Estimating The Time Till Sunset ©

 

From Bushcraft, Scouting & Woodlore: Notes, Vol. I, Figure 351

For the first installment of the Oelslager Files, I decided to discuss how to estimate how many minutes of day light you have remaining until the sun goes down behind the local or apparent horizon.  This is a well-known tip and I have used this wrinkle often over the years.  It is a good tip to know; not only because the time of sunset varies throughout the year, but also because the amount of daylight you have remaining, depends mostly on the terrain that you are in, wooded, hilly or flat.

The science behind this wrinkle is; the Sun stays still and does not move across the sky, the Earth rotates, and the Sun only appears to move or set. Since, the Earth rotates through 360° in every 24-hour period; this apparent movement equals 15° per hour.  Additionally, your hands and fingers are remarkably accurate measuring tools, and when you hold your hand at arm’s length, your four fingers together measure about 6^o or about 60 minutes of time and therefore each finger equals about 15 minutes. 

 

From Brian Ventrudo, “Measuring The Sky”

Dr. R. W. Oeslager wrote that you should hold your hands at arm’s length and count how many fingers fit between the bottom of the sun and the edge of the local horizon, be it a hill, ridge, or edge of a forest.  He also wrote that you should allow 10 minutes of daylight remaining for each finger; other experts calculate approximately 15 minutes per finger.  I believe that the reason for Dr. Oelslager’s estimate of 10 minutes per finger, was that he was primarily writing for Boy Scouts, who would have had smaller fingers than an adult would.  Since each person's finger-size varies, to make sure that this tip produces accurate results for you, experiment at home with a watch, to see if you have 10- or 15-minute fingers.  My fingers give a very good estimate of time, at 15 minutes per finger.

This technique will give you a good estimate of the time remaining until local sunset, particularly if you are near the equator.  However, nearer the poles, you might have more time before sun goes down, below the local horizon, than you would estimate if you were closer to the equator. 

In any case, you should always set up or start back to camp, or if you are misplaced, start building a shelter and a fire, before what woodsman call the “big dark”, when there are eight fingers or about two hours of daylight remaining.  This is similar to Emerson Hough’s First Strict Camp Rule for hunters who were out during the late fall or winter, which states, “…start home at half past two or three in the afternoon.”  By returning to or building you camp, while you still have two hours of daylight remaining, you will reduce your chance of having an accidental overnight adventure or injuring yourself as you make an overnight trek through the wilderness.

Sources:

“Calculating Sunset Time With Your Fingers”, http://awesci.com/calculating-sunset-time-with-your-fingers/, (accessed 11/27/18)

Loring Chien, “How fast does the sun move across the sky?”, January 15, 2018, https://www.quora.com/How-fast-does-the-sun-move-across-the-sky, (accessed 11/27/18)

Emerson Hough, Out Of Doors, (D. Appleton and Company, New York, New York [1915]) p. 269 - 282, reprinted in https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QadnZNQ1xrsbkS3T4VJlC_uZQ8t4yj2UNH5POGbNio-1SDyFM8TAqUfl7ciDY5CuNZxvnnE0Pcxf1j6Thu_zOs5kz8rgR9MOtsbTxVgRVa3bwaKo0-D5YX2T4JaBO_z6G8vgwFNgLiJ9XCfBVnn9K4qR7ZFa0faNe3zmvfWDfmEo049sqXQlw697XIHDWNblRJj9niiabZoBB7aQHl82tf4y03cpU2hMdLVADF-7P2pvJKsZbLDnJN8ncLZ9IftMudapmn8E, (accessed 11/8/18)

Dr. Robert. W. Oelslager, Bushcraft, Scouting & Woodlore: Notes, Vol. I, Privately Published

Susan Newquist, “Let Your Fingers Tell Time”, July 31, 2000, https://www.backpacker.com/skills/let-your-fingers-tell-time, (accessed 11/27/18)

Brian Ventrudo, “Measuring The Sky”, April 19, 2009, https://oneminuteastronomer.com/860/measuring-sky/, (accessed 11/27/18)

The Oelslager Files

More than ten years ago now, I was introduced to the writings of Dr. Robert. W. “Doc” Oelslager.  I had stumbled across a PDF copy of his Bushcraft, Scouting & Woodlore: Notes, Vol. I, it was full of all sorts on interesting tidbits on outdoor life and woods lore.  I was enthralled! 

 

The Forward from Bushcraft, Scouting & Woodlore: Notes, Vol. I

Since the title ended with the words “Vol. I”, I assumed that there must be a Volume II, and so I began a search for the elusive Dr. R. W. Oelslager.  In 2008, an internet search for someone was not as easily done as it is today, especially since I only knew his first initial and not his whole first name. 

I got lucky and I found an address that I thought might work, and so I drafted a letter and mailed it out with hope and crossed fingers, on May 23, 2008.  Then I waited and waited so more.  You see unknown to me, while I had mailed my message in a bottle to the right address, Dr. Robert W. Oelslager was suffering from Alzheimers and my letter sat on his desk, as neither he nor his wife knew what to do with it.  It wasn’t until 2009, that I received a message back from his son, Robert J. Oelslager.

Robert J. Oelslager informed that his Father was not well and had been moved to an assisted living facility at about the same time that I had written to him.  He wrote me “Dad was never intent on making a lot of money with the book, his greater concern was that the book GETS USED.  It was intended to be a resource for Scouters, Scouts and outdoorsmen alike.  He felt the information should be put into practice and passed on.”  He also informed me that his father had been called “Doc” for the 55 years that he had been active with the Boy Scouts.

I promised him that I would do my best to make sure that his Father’s writings were passed on and he sent me, six volumes of his Father’s writings.  He also let me know that Dr. Robert William “Doc” Oelslager had lost his battle with Alzheimers on February 14, 2010.

Ten years ago, blogging was in its infancy, quite honestly even having a website was cutting edge, and I didn’t know how to go about keeping my promise.  The years came and went and so did personal tragedies and my promise remained unfilled.

I am happy to say that today I know how to keep my promise to Robert J. Oelslager and will begin to publish his Father’s works on my blog page under the label “The Oelslager Files”.  I hope that Scouters, Scouts and outdoorsman alike all get all of the same enjoyment, entertainment and education that I have.

Sources:

Dr. Robert. W. Oelslager, Bushcraft, Scouting & Woodlore: Notes, Vol. I, Privately Published

Leek Tart, which is also known as Pâte Aux Poireaux

 

Leek Tart, cooked by the Author

I thought since it was Thanksgiving Day and because I had just posted a cooking article called “18^th Century Hearth Cooking, Versus Field Cooking, or How I Spent My Weekend”, in which I wrote about making a Leek Tart, I would post the recipe.  This “receipt”, as they would have spelled recipe, during the 18^th century, was also known as ‘Pâte Aux Poireaux’, and it is delicious.  I would like to thank all of the re-enactors/instructors at ‘Old Fort Niagara’ for their patience and time and, especially, Kate for giving me the recipes.  I hope that you enjoy cooking and eating this very tasty piece of history.

 

Cooking the roux, by the Author

 

Leek Tart before the cheese, by the Author

 

Leek Tart before baking, by the Author

Leek Tart or Pâte Aux Poireaux

6 Tbsp. butter                                                                                     2 Tbsp. light cream

4-5 leeks, finely chopped                                                                   9 inch pie shell (see below *)

2 Tbsp. flour                                                                                       ½ cup water

1 cup mild Cheddar cheese, grated                                                    1 egg

Chop the leeks; be sure to use only the white and light green part of the vegetable.  In a large heavy pan, melt 4 Tbsp. butter over medium heat and cook leeks stirring often for about 10 minutes.  Add the water, cover, and simmer gently for about 20 to 25 minutes, until very tender.

In a saucepan, melt the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook until bubbly.  (You are making a roux.)  Blend in the leek mixture and bring to a boil.  Season it with salt and pepper.  Remove from the heat and cool slightly.  Grate the cheese if not already done.

In a bowl beat the egg and cream together and stir into the leek mixture.  Pour into an unbaked pie shell.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake it in a 400^oF oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown.

* A puff paste or a raised yeast crust is probably more correct for the early period, but a regular pie or tart shell may also be used, especially after 1759.  This receipt is from the Île d’Orléans and is related to the Flamiche aux poireaux, a savory leek tart from the northern regions of France and Flanders.  The green onion is a scallion or an échalote, but not a shallot, according to Quebec’s Office de la langue française.  The shallot is a small onion with a red skin.

Onions were a favorite Quebec food and were traditionally grown in such quantities in Beauport, an area north of Quebec City, that farmers used to be nicknamed les oignons de Beauport,  In the Île d’Orléans, leeks are still a favorite and the farmers in the island are still called les poireaux because of their fondness for them.

A Cold Crust or Pie Dough

A cold Crust:

TO three pounds of Flour, rub in a Pound and half of Butter; break in two Eggs, and make it up with cold Water.

- From Hannah Glasse, The art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy, 1747, 1796 & 1805

Modern Half Receipt Adaption:

Half of the above receipt makes a double crust 12 inch pie.

5 cups unbleached flour                                                                     1 medium egg

¾ lb. or 3 sticks of cold butter                                                           Up to ¼ cup of cold water

Cut the cold butter into small pieces in the mixing bowl.  Add all but 2 spoonful of flour; mix thoroughly by rubbing the mixture against the side of the bowl with a spoon.  Break in the egg and mix thoroughly into the flour and butter mixture.  Add cold water, a spoonful at a time, mixing well after each addition.  When dough holds together, form it into a ball.

Place dough on a lightly floured wooden board.  Pound the dough with the rolling pin until it stays together.  This step is REALLY important!  Divide dough in half.  Roll half of the dough into a circle about 15 inches in diameter.  Fold in half and lift carefully into the pie plate and gently unfold.  Press crust down so that it is touching the pie plate everywhere.  Bake or fill according to the directions for tart or pie.

18th Century Hearth Cooking, Versus Field Cooking, or How I Spent My Weekend

 

Leek Tart cooked by the Author

A couple of Saturdays ago, I took an 18^th Century Hearth Cooking class at ‘Old Fort Niagara’, in Lewiston, NY.  It was a great class and we cooked a variety of dishes in the ‘boulangerie’ of the ‘Old Castle’.  Everything was cooked on the large kitchen hearth, built into the outside wall of the room, and all of the baking was to be done in the bake oven, that was built outside the far end of the Old Castle.  Unfortunately, the oven was not able to hold its temperature due to high winds off Lake Ontario, so all of the baking had to be done in Dutch-ovens.  I was part of the team that cooked a leek tart, and the leeks and the roux filling were cooked over the coals at the front of the hearth, before baking the tart.  It was great fun!  I learned a lot and everything tasted great, but how would this apply to field cooking in the wilderness?

 

Emerson Hough, Out Of Doors, p. 262

First things first, in both hearth and field cooking, coals are for cooking or boiling and flames are for broiling or frying.  This is old advice, Emerson Hough wrote about this in 1915 and it is still good advice today.

 

The Kitchen Heath, in the “Boulangerie” of the “Old Castle” of Old Fort Niagara

In the kitchen hearth, pictured above, we piled up the wood and had three fires burning at the back of the fireplace against the fire back.  The pots of water and soup were hung and set to boil from the iron fireplace cranes at the back of the hearth, over the flames.  As the wood burned down to hot coals, the glowing embers were dragged to the front of the hearth, where the various sauces and casseroles were cooked on iron trivets, four to five inches above the glowing embers. 

In the field, the Backlog fire is the closest that the outdoor cook will get to the kitchen hearth.  A backlog, according to 1899 edition of The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia is, “A large log placed at the back of an open wood-fire to sustain combustion and concentrate the heat”.  A backlog, just like a fire back in a kitchen hearth, will reflect the heat forward. 

To build a Backlog fire in the field, first decide if you are building it of logs or stone.  The classic backlog fire is built with a wooden backlog and two wooden side-logs, however if wood is scarce, all or part of it can be built with stones; with a stone back and two rows of side-stones.  Before we go any further, please remember this important safety note, when building a fire lay with stones, porous stones gathered from wet ground or streambeds may hold enough water to explode when heated by a campfire, you should always use non-porous or dry rocks.

 

All above from Charles F. Smith, Games and Recreational Methods, Boy Scout Edition, p 273-276

Illustration by the Author

When building a classic backlog fire, place either a large slow-burning backlog at an angle of about sixty degrees to the direction of the wind.  Next, build a Trapper fire, also sometimes called a Hunter fire, at a right angle to the backlog.  A Trapper fire lay is built by setting two side-logs, to act as firedogs or andirons, to support your cooking pots and to contain and reflect the heat from the hot coals as they are pulled forward from the fire.  The side-logs are either set parallel or in an open-ended ‘V’, with the open end at a distance apart that will accommodate the size of you cooking gear and the ends closest to the back-log about four to six inches apart.  The side-logs and the backlog confine and reflect the heat of the fire and control the draft.  To increase the draft you can raise the side-logs at the open end by a placing small stick, called ‘dampers-stick’ under them, this allows air to flow under the side-logs.  Because the backlog is set at an angle of sixty degrees from the direction of the wind, the perpendicular side-logs will be angled towards the wind, but not directly into it. 

 

From Gilcraft, Scouting Out-Of-Doors, p 21

The last thing to do before you build and light your fire is to put up your ‘dingle’ stick or pot crane.  Your dingle stick should be straight and strong enough to hold a pot of water over the fire, it should also be notched or have a branch stub left at the upper end to hold your pot bail.  Sharpen the lower end of your dingle stick, shove it into the earth, while leaning it against the rear of the backlog or a forked stick, and hold the lower end down with a heavy rock or forked stick or two as ground stakes.

Lastly, build your fire between the side-logs and against the backlog and rake the hot embers to the front of the ‘V’ as they develop.  The side-logs will support your pots and you can boil more than one pot and fry something at the same time.

 

Author’s vintage iron pot, by the Author

 

From Gilcraft, Scouting Out-Of-Doors, p 26 

So you have your cooking, boiling and frying taken care of, but what about your baking?  Most people aren’t going to be baking a Leek Tart in in the field, but if you were, how would you do it?  If you have a Dutch oven, you can set it up at the wide end of your Trapper fire.  Dutch ovens work great, but personally, I don’t like to carry them with me in the wilderness, because they are heavy.  Gilcraft, however suggested a solution to this problem, when he wrote that you could use an iron cooking pot, as an oven, instead, placing it at the wide end of your trapper fire.  “Using a strong iron bowl as an oven, first scrape away all of the leaves and forest litter, to expose the mineral soil, and light a fire and keep it going until the ground is quite hot and there is a good supply of coals; rake the embers away leaving a clear patch in the middle large enough to take a pan, bowl or plate that contains the item to be roasted or baked.  Next invert your iron bowl over your baking plate so that it rest evenly on the ground all of the way around the bowl.  Now rake the embers back all of the way around the bowl, but not on top of it.  Keep a good hot fire going around the bowl for five minutes, after that a slow fire should be maintained.  You can place a billy-can of water on top of the bowl to boil while your food bakes.”  This solves the weight problem, since my 10” across and 5”deep iron pot, without a cover, weighs a mere 4-1/4 pounds, as compared to a Lodge brand Dutch oven of the same size, which weighs just over 13 pounds. 

Gilcraft’s solution mentions “slow fire”, in modern terms this is low to medium heat and can be achieved in the field, by steadily adding small and medium-sized pieces of hardwood, just enough to maintain a low or ‘slow’ fire, as your food cooks.

Happy Cooking!

Sources:

Explorer Manual, (Boy Scouts of America, New York, NY [1950]) p. 113-118

Samuel Fatzinger, "Jamming Out with Rosemary", 11/27/17, Early Modern Recipes Online Collective (emroc), https://emroc.hypotheses.org/date/2017/11, (accessed 11/20/18)

Gilcraft, Scouting Out-Of-Doors, The Gilcraft Series, No. 3, (C. Arthur Pearson Ltd., London [1926]) p. 15-26, reprinted in http://www.thedump.scoutscan.com/ScoutingOutdoors.pdf, (accessed 11/8/18)

Emerson Hough, Out Of Doors, (D. Appleton and Company, New York, New York [1915]) p. 262, reprinted in https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QadnZNQ1xrsbkS3T4VJlC_uZQ8t4yj2UNH5POGbNio-1SDyFM8TAqUfl7ciDY5CuNZxvnnE0Pcxf1j6Thu_zOs5kz8rgR9MOtsbTxVgRVa3bwaKo0-D5YX2T4JaBO_z6G8vgwFNgLiJ9XCfBVnn9K4qR7ZFa0faNe3zmvfWDfmEo049sqXQlw697XIHDWNblRJj9niiabZoBB7aQHl82tf4y03cpU2hMdLVADF-7P2pvJKsZbLDnJN8ncLZ9IftMudapmn8E, (accessed 11/8/18)

Leonard Miracle and Maurice H. Decker, Complete Book of Camping, (Outdoor Life, Harper & Row, New York, NY [1963]) p. 330-332

Clyde Ormond, Complete Book of Outdoor Lore, (Outdoor Life, Harper & Row, New York, NY [1966]) p. 125-128

Charles F. Smith, Games and Recreational Methods, Boy Scout Edition, (Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, NY [1925]) p. 273-276

Barbara Swell, Log Cabin Cooking, (Native Ground Music, Inc., Asheville, NC [1996]) p. 7

William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: A Work of Universal, Volume 1, (the Century Company, New York, New York [1899]) p. 414, reprinted in https://books.google.com/books?id=0Ng5AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22the+century+dictionary+and+cyclopedia%22+volume+1&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4heyctMXeAhWmr1kKHSbDBHg4KBDoAQgpMAA#v=onepage&q=%22the%20century%20dictionary%20and%20cyclopedia%22%20volume%201&f=false, (accessed 11/8/18)

Getting Lost And What To Do About It”, Circa 1915 ©

Recently I was reading Emerson Hough’s book Out Of Doors, which he wrote in 1915, included in his book is a chapter about “Getting Lost And What To Do About It”, in which he wrote extensively about the “psychology of getting lost”.  I was struck by the similarities between what he was teaching then, in what we now call the Classic Era of Camping, and what modern survival experts teach today.  Therefore, I thought I would do a review “Getting Lost And What To Do About It”, circa 1915.

In the chapter, “Getting Lost And What To Do About It”, Emerson Hough described several examples of what he called the “psychology of getting lost”, what today we call “Woods Shock”, he also offered some advice, two rules and a number of recommendations about what to do to prevent it.  Emerson Hough described the psychology of getting lost, as a battle between your fearful, subconscious mind and your civilized, reasoning, conscious mind.  Woods shock as a phenomenon was first written about in Nature, in 1873, and is still used today to explain the psychology of getting lost.

So what exactly do we mean by the word “lost”?  Classically when you are lost, you are so disoriented and turned around that you do not know where you are or how to how to get back to safety.  However, there are other situations in the wilderness where you might be considered lost, such as when you injure yourself so badly that you can no longer travel, you find yourself stuck in impassable terrain, or you are caught away from camp by nightfall.  All of these are dangerous situations and how you react to them will determine if you are “lost” or simply “misplaced” and having an “unexpected adventure”.  The American Heritage Dictionary definition of lost, which is “Unable to function, act, or make progress; helpless”, offers an interesting way of looking at these situations.  In all the situations above, according to this definition, as long as you are able to function and are not helpless, you are not lost.  Therefore, if you keep your head and act in a calm, reasoned and conscious manner, you are only misplaced and are having an unexpected adventure.  If you lose your head, act with your subconscious mind and panic, then you are surely lost and you will experience woods shock. 

Woods shock is the panic and fear people feel when they become helpless; this is a very real condition, it happens often and can progress quickly in a survival situation in the wilderness.  Woods shock is a progression of stages that begins with some form of emergency and five stages later ends with resignation and death.  In the classical example of a lost person, it begins with the realization that they are turned around and don’t know where they are.  Understanding the five stages of woods shock can save your life, the failure to understand the slippery slope that you are standing on, can lead to a fatal fall. 

 

The Five Stages of “Woods Shock”, drawn by the author

Everyone who spends time in the outdoors will at one time or the other become confused, disoriented or as I like to say “misplaced”.  The Disorientation Stage is a springboard to the five stages on the trajectory of woods shock.  In this stage, people will realize that they are confused, disoriented and are uncertain of where they are or more importantly how to get back.  If you stop and think and keep your head, you can break the cycle and avoid be catapulted into the “Urgency Stage” of woods shock.

The Urgency Stage is the first of the five stages on the trajectory of woods shock.  In this stage, you become progressively more confused and frantic as you begin “bending the map”.  In this stage, people will to try to force their map or compass to agree with their preconceived notions of where they think they are, instead of letting their map or compass inform them of where they actually are.  Also, in this stage people will frequently believe that their compass is broken, if it does not agree with their preconceived notions of where they are.  If you do not stop and think, but instead give in to your fears, you will transition to second stage of woods shock: “Panic”.

In the Panic Stage of woods shock, you will begin running, sweating excessively, not noticing the sun going down, bursting through brush, pushing through swamps or rivers, scrambling up hills, shedding your gear, gun, pack and clothing in an attempt to go faster and find safety.  Your odds of surviving this stage of woods shock are small, as people have been known to run off a cliff or into a tree in their panic, especially after dark.  Emerson Hough wrote about this stage, “There is a special danger for city men or middle-aged men who get lost and are seized by panic…let him run and fall and perspire, and pant and run some more, and he is ready to chill and die without much further preparation, if the weather is very cold.”

The third step on the trajectory of woods shock is the “Planning Stage”.  This stage claims those people who have survived the Panic stage and have stopped running due to exhaustion, injury, dehydration or hypothermia.  In this stage, victims belatedly attempt to make a logical plan to rescue themselves and return to a familiar place.  For most lost persons who have reached this stage of woods shock, whatever plan they make will fail, due to exhaustion, injury, dehydration or hypothermia and the fact that their panicked flight through the wilderness has only gotten them more lost.

The realization that their plan for survival has failed, will throw victims into the “Fatigue Stage” of woods shock.  As the lost person begins to realize that their plan has failed, they will either drop back to the Panic Stage or they will give up and make no further effort to save themselves.  Unless they find the will to live, they will slide imperceptibly into the last and final stage of woods shock: “Resignation and Death”.

Unless you find a reason to live, the final stage of woods shock will claim you and you will die in the wilderness.  Research suggests that the will to survive depends on mental strengths such as, a sense of humor, the ability to live in the moment, instead of giving into negative emotions and hopelessness and the determination to see loved ones again (this is the reason why many modern survival experts recommend putting pictures of those you love into your survival kit).  Emerson Hough acknowledged this last stage of woods shock when he wrote, “…a tenderfoot was lost for two days and nights.  He was trailed by good woodsmen over all sorts of country.  At last the trail stopped at a log, where the man had sat down exhausted.  He had fallen over backward – and lay there dead, a victim of his own panic.”

Since, as Emerson Hough observed in 1915, even good woodsmen and guides can and do get lost, what should you do to break the trajectory of woods shock and prevent the psychology of getting lost from claiming another victim? 

Above all else, you must not panic; you must control your mind and make rational decisions and plans, preferably, when you first realize that you are turned around and are at the Disorientation stage of woods shock.  You can do this by following Emerson Hough’s advice, rules, and recommendations, which he put to paper in 1915: even though these are more than 100 years old, they are timeless because they deal with the human element of the psychology of getting lost.

Emerson Hough noted that many travelers in the wilderness are in the habit of “passing landmarks without noting them”, this is a recipe for losing yourself in the woods.  Since it is far easier to avoid becoming disoriented or confused, then it is to find yourself once you have become misplaced, Mr. Hough advised that when you are travelling in the wilderness “…to turn around and look back” and notice landmarks, since this is what your path will look like when you head home in the evening.  

Mr. Hough had two “Strict Camp Rules” which he advocated.  Rule One, is “…start home at half past two or three in the afternoon.”  This is a very good rule to remember, especially in the winter months when darkness comes early, because travelling at night can be dangerous, particularly if you do not have a flashlight. 

If you find that you do not know your way back or, you cannot make it back before dark, you should follow Rule Two which is “…if a man is lost he must stop and build a fire, and wait until he is found.”  This rule is still taught today, in an October 2008, article in the Sun Journal, the author wrote “Admit that you are lost and stay put.  Start a fire.  Someone will find you”, when writing about what is taught in new hunter training in Maine.  This rule engages your rational, conscious mind and it helps you stay calm and keeps you from panicking.  Mr. Hough elaborated on Rule Two with the following, “Sit down and think it over.”  He also wrote, “Do not brood or think, but keep busy.”  Lastly, he added, “When you first feel panic, therefore, pull yourself together strongly.”  “Light a pipe if you smoke.  Build a fire in any case.”  In his writings, Emerson Hough foreshadowed todays S.T.O.P. acronym, which is a way of remembering what to do when you are misplaced.  This acronym stands for Stop, stay put, stay calm; Think, gather your thoughts and evaluate your situation; Observe your surroundings and inventory your supplies; Plan for your safety, decide how to best use the tools and supplies that you have.

In addition to his two rules, Mr. Hough made the following recommendations:

“Look at your compass and then think of something.”  Mr. Hough added, “If you have two compasses look at both of them.”  The author further explained his point with the following short story: “…‘One compass is of no use’, said one gentleman.  ‘For that reason I always carry two.’…He went on to explain: ‘I know of this being tried,’ said he.  ‘When a man has the panic of being lost fully upon him he never believes his compass; but when he takes out his second compass and sees it is pointing just the way his first one does, somehow his reason gets a sudden jolt and he concludes that the majority must be right.  That starts him to reasoning again, and then he is usually safe’…”  The thought behind the author’s two compass wrinkle is, when a misplaced person is bending the map to fit his preconceived notion of where he thinks he is, he may believe that one of his compasses is broken, but not both of them.

“If it is nearly dark and you must lie out, do not wait too long.  Darkness comes at four o’clock in winter…”

“Get behind some windbreak and have plenty of wood for your fire.”  The author also recommended that you, “Always have some wood close at hand to throw on the fire should you wake up chilled and shivering.” And, “When in doubt get some more wood, for it will certainly take a lot.”

“If it is very cold build a fire; then rake it away and lie on the warmed ground.”  In addition the author wrote, “You can build two smaller fires, and so keep warm on both sides.”

“Don’t eat snow, and drink hot water rather than cold, if you have any way of boiling it.”

“Whistle once in a while.”

Lastly, it does no good to decide to build a fire, if you forgot to bring any matches, and have no way of lighting it.  Anytime that you go into the wilderness you should always carry basic survival tools.  Emerson Hough anticipated the Ten Essentials, which were developed in the 1930s, by ‘The Mountaineers’, a Seattle-based organization for climbers and outdoor adventurers, when he recommended that you always carry the following equipment with you when you go out into the wilderness and that “This equipment will do you no good if you do not keep it on your person”.

“You must have a map, either in your pocket or in your mind; and you must know where you are on that map.”  Emerson Hough also wrote, “And you should remember that the compass without a map, in either your pocket or your mind, is worthless.”

“…two compasses – not one…”

“…two match-boxes, one absolutely water-proof and held in reserve…”

“…an axe with a good edge…”

“…a knife with a good, strong blade…”

“…a lunch of some sort – or, better still, some prunes or raisins and cakes of chocolate…”

Emerson Hough, in 1915, just as modern survival experts do today, recommended some hard and fast rules; the importance setting and accomplishing of small tasks, like stopping, thinking, developing a plan, building a shelter, gathering firewood, starting a fire, or doing whatever the next most important survival task there is to do; and always carrying basic survival tools.  By following his “Strict Camp Rules” the traveler in the wilderness would avoid becoming misplaced or at worst, would not panic and become lost.  In addition, by setting and accomplishing tasks, a misplaced person’s mind is kept busy, which prevents panic by bringing the conscious part of their mind to the forefront, while pushing their subconscious fears away and giving them a sense of winning.  Lastly, by carrying some basic survival tools it will give them confidence, since they know that they will have the tools that they need to survive an unexpected overnighter.  This breaks the psychology of getting lost and stops a person who is only misplaced from panicking, catapulting into woods shock and being lost.

Sources:

Emerson Hough, Out Of Doors, (D. Appleton and Company, New York, New York [1915]) p. 269 - 282, reprinted in https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QadnZNQ1xrsbkS3T4VJlC_uZQ8t4yj2UNH5POGbNio-1SDyFM8TAqUfl7ciDY5CuNZxvnnE0Pcxf1j6Thu_zOs5kz8rgR9MOtsbTxVgRVa3bwaKo0-D5YX2T4JaBO_z6G8vgwFNgLiJ9XCfBVnn9K4qR7ZFa0faNe3zmvfWDfmEo049sqXQlw697XIHDWNblRJj9niiabZoBB7aQHl82tf4y03cpU2hMdLVADF-7P2pvJKsZbLDnJN8ncLZ9IftMudapmn8E, (accessed 11/8/18)

Laurence Gonzales, Deep Survival, (W. W. Norton & Company, New York, NY [2003]) p.156 -157

Keith McCafferty, ‘Woods Shock Can Kill’, Field & Stream, October 2006, Volume CXI, Number 6, p. 40 reprinted in https://books.google.com/books?id=Gv5GUqHcT8wC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false, (accessed 11/8/18)

Kenneth Hill, Dr., “Psychology of Lost”, reprinted in http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.692.1704&rep=rep1&type=pdf, (accessed 9/24/18)

Kevin Felts, “Woods shock the silent killer”, http://www.survivalboards.com/2009-05-27/woods-shock-the-silent-killer/, (accessed 9/24/18)

“Some are born to survive”, (Sun Journal, October 8, 2008), reprinted in http://www.sunjournal.com/born-survive/, (accessed 11/20/18)