A man doesn't need to be a navigator or a surveyor in order to be able to utilize this instrument. All that he needs is a steady mind and something to give him a positive general direction. Almost any cheap compass will do this, if the carrier will only believe it, and if he has taken the trouble to notice the direction in which he started when he left camp at the beginning of the hunt.
Most hunting camps are on a road, stream or pond that extends for some distance on each side of the camp and it is only necessary to find this road, stream or pond in order to find the camp.
When hunting in strange territory, I usually spend a part of the first day in familiarizing myself with the territory in the immediate vicinity of the place where I am staying. I walk the road, if there is one, for at least a half-mile in each direction from camp, observing any outstanding features which might serve as landmarks.
Getting lost is a state of mind. It is not at all necessary. The true woodsman is never lost, even if he is unable to tell just where the home camp is located. I have been turned around in the woods until I hardly knew what way was up, but I have never been lost because I was at home in the woods and never felt the unnecessary compulsion to be at a house or camp when night came.
There is something about a man's mental make-up which makes him uneasy in unfamiliar surroundings. The casual hunter braves the imaginary dangers of the woods in search of game with the often unconscious object of proving that he is a skilled and successful woodsman. This is only natural and is an ancestral heritage handed down from the time when men lived on what the hunter brought home from the chase.
When one first finds that he is uncertain of his whereabouts in the woods, his first inclination is to speed up and get as far as he can before night with the hope that he is traveling in the right direction or that he will meet another hunter who will set him right. This is about the worst thing he can do. Instead of rushing around aimlessly, probably away from camp, he should sit down, take a rest and smoke his pipe or relax in some other manner. He should take account of the situation
If a man has a compass, he should be able to locate himself in relation to the home base if he has any idea of his travels since leaving it. If the camp is on a road that runs north and south and the hunter left it to hunt on the east side of the road, all that he needs to do in order to return is to travel in a westerly direction until he comes to the road.
The chances are that this road will be the one on which the camp is located and it should be easy to find. It is not necessary to travel in an exactly straight course but merely in a general westerly direction in order to find the road.
Other situations require other solutions, but most problems of this sort can be solved by a little clear thinking. If the lost man has no compass and the sun is not shining, the only thing which he should do is to sit tight and wait for aid to arrive. With these precautions in mind you need never be lost again!
Plan Before You Leave
Before you embark on any wilderness trip, it is essential that you notify at least one person of where you are going. If possible, provide a map and a detailed itinerary so rescuers know where to look for you. This will significantly lower the amount of time you have to survive should you find yourself stranded. Stay as close to this itinerary as possible; your life may depend on it.
Another way to ensure wilderness survival is to pack a good emergency survival kit with enough supplies to keep you alive for up to three days. It takes surprisingly few things to sustain life and provide for the most common scenarios, so this is an easy way to protect your life.
Physical Injury
This is a common scenario for hikers and hunters: You trek deep into the woods, then sprain an ankle so severely that you cannot walk. How do you hike out of the woods with only one good leg?
Regardless of the type of injury, your first action should be providing good first aid. This will be easy if you have a first aid kit--and you should, because every survival kit includes one. Once you have treated the injury, your next step should be to evaluate your chance of successfully making your way back to civilization. If you can contact help via satellite or radio, this is the best solution. If not, ask yourself whether you can hike out without worsening your wound or endangering yourself. If neither is possible, sit tight and wait for authorities to find you. With a well-packed survival kit, you know you will at least survive.
Lost in the Woods
Just a short meander off the beaten path can leave you hopelessly lost in unfamiliar terrain. Unless you have a landmark to guide you, wandering will only exhaust you and leave you even more disoriented. When deep in the wilderness, the chances of running into a more experienced hiker are next to nil. How do you find your way home?
First, try that cell phone. Contacting authorities and then letting them find you is always the best plan, however embarrassing it might be. If you have no way to call for help, look for a body of water. Rivers usually flow toward towns, so following one will likely take you out of the woods. Experienced outdoorsmen may be able to orient themselves by finding landmarks or by using constellations, but do not attempt to find your own way unless you are confident you can actually do it. Because wandering usually leaves you even more lost, the best plan is to sit tight and wait for authorities.
When Bad Weather Strikes
Even with satellites and radar, the weather experts are often wrong. How do you stay warm and dry while stranded in a cold and wet forest?
In most weather situations, the wisest choice is to make a shelter and stay there. This includes rain, snow, blizzards, thunder storms, and even tornados. The key to a good homemade shelter is to make it on high ground (so water rolls away from it, not into it) and to cover it with a water resistant material such as leaves. If you have that survival kit, you can wrap the whole thing in a plastic garbage bag and huddle in the dry warmth until the weather clears or rescuers find you. Again, the key is to stay warm and dry. Hypothermia and other exposure-related illnesses can set in rapidly if you are cold enough for a long enough period of time.
Running Out of Necessities
You knew you forgot something! And now here you are in the middle of the wilderness without some essential item. What do you do?
This depends on what you are missing. First, consider the nature of the item as well as how far into the woods you happen to be. You may be able to live without socks, but water is a necessity. If you cannot live without the item, your choices are to go back (if you are near enough to do this), call for help, or find an acceptable substitute.
Even in these very different scenarios, the advice is surprisingly similar. Contact authorities if possible; if not, think critically about different means of escape and their odds of success. If finding your way home safely is not probable, wait for authorities to come to you. With appropriate planning and this solid logic, you should be able to successfully navigate any wilderness emergency.
Both Jimmy Cox & William Doggett are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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