Has anyone been lost in the woods? I've been hiking, camping and hunting far far off trails my whole adult/teenage life and even as a child. I can't say I've ever considered myself lost. I've definately been 10 miles away from where I should have been, but I never feel lost in the woods. I just keep on walking until I correct my mistake. So, who has been outright lost before, for whatever they consider lost? Obviously I am too stubborn to say I've been lost.
Like you, I have never been lost. Because even if I have ended up not knowing exactly where I am, I always have a pretty good idea of my GENERAL location. Usually it is just a matter of taking a wrong trail that went someplace different than where I wanted. As long as you keep direction and major landmarks in mind, you shouldn't ever get lost.
There was one time.
I was up in Alaska working as a guide. Every minute of spare time we could afford was spent hiking with my mentor, a fellow guide. Eventually we were in Denali. He said I'd be doing an initiation of sorts.
He let me take my pack, a tent, and food for a few days. No compass. No phone. No gun. And, as it turned out, the wrong map.
I took the backpacker park bus all the way out to Eielsen visitor center, made sure my nalgene was filled, and set out. I was supposed to "walk as far as I can, spend the night, and be back the next day before sundown."
I'd plotted a rough course on my map going what I figured was due East. I planned to strike out, hike parallel to the Park Highway, and eventually intersect with it on the other side of Gravel Mountain.
By the end of that first day, I'd had a fucking exhilarating hike. Incredibly dynamic landscape all around me...it was surreal. But as I reached the crucial summit, the one that should give me a clear path back to the highway, I instead saw the most desolate maw of a landscape I'd ever seen.
The mountains of scree and gravel I'd arduously scrambled up were just the edge of a huge expanse of terrain that looked like fucking mars. Rocky. Treacherous. Completely devoid of life.
I was exhausted, and pitched my shit on the peak with the wind howling. I resolved to take a serious look at my map in the hopes of triangulating my position with the topography. I wasn't feeling lost yet. I reminded myself that I at least knew the way back to Eielson (even though that route was also treacherous), and I was committed to the initiation. I woke and decided to press on
Over the course of the next day, I descended the peak as safely as I could, and began following a wide river bed that seemed to be the path of least resistance in my general direction.
At every bend I rounded, I expected to see the highway again. And that would be it - I'd hitch a ride back to the park entrance
> 1/2
>>635726
Of course, I'd then have to hitchhike back to our hotel.
But bend after bend my soul was crushed. The only progress I seemed to make was deeper into the harsh lunar landscape. It was eerie as fuck, and I couldn't help but think that I wasn't supposed to be there, for some odd reason.
I began to realize the negativity was all psychological. I'd take a break, have something to drink and a bite to eat, and set right off again. Moving was the only way to combat the slippery slide into panic.
That's something you usually don't come back from, and I was getting close. Discouraged as hell at the point, fer sure. I'd accepted that I'd miscalculated. Maybe I was walking at a much slower pace than I projected. Maybe I had overshot.
I didn't know, and the day seemed to be wasting. All I wanted to the smallest fucking indication
>am I on the right path?
I could sense the panic more than ever before, but if anything, I was angry. I was gonna be that hedonistic chump who stirs up the SAR choppers for no good reason. It hit me how embarrassing it would be when they found me...if they found me. These emotions flooded me. It felt like bathing in raw insecurity.
I took a deep breath. I decided to take a water/snack break, and just fucking breath. Fuck the map. Fuck the sun (useless for direction that far north in the summer). Fuck the worl-
The sight hit me like a gentle brick.
barely visible through thick brush was the brilliant white of a park bus. It looked like a little pill it was so far away
The distance meant nothing. I cannot describe the relief I felt. I dead headed across two rivers and some gnarly bush to get to the highway, lighter than a kite the whole time. Bus picked me up, and I was on my way back. Initiated.
Turns out my course was far longer than I had ever expected, and I was picked up right near the Toklat river rest stop.
Purely unique experience that taught me a great deal about a lot of things
>>635729
So you were given a wrong map as some sort of initiation? That sounds fucked up
>>635726
That's fascinating.
>>635729
> depression is all mental
> truck stuck in snow
> decide to hike it to cabin
> know the way, back way, sideways
> perfect whiteout!
> wifie, stepdaughter getting scared
> I can't wayfind for shit, no features
> family huddle
> take time, take break, explain we can:t be lost here's why
> setout again
> through fog, slightest break, see barberwire fence
> off by a bit, but they she is
Later, wifeypoo said the talk was a real boost, I didn't realize how desperate she felt. But we weren't lost.
>>635726
>>635729
> guide
> hiking 1.5 days before realising you don't have the right map
> not being able to navigate with the sun
I sure hope he gave you a road map with very large scale and not something topographical. I sure hope you didn't have a watch on you. I sure hope you weren't a guide for anything /out/ related.
>>635853
read it again, felicia
unless you can't...
>>635861
well i read it again and realize i read it just fine.
So, for real, what kind of map were you given? Did you have a watch or any other indication of the time? What kind of guide were you?
>>635877
Not even him, but he's talking about Alaska which (compared to the lower 48) is so far north certain navigation doctrines begin to crumble, eg
>sunrise/set as east/west references
>moss on trees
>time having any useful relation to sun position
>ability to gauge remaining daylight with the horizon-hand method
Ever hiked up beyond the Yukon?
>>635924
well, cant he just fucking answer my questions. I know way up north in the summer the inclination of the sun doesn't differ that much but the earth is still turning around you dense fucks. If you know the time, or have a slight idea about the time, you should be able to navigate. At 6 pm the sun is still gonna be somewere close to the west you dense fucks, Its not about inclination but about direction. And even without a watch if you lose all perception of time not having the slightest idea if its evening or morning after 3 hours in the woods you still shouldn't be a fucking guide you dumb fucks. Now tell me about your map...
Yes, in the German Eiffel region.
>have no physical map, only phone
>no problem because there's signs everywhere basically
>weather is decent
>decide to take an off-trail shortcut
>first up hill through thick forest, after that there's about 30km of highlands
>I cut through about 5km of that, 5 more to go
>marked off region: uncleared minefield, need to go other way
>out of fucking nowhere a snowstorm appears
>literally horizon vision and 30 minutes later I had 20 meters vision
>phone turns off, can't turn it on. Water bottles freeze
>all I see is grass, walk for 10 minutes seeing only grass and gray air
>don't know which direction I'm going g, have no compass because it's a baby tier hiking area
>run into a destroyed bunker, been her before some months ago
>know there should be another one within 30 meters but I can't see it
>FML
>gamble on what is south and just keep walking that direction.
>run into road 1 hohr later, I walked east but OK
>have to hike 2 hours in pitch black darkness to train station
Sounds like I'm the dumbest hiker ever but really I've never felt so lost as in a blizzard on highlands. Just snow and grass on all sides and can't see shit, even though I was just 2 hours away from a road
>>635924
This.
I did a two week trip north up in Norway. It sounds crazy but after a while you're just not sure if the sun is setting or rizing. The sun just shines all day except for maybe 2-3 hours but it's still bright as day. To make matters worse you're up so far north that the difference between magnetic and geographical north pole is actually noticeably off, I felt like it was 10-15 degrees or so.
>>636301
Again, this guy was still way under the north pole circle so the sun still goes under at night, i'm pretty sure it can be confusing especially on a two week trip, but this guy was supposed to be a guide at that latitude, in an area with a lot of landmarks, just for 1 night, and he cant figure out he had the wrong map, sorry but i find it highly unprofessional, dangerous and unsettling they let someone like that be a guide that is supposed to be responsible for other people
>>635634
I consider myself "lost" when I end up in a place I didn't intend to be.
That doesn't mean I haven't been able to correct it and get myself out, but it means I made a mistake which had the potential to get worse.
I've done this three times: once when walking straight into the woods in a place with no trail, and twice when I got turned around in a whiteout on unfamiliar terrain. All times I was able to orient myself and get back, but I don't deny it was a mistake and take it as something to learn from.
>>636307
Must not have the greatest sense of geography, lad, beginning with thinking Norway is farther north than Alaska. The summer there is actually intense - it got up past 90*F recently and flora grow to jurassic park proportions. Why? Because the sun practically doesn't set, and at it's lowest point you wouldn't even need a flashlight.
>area with a lot of landmarks
You're now aware that Denali has no trails, one highway, and is one of the most dynamic environments I've ever been in regarding elevation. This is what skewed map readings and projections from the start, and led me slightly off.
But if anything, I either chose the right path back on instinct, or hiked much faster than I ever thought I could with 2.5-3 stones on my back. I lived, and I learned. I'd do it again and understand why it's a form of initiation.
Tell us how you would have done better, but please don't project your insecurities on my successes
>>636307
I'd also add that I had never lost my sense of direction, or even my general relation to the highway. If I wanted, I could hike due north at any point to get back to it. Maybe I wasn't lost, but I chose to continue down a path that, though my map didn't say so, felt right to me. And it was. I had to separate myself from the map, anon, practically transcending it to survive. I hope one day you get to experience it too
>>636363
>got up past 90*F recently
I don't mean in the past few days or weeks - I meant the general summer temps over the past few years. It's been getting uncharacteristically hot. Didn't really have to deal with the temps in Denali what with all the wind, but I can't stress enough how erratically the sun seems to behave in the weeks surrounding summer solstice - just kinda plays around in circles in the sky, dipping low when it's night but never disappearing
>>636363
>>636365
>>636369
Denali: 63°
arctic circle: 66°
Look at this map for comparison of Norway and Alaska. They stretch over about the same latitude. Oh oops, sorry i forgot you cant read a map.
You are really stupid are you? these are facts you can't deny. And you are supposed to be a guide that informs people?
And you can only navigate on human made landmarks? What about rivers, lakes, patches of forest, mountain passes, mountain tops, elevation changes?
Its bad enough you, as a guide, couldn't figure out you had the wrong map, but it's so much worse you are sprouting all this bullshit defending yourself.
>>636381
Sorry got some error uploading the map
>>636384
no reason to get angry on the internet, sprout
>means the suns will always go under. You liar
Never really said it wouldn't
Listen, I could never hope to thoroughly convey the context and details of my experience. If you wanted a blog, look elsewhere. You haven't even mentioned your own credentials or experience on which to judge mine, so I'm gonna go ahead and ignore any further derision
>>636409
>just kinda plays around in circles in the sky, dipping low when it's night but never disappearing
> Never really said it wouldn't
you sure didn't
Yeah i got mad cause you are giving wrong information on stuff that could matter to other people's lives. I wouldn't give that much of a shit but you stated you were a guide, and that gives you a certain level of responsibility. I m sorry i got caried away so much by the discussion and for the personal insults. I understand it you learned a lot out of your experience in Denali, and appreciate you told this forum about it, but i hope you did learn a bit out of this thread as well. I did, and i apologize again for my rudeness. Best of luck
>>636448
Thank you for saying that, anon. I never meant to mislead anybody (and certainly not frustrate you), only share my subjective experience. My memory can't be perfect, but I hope people get something from sharing it
>>636294
You aren't getting it are you. At a certain point, the sun goes in circles in the sky, and if you don't know the time you cannot orient yourself with it. And you can't always tell if it is morning or night, especially when the sun is shining all day.
I've never been lost in that I couldn't make it back to civilization, but I have been lost in the sense I couldn't make it to my intended destination. Me a couple others tried to climb Mt. Whitney through a really unconventional cross country way. We didn't bring a compass or anything since we were trail hikers before that and didn't know shit. It was a 3 day in and out hike and we ended up approaching an unexpected giant scree wall. We tried and failed to climb it. And then we tried to circle around it. Ultimately we ran out of time with no clue on how to scale the mountain and no clue on how much longer it would take. We were just too unprepared to take the path we wanted to. However, the next year we went back to climb it using the conventional single day trail climb and I have since become a much better cross country /out/doorsman.
Honestly, not taking a map to wilderness is really fucking stupid....
Pen name, totally not a map that has no vision of terrain 10km from a car to the area map is showing. Totally not walking wrong direction when roaming back to car and totally not walking 15km more than necessary because of it.
I knew I was not exactly lost, but what I didn't know was where the fuck the car or road was. Walking hours after hours not knowing where the hell you are exactly supposed to go can really get into head real fast.
>Not using landmarks
Was pitch black early winter heavily snowing on cloudy day. Couldn't see any trails either.
Yeah, for 6 hours.
No phone, no map, no anything.
We walked a big fucking circle until we spotted some tree that had called our attention near the beginning.
>>635729
Did you die?
Why don't you follow those transmission lines back to civilization? Or are you that guy who digs large poles?
When I was 17 I went hiking in some state land behind my house.
TL;DR broke my compass, ended up wandering for a few hours until I found a seasonal road that led to a paved road that was about 3-4 miles from my house.
Pretty embarrassing experience desu but I was never really worried.
