Getting lost?

[PolarBear]

 It wasn't that simple.  I was dropped off on a ridge and needed to make my way to a pick up point.  I eventually gave up and backtracked to the road and hiked the road out. It meant an extra 10 miles of walking.  The fog didn't lift for 3 days.

[Alpine Mojo]

Learn to be proficient with a compass and altimeter.  Learn how to use them together with a map.  Don't rely on GPS to the point that it can become a liability if it fails for any reason.

[washelkhunter]

It wasn't that simple.  I was dropped off on a ridge and needed to make my way to a pick up point.  I eventually gave up and backtracked to the road and hiked the road out. It meant an extra 10 miles of walking.  The fog didn't lift for 3 days.

Learn to be proficient with a compass and altimeter.  Learn how to use them together with a map.  Don't rely on GPS to the point that it can become a liability if it fails for any reason.

Everyone going afield should be able to navigate via map and compass. An altimeter would be a nice addition however it is not necessary. You can plot a course in the blind and reach your destination with just the C&M but you have to know where you are on the map to begin. You were on a ridge and knew where you had to go so it should have been a relatively straightforward affair. Plot a line from A to B then make adjustments allowing for the inevitable vagaries of the in between terrain. I'll see if I cant get some pics up to demonstrate how to plot a course.

[washelkhunter]

The first pic shows the 3 tools needed. The second shows the plot line of desired travel. Line up the lines in the bezel with the longitudinal lines of the map and the direction of travel arrow toward pt. B.
This gives you a heading of 42'. Now tho you need to account for declination i.e. the diff between True north and Magnetic north. Pic 4 shows the correction. Now accounting for Declination your direction of travel is "really" 59'. had you followed the 42' heading you would have run up Lemei Rock.  While traveling keep the needle pointing N and follow the direction of travel pointer. Easy huh?

[Pacific]

Lost is more a state of mind...and proportions. You know you are in Washington, you know you are in say Lewis County, you should know what GMU you are in, maybe you don't know exactly where you are but you know where you started and about how far you can travel in a certain amount of time.....looked at in this manner, just keep breaking it down.

I love to look at maps, so any area I am going into, I will have spent hours looking at the maps...and google earth....and have a pretty good mental picture of the area....I always carry a compass and map....just have never gotten used to using a gps.....

That said, I have been in situations where thing don't seem to be where they should be  not sure why that ridge or canyon is there when it should be over here  dang compass is pointing the wrong way  note to self: trust the compass......any problem I have is mosty because I over estimate how far I can or have traveled....I think to myself that I should be there by now when it is really still 2 miles to my destination.....and fog really messes up my sense of direction....again, trust the compass.....

[JLS]

If you are trusting the declination from a 10 year old map, you are setting yourself up for a bad situation.  Check declination each year, it changes.

[jasnt]

I used to carry cheap marking ribbon. Just tie a peace to a branch as you go. Make sure you can see your last ribbon from the one your tieing. Also chose a ribbon that is not common to the area. Even wrapping ribbon or duct tape.  Some thing to follow back. 

[vandeman17]

I remember growing up and being in the woods with my dad, he was always testing me. We would randomly stop and he would ask me which way was camp, which way was the truck etc. He also would ask me to identify different things as we went along like possible spots to shelter if I was lost, good fire starting material and other survival things. He did this starting when I was really little so it became second nature to pay attention to my surroundings. With that being said, I have been turned around plenty of times but always made my way out by slowing down and thinking things through. These days, with gps and all that, it is harder to get lost. I still make it a point to mentally track where I am going and then use my gps to verify if I question my internal compass.

[Bean Counter]

I set my "idiots control bearing." Look at the map for  a nearby highway or road that is straight and only a couple miles from your hunting area. say you're hunting in a unit and at the bottom (south side) of the map is an east-west highway. If you're going to start your adventure say three miles from the road, you always know you can go south and hit that road. So all you need is a compass.

[vandeman17]

We used to hunt with a guy that was paranoid about getting lost. I wonder how many animals he missed while out hiking because he constantly was looking at his compass. In Idaho one time while hunting sage flats, my dad dropped him off and pointed out a big lone tree way off in the distance and said he would meet him there after while. It was an afternoon hunt and not long after my Dad drove off to start his hike from another spot, fog rolled in and this guy freaked. My old man came back later once the fog lifted and he hadn't walked 100 yards from where he was dropped and he had already gathered fire wood and started making shelter for the night. 

Another hunt in Montana my old man dropped him and I off on a ridge line and said he would pick us both up down at the lower road. We planned to parallel each other a few hundred yards apart. After a while I decided I would angle over and check on him and sure enough, I found him freaked out and staring at his compass. When I whistled her darn near crapped his pants and asked where the F my dad was. I pointed down to the bottom of the hill and said "right there" Clear as day you could see the shine of the vehicle in the sun about a half mile down the hill. How you can get lost when all you have to do is walk downhill is beyond me.

[washelkhunter]

If you are trusting the declination from a 10 year old map, you are setting yourself up for a bad situation.  Check declination each year, it changes.

The example above was posted as a basic tutorial of navigation for those here who don't know how to do it. The magnetic pole has surely wandered but the info and map is better than nothing. The variance is only likely to be off 2-3 degrees. Hardly significant in navigating such a short distance.

[Bob33]

If you are trusting the declination from a 10 year old map, you are setting yourself up for a bad situation.  Check declination each year, it changes.

According to NOAA, the change in our region over the last ten years has been 1.68 degrees.

[fair-chase]

If you are trusting the declination from a 10 year old map, you are setting yourself up for a bad situation.  Check declination each year, it changes.

According to NOAA, the change in our region over the last ten years has been 1.68 degrees.

Which is fairly insignificant for most foot travel. For every degree you are off course, you will deviate 92 feet per mile from your desired heading.

So, just for an example. If you were to do a 5 mile hike, and were off by 2 degrees in your calculations, you would end up 920 feet (306 yards) from your intended destination. The only time I can see that being a factor would be in areas of cliffs/hazards with zero visibility. That is at the extreme end as it doesn't take into account course corrections along the way, knowledge of your destination, or a little common sense.

[JLS]

That is at the extreme end as it doesn't take into account course corrections along the way, knowledge of your destination, or a little common sense.

Which, if none of these are implemented could be a recipe for a bad situation. 

You are correct, 2 degrees for many folks is insignificant.  For someone that may be relying on their compass to put them in an exact location, it could create a lot of extra walking and an unintended night out in the woods.

[Okanagan]

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!!!

I grew up in WA and generally you are right that terrain features in most of the state will help you know where you are.

If we count on that in the Chilcotin country or much of the Thompson Plateau of BC or the Shield in Ontario, the endless same flat country will have most of us scratching our heads.  I am pretty good at sense of direction but would leave my bones out there were it not for a compass.

 We used to train people in map and compass navigation in such places where there were ZERO distinctive landmarks.  One group didn't trust 25 year old topo map data and so took a wrong heading.  Hours later they hit a lake and tried to figure out which lake it was out of dozens of possibilities on the map.  They climbed trees to try to see an identifiable terrain feature, inspected shoreline contours, argued...

When they would ask if I knew where we were of if I'd ever been there before I could honestly say, "No."   

What I knew that they did not was that there was a logging road 2-5 miles east of us not shown on the map, that ran north-south for 40 miles.  Any heading to the east would hit it.

I hunt a thick timbered plateau many miles across without any distinctive features.  But it has a meandering road on the north side and on the east side.  I can ignore my compass and follow game trails, tracks, any whim of direction and know that when it is time to head out, any heading between due north and due east will hit the road somewhere.

All this yarning to say that having a wide backstop you can't miss is wise when heading back out of the bush.  Going in you don't need it, but coming out it really helps to have a big target like a road, stream or trail across your line of travel.  I came close to buying the farm when I tried to navigate with compass for two miles to hit a target the width of an overgrown logging road end on, in thick second growth brush.  Miss it by 50 feet and I could hike for miles in same looking country.  It started to sleet and I was younger and hadn't carried emergency gear for an afternoon scout, but I was lucky.  In deep dusk I picked a place for emergency bivy and saw a corner of my pick-up as I gathered firewood.

A compass is a super useful tool for finding down game and sometimes for stalking game, but that is another topic.  It is a good tool for a hunter to learn.