Getting lost?

[huntingaddiction]

I don't understand the possibility of getting lost.  Assuming you left the truck or camp.  If you started going downhill, you obviously have to go uphill to get back!   Just sayin!!!

You would be amazed at how the fear of getting lost can effect that simple ability in folks.  I hunted with a chiropractor friend of mine who got lost on Mt Rainer when he was a kid.  Absolutely scared to death to hunt by himself.  So I took him to a spot I thought would ease him into hunting alone.  I said, "As long as you can tell the difference between up hill and down hill it is impossible to get lost.  Road at the top, road at the bottom, road to the left, and road to the right.  Worst case scenario you have to follow a creek along a flat for about 200 yards before you hit the road in one spot.  I will drive the road and pick you up in a few hours."  Absolutely no doing for him, "I know I will get lost!", he told me!  I don't believe we ever hunted together again after that.  Just a little to cuckoo for my taste.

Thats crazy i have never had a problem.  The only time i usually have a problem is when i get back to the road is which way to go and that usually take me a minute or so to figure out.

[RadSav]

The only time i usually have a problem is when i get back to the road is which way to go and that usually take me a minute or so to figure out.

Now that I've gotten older that is my problem.  That and "Where did I park that dang truck.  And where did I hide my keys"   In my youth I might miss the truck in the dark by 100 yards every once in a while.  Now I might miss it by 1/4 mile   Old boss would say, "That's not a sign of getting old.  That's a sign of advanced maturity."   

[runamuk]

I never worry about getting lost in the woods and I dont carry gps heck I dont even have a compass.  I just know where I am in nature. 
Now in a city I get turned around so bad it induces full blown panic, hate driving in unfamiliar places.

[huntingaddiction]

The only time i usually have a problem is when i get back to the road is which way to go and that usually take me a minute or so to figure out.

Now that I've gotten older that is my problem.  That and "Where did I park that dang truck.  And where did I hide my keys"   In my youth I might miss the truck in the dark by 100 yards every once in a while.  Now I might miss it by 1/4 mile   Old boss would say, "That's not a sign of getting old.  That's a sign of advanced maturity."   

The worst part is when you get down in the steep stuff.  You have to make a decision to walk back up the steep stuff where you just came or hit the road and hike 2 miles.  happened to me this year and normally i would hike back up that hill.  On that particular day i had taken my wife through the ringer.  We took the road!

[aorams]

Without prior experience you may want to consider taking a class...

the wilderness college one is only 85 bucks...

http://www.cascadeoc.org/

http://www.wildernesscollege.com/wilderness-orienteering-and-navigation-class.html

http://www.rei.com/outdoorschool/navigation-classes.html

Then start small. 

[jackelope]

I rely heavily on GPS technology. I have no fear of getting lost but prepare for the possibility of getting injured.

Getting injured or the batteries going dead.
 

[bearpaw]

Use the mountains and land features as reference points, always be looking at landscape features. By doing that flat land is the only place I've ever had any problem.

[Bob33]

I rely heavily on GPS technology. I have no fear of getting lost but prepare for the possibility of getting injured.

Getting injured or the batteries going dead.
 

Simple solution: carry extra batteries. Two AAs weigh a couple ounces. Go out with full batteries. Check the battery meter. If batteries are getting low replace them.

I've never understood why GPS units are singled out for "failing". Sure it can happen, but it's extremely rare. A compass can break or fail also.

A GPS tells me where I am, where my camp is, where my vehicle is, where my dead animal is so I can retrieve it, where I am relative to property boundaries and who the property owner is, where I am relative to GMU boundaries, sunrise/sunset times, and more.

A compass does one thing, and only one thing: it points north.

[washelkhunter]

Knowing how to use a compass and a map are your best friend. A GPS is great....but if it goes down, and you don't how to navigate with out it....it could and will get ugly!

[PolarBear]

I got lost twice in areas that I knew like the back of my hand, or so I thought.  Both times involved fog with less than 20 feet visibility and one of those was in 2 feet of snow.  I finally broke out the compass and mad it out.  One time I got stuck in the freezing fog and snow on top of Snow Peak in Republic and had to stay the night with nothing but what was in my fanny pack.  That was a cold mo-fo!

[snowpack]

Use the mountains and land features as reference points, always be looking at landscape features. By doing that flat land is the only place I've ever had any problem.

For most of the areas I go, you usually know you are within the drainage you started in if you didn't cross a ridge.  And you have an idea of which side of the drainage if you didn't cross any significant piece of water.  Then you also can look at moss or how the vegetation grows and can usually have a good rough idea of where you're at.  But sometimes in the low, flat river bottoms I find it is easy to get turned around, especially when the ferns and berries are taller than you and there is a lot of downfall and deep mud.

[Alchase]

One of the first things I was taught when I was young was to check your back trail every 100ft or so. Pick out land marks or strange looking trees that you will remember on your way out. The reason is your trail looks totally different heading back the way you came.
If you have never been taught how to use a compass "correctly" I would suggest you look into an Orienteering Course.
I use a GPS specifically for the back trail function. I still get a kick out of pulling out my compass to see how accurate I am and to keep the skills up. The only time I have felt I did not have an accurate idea of my location and the way out, was in the heavy timber of the West side. It is really easy to get turned with no visual landmarks or horizon to work with, or serious fog.
I change out the batteries of my GPS before every hunting trip. And always, always, carry extra batteries.

[rover758]

One of the first things I was taught when I was young was to check your back trail every 100ft or so. Pick out land marks or strange looking trees that you will remember on your way out.

 

I think someone already said it .... I've never been lost.  Powerful confused, yes, but never lost.  I taught my son to always be mindful of his surrounding.  Starting at a very early age I'd have him out in the woods and then tell him to find his way back to camp.  No GPS (back then) and no compass.  I'd trail him by 50 feet or so and ignore any questions he asked.  (Always with a smile.)  A bunch of you have hit the big thing .... staying calm.  That was his biggest hurdle.  Last time I did it to him he said, "Really Dad?  I'm 30 now.  Do you think we can move on?"

[Igottanewknee]

Just bring plenty of bread crumbs, can't see how you could possibly get lost.     

[huntingaddiction]

I got lost twice in areas that I knew like the back of my hand, or so I thought.  Both times involved fog with less than 20 feet visibility and one of those was in 2 feet of snow.  I finally broke out the compass and mad it out.  One time I got stuck in the freezing fog and snow on top of Snow Peak in Republic and had to stay the night with nothing but what was in my fanny pack.  That was a cold mo-fo!

so you mean to tell me you were lost in the snow? :chuckle:next time then around and follow your tracks...