PP455-456 Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite has some interesting things to say about avoiding being lost and what to do if you are lost
“You should never substitute GPS use for sound map and compass skills. Be sure you have competent map and compass skills and cross check your GPS with these skills as you navigate. But why should anyone need navigation skills while following an NPS trail? Weren’t these trails built to make it simple and easy? Arguably, under ideal circumstances, one does not need a high level of skill (if one can read the trail signs…). On the other hand, when snow, fog, washouts, nightfall, vandalism or some other factor has concealed trail markers, or when one has inadvertently wandered off-trail and cannot relocate it, possessing the skills to know where one is can be very useful. No skill with electronics can safely replace that of being able to read an appropriately scaled and drawn topographic map. Or of using a quality compass. Or, better yet, of being able to use a topo map in combination with a compass. Or, best yet, using every natural orientation feature out there, terrestrial or celestial.
Most people agree that prevention is preferable to seeking a cure. The same goes for avoiding becoming lost instead of panicking after the fact. The primary preventative measure is to continually pay attention to where one is. By regularly asking oneself “where am I right now?” (then answering that question), one can never become hopelessly lost. Looking behind oneself to learn and memorize what terrain looks like on your return route is also vital. Beyond these habits and dedicated use of map and compass (and a GPS unit) there exist tricks to help vent petting lost.
Many of these tricks—using an “attack point,” a “catch feature,” a “handrail,” “check points,” “funnel features” and “aiming off’—apply to situations where one is forced to navigate off-trail.
- An attack point is simply a very recognizable point of intersection between two major features—a trail and a river, a road and a power line —as the origin point to begin one’s off-trail hike.
- A catch feature refers to a planned “collision” of one’s route against something with a wide horizontal presence – a stream, trail, ridgeline, road, or power line.
- A handrail refers to planning part of one’s route to parallel a terrain feature with wide horizontal presence- closely enough to use it visually as a guide.
- Check points refer to knowing in advance a series of recognizable landmarks one should encounter en route to one’s destination.
- Using funnel features means planning part of one’s route between two non parallel handrail-like features and toward their intersection.
- Aiming off applies to situations where one is shooting for a pinpoint location such as a parked vehicle. A direct aim that misses it imposes the need to either turn right or left. But which way? Each direction offers a 50 percent chance of success—or of missing it and then hiking a long distance away (then turning around to hike back but maybe not far enough and then end up freaking out). If instead one deliberately aims too far right or too far left of one’s pinpoint destination then hits the road or trail, one merely turns onto the road in the known compensatory direction and hoofs it confidently to the point of interest.”
These methods are illustrated on the ACT Orienteering web page here: Lesson 8: Attack Points – Orienteering ACT
“Okay, what if one gets lost despite all of these measures? Because panic and impulsive action [“woods shock”] when lost are proven killers many times over, nearly every expert agrees that the ultimate key to survive being lost solely in keeping one’s head, in assuming full responsibility for one’s actions, and situation, and in possessing (or adopting) a positive attitude and a powerful will to survive.
This self-responsibility then allows person to STOP! This acronym translates to
- Stop where you are,
- Think calmly hard and unhurriedly about your precise situation and your resources (map, pass, GPS, cell phone, whistle, field glasses, signal mirror, survival gear),
- Observe your surroundings carefully to identify its clues, resources, and dangers, and
- Plan (including a plan “A” and a plan “B”) for your return hike or your and extrication.
Your plan of action may dictate staying where you are—but this should also be in an open area where you are discoverable. Or, instead, it might involve careful backtracking to the last place where you knew exactly where were. One’s plan should not involve shortcutting. Nor should any part of any plan ever be subservient to salvaging one’s personal pride. Survival is the goal. good score card. Despite all these lifesaving guidelines the bottom line remains: Nothing replaces intelligent prior planning and doing one’s homework to avoid altogether the possibility of getting lost.”