path of least resistance, so don’t forge through dense brush or cross streams.
Myth: Shortcuts save time returning to the trailhead.
Truth: The trail is the shortcut, and the safest, often most direct, route.
Correct Action: Stay on established paths. Don’t cut switchbacks or try to beeline to your destination.
Myth: Lost people stay put at night.
Truth: As many as one-third of off- course hikers continue traveling after dark, which increases the likelihood of getting hurt or even more disoriented.
Correct Action: In this case, the myth hints at good advice. The sooner you stop moving, the more you increase the odds that searchers will find you.
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READERS COMMENTS
Don't become a "missing hiker" --pack your own personal safety net; a copy of "Felix the Sugar Glider Be Safe Hike Smart" (Amazon) and a compass! Before you go, be sure to calibrate your compass for the declination at the location where you will be hiking. Go to: http://magnetic-declination.com A compass doesn't need a signal or batteries and works in all types of weather but you need to know how to use it and this book makes learning how to use a compass easy. Felix! explains how to orient yourself using a compass, a compass and a map, a map and no compass, no compass and no map. Look for it on Amazon, "Felix the Sugar Glider Be Safe Hike Smart." Anyone wanting to know direction and especially for those who want teach these skills to children might enjoy learning from this book. To feel more confident about orienting ourselves outdoors, we read thru this book before every hike - it's only about 34 pages and illustrated. The ability to know your way and know where you are is something we all need in any survival situation not just while hiking. Learn to stay found by using a compass and paying attention to your surroundings. Felix! teaches the reader what to pack for a day-hike, trail ethics, what to do if you get lost or scared, how to get rescued, and survival packing (for the car and for the trail) just incase you end up unexpectedly spending the night outdoors.
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And don't forget to read Felix! the Sugar Glider Be Safe Hike Smart (Amazon). Learn essential hiking skills and how to navigate your way with and without a map or compass. A fast, easy read that could maybe save your life but definitely will make your hike more enjoyable and safe!
"—color-blind hikers can get disoriented when marked trails cross."
I was once lost for about a half hour on a short little trail in the Catskills because i just could not spot the deep red markers on the trees. Red/green color blindness is not that rare. Please, trail makers, do NOT use dark red markers. A lighter more orangy red would help but only when white, blue and bright yellow have been used up already. You could also use two shades of blue that are readily distinguishable and even color combinations( eg. blue & white). Anything but deep red.
I was struck with heat stroke on a hike in Tucson Mountain Park in June. One of the things that stuck in my head the whole time was to stay on the trail. I found a spot with "shade" next to the trail where someone could find me. No hikers came by but Search and Rescue was able to find me within a few hours. I followed my "stay on the trail" rule and stayed in sight even after I became confused and in and out of consciousness. I was lucky, they were able to capture my GPS signal after 2 hours of my calling 911. I only got through once but it was long enough. Another hour or so and I would have died.
Thanks SAR!!
I was struck with heat stroke on a hike in Tucson Mountain Park in June. One of the things that stuck in my head the whole time was to stay on the trail. I found a spot with "shade" next to the trail where someone could find me. No hikers came by but Search and Rescue was able to find me within a few hours. I followed my "stay on the trail" rule and stayed in sight even after I became confused and in and out of consciousness. I was lucky, they were able to capture my GPS signal after 2 hours of my calling 911. I only got through once but it was long enough. Another hour or so and I would have died.
Thanks SAR!!
Here's an idea. Place a written cardboard sign in back of the front windshield stating "If I Am Not Back By (such and such date) Please Call Emergency Rescue"
Anyone seeing your vehicle and sign may be of some help if you do get lost and are unable to find your way back.
A few years back I was solo waterfalling and became lost. Fortunately, and I had never done this before, when I exited my vehicle I wrote down my GPS location in the trail guide book. After back and forth of trying to find the return trail, I noted my vehicles location and began trailblaizing toward my destination and came within 100 ft of my car. I now orient my car's location and carry and use orange barrier tape to denote turns and off trail events.
This article has some good tips about how to stay found by staying aware and knowing your location. A good book for both adults and kids is Felix! the Sugar Glider Be Safe Hike Smart avail on Amazon. This book teaches not get lost while navigating trails in the outdoors, and find your way using a compass, map, trail markers, landmarks, and the sun and stars!
A fun and interactive “Hike Smart Activities” section reinforces the story’s safe hiking tips. It includes an easy guide to using a compass with and without a map, using the sun and the stars to find your way and lists important items to keep in a survival kit.
The ability to know your way and know where you are is something we all need in any survival situation not just while hiking.
This article has some good tips about how to stay found by staying aware and knowing your location. A good book for both adults and kids is Felix! the Sugar Glider Be Safe Hike Smart avail on Amazon. This book teaches not get lost while navigating trails in the outdoors, and find your way using a compass, map, trail markers, landmarks, and the sun and stars!
A fun and interactive “Hike Smart Activities” section reinforces the story’s safe hiking tips. It includes an easy guide to using a compass with and without a map, using the sun and the stars to find your way and lists important items to keep in a survival kit.
The ability to know your way and know where you are is something we all need in any survival situation not just while hiking.
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