What Would You Do If You Got Lost?

 

Get­ting lost on a hike is eas­ier than you think. A patch of fog, a path that you thought was another trail, an out­dated guide book, a par­tic­u­larly engag­ing conversation—all could eas­ily lead you astray.

If you find your­self lost on a hike, don’t panic. A sim­ple com­bi­na­tion of prepa­ra­tion and knowl­edge can get you back on track.

DON’T GET LOST
The eas­i­est thing to do is not to get lost in the first place. Do this by edu­cat­ing your­self and research­ing the heck out of your hike. Study a map, have a com­pass (and know how to use it) and, if avail­able, have a charged GPS receiver. You’ve heard it before, but we’ll say it again: don’t rely on your cell phone! If you’re get­ting your direc­tions from a web­site or an older guide­book, cross ref­er­ence it with other sources to ensure that the instruc­tions are accurate.

MAKE A PLAN, AND SHARE IT
Always share your plans with some­one who will not be join­ing you on the hike—a fam­ily mem­ber, a neigh­bor, a friend, etc. Let them know when and where you’re going and when you’re plan­ning on return­ing. Leave them a copy of the trail map and high­light the route you plan on tak­ing, and stick to your plans!

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ADHERE TO “STOP“
Stop­ping is the first step: If you think you might have gone off course, stop. It’s tempt­ing to “keep going just a lit­tle fur­ther”, but you’ll often get even more tan­gled if you keep going.

THINK
Put the feel­ing of panic aside. Stay calm, and try to approach the sit­u­a­tion ratio­nally. Con­sider what made you real­ize you were lost—a com­pass read­ing, a trail that sud­denly dis­ap­peared, or the absence of a land­mark that you are sup­posed to see. Stay put while you think, and assess the situation—moving is more likely to make things worse.

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Article source: The Clymb 
Image source: Outdoor Herbivore