|
The Six Biggest Mistakes Made by Both New and Experienced Campers #5
Getting lost. It happens to the best of us.
It's getting late so you decide to take a shortcut. You take one wrong turn and after hiking for an hour you realize you don't know where your are. You start to worry. It's getting later and later and you have no clue where you should go. What should you do?
Well, the first thing you should NOT do is panic. I know, it's easier said than done. In a state of panic, you can end up getting yourself more lost. Find a spot to sit and collect your thoughts. Give yourself a chance to calm down. Take a few deep breaths, eat a candy bar, drink some water and tell yourself that everything will be all right. The key is to keep your cool. Don't let your worry take over.
After you have calmed down, try to think back through your hike. Think! Can you remember where you took the wrong turn? Look around you to find a familiar landmark. The answer may be right in front of you.
If you still don't know where you are, or it has become dark, you should think about staying put and letting yourself be found. As soon as you are missed, someone will come looking for you. Help them out by waiting by an open area so that the searchers can see you. Other suggestions are: make three signal fires, write SOS with logs or rocks for overhead planes, and blow your whistle every ten minutes.
While you are waiting you may as well make the most of it. There is no need for you to be lost and uncomfortable. You may not be found until the next day, so you need to be prepared to spend the night.
You will need a fire. Find a place, preferably by a big rock so it may be used as a reflector. Also, make yourself a simple lean-to. Before you start your fire, make sure you gather enough wood to last you the night. Then, go back and collect the same amount again. It takes a lot of wood to keep a fire burning brightly all night.
After you have your wood, you will need to gather materials to make your lean-to. Only in emergency situations is it acceptable to cut the boughs you will need. Once you have those get together dry pine needles for the floor of your shelter. Then you can build your lean-to and get the fire started. This is where your emergency survival kit will come in handy. You will have all the necessary things to make your time lost a lot easier.
Make an Emergency Survival Kit in a Small Fanny Pack
A Zip Lock sandwich bag for a container (also used as a cup for drinking water)
A snack of high energy trail mix or Powerbar (contained in its own zip lock bag). Pick something that you won't eat up while you are out and about because it won't be there when you need it.
A whistle used for calling for help when you are tired and cannot shout. (three short blasts is an emergency signal)
A signal flag approximately 1' by 3' (cut from orange plastic garbage bag) to mark the ground so that searchers can see you.
A reflector for sending signals to searchers. (use soft, flexible material)
A "Space Blanket" that you can buy at a Wal-Mart or sporting goods store. This can be your shelter to hold your body heat in and the wind and rain out. The silver reflection of the "Space Blanket" will also help searchers to see you better.
A Swiss Army knife with all the special attachments
Water purifying tablets
Compass
Waterproof matches and firestarterIf you find you are without matches, there are a couple things you can do to stay warm.
Choice number one would be to make a giant "bed" between two big logs. Use boughs to make the bottom and fill with dry leaves and dry pine needles. Make sure you have enough boughs to keep you off the ground. Also make sure you have enough to cover your body. This will help keep you warm when the night gets chilly.
Choice number two if there is no way to build a shelter is to pick out a path to walk before it gets dark (about a half mile) and mark the path well so you can walk in it in the dark. Walking will keep you warm. You'll never be without matches again.
We have a free Camping Checklist available from our home page. Just check off the items you already have, then print out the page to make sure you have everything you need and take the checklist with you.
To view our great selection of Camping & Outdoor Products, use the following links:
|
