If
YOU are lost1, what do you do to be found, and if THEY are lost, how
do you find them?
There
are two types of lost people, the mentally-able, those with the ability to
plan, learn and respond correctly to an emergency, and the mentally-impaired, for
example2, those suffering from Alzheimer’s or another dementia. For the mentally-impaired, lost-proofing
mostly relies on constant supervision by the mentally-able, and for the
mentally-able it is about preplanning.
The mentally-able get “lost” when...
ü they
overestimate their abilities;
ü they
underestimate the wilderness challenges (difficulty, distance, weather, etc.);
ü they
aren’t familiar with the area, they don’t know how to use a map and compass,
and/or when they rely on modern tech that is out of range or out of batteries;
ü they
panic after making a mistake.
Lost-proofing
101
Asking
“what-if” questions, learning how to use low-tech navigational tools and
preplanning, BEFORE you venture out into the wilderness, can be the difference
between calm and panic, in a wilderness emergency. Preplanning and asking “what-if it happens
to me” can change a “lost” in the woods emergency into a simply “misplaced” or confused moment.
People
often believe that “it can’t happen to me” and the “what if” game
is a great way to spark imagination and to think through potential situations.
In
the July/August 2000 Wilderness Medicine Newsletter article titled “Lost
Proofing”, author Nancy Lyons asked the following what if question:
“...after
40 minutes of hiking, you tell your hiking partner that you need to pee and are
just going off the trail into the bushes.
You assume he’ll wait on the trail for you. When you get back to the trail, he isn’t
there. You call his name, no
answer. You start up the trail because
that’s the direction you were heading.
After hiking for 5 minutes, you still don’t see your partner, so you
stand there for a few minutes. Some
folks are coming up the trail behind you. You interview them to see if they have seen
your hiking partner. They haven’t. So, you continue hiking uphill. Still no partner. Now you interview the next group of hikers
coming downhill. They haven’t seen him
either...”
Now what do
you do?
Creating
“what if” questions and scenarios and then coming up with protocols,
rules, plans and SOPs to solve them is your best protection against panic. Panic happens when you don’t know what to
do. Knowing what to do next in a
situation is the best protection against panic and life threatening mistakes.
So,
to prevent becoming lost follow these prevention rules, plans, protocols, and
SOPs:
ü ALWAYS
discuss AND know the trip plan
ü ALWAYS
have a basecamp or rally point. If you
are doing day trips around a central point, a base camp makes sense. If you are thru-hiking set a breakfast,
lunch, and dinner rally point, where everyone will meet.
ü ALWAYS
leave a copy of the trip plan and return times with a responsible person at
your base camp. DO NOT CHANGE THE PLAN
without discussing it with EVERYONE.
ü ALWAYS
use the buddy system. Never enter the
wilderness without one, and even better two buddies. For more read “The Buddy System ©”, HERE.
ü ALWAYS
keep your buddy in sight or sound.
ü ALWAYS
have a map and compass. . Study your map and refer to it often. And know how to use your compass and map
BEFORE you enter the wilderness.
ü ALWAYS
keep a pea-less whistle on a lanyard around your neck.
ü ALWAYS
use international whistle protocol.
NEVER ever blow your whistle unless you are “misplaced”, need
help, or searching for a “misplaced” person. Whistles are only for emergencies!
If
you are “misplaced”, blow three long blasts every two minutes and if you
are searching for a “misplaced” person, blow one long blast every two
minutes.
OK, You’re Misplaced, Now What?
contact with your buddy, head back to base after 30 minutes.
ü If
you are “misplaced” S.T.O.P. IMMEDIATELY and start blowing your
whistle. Blow three long blasts every two
minutes. You will be found faster if you
S.T.O.P. IMMEDIATELY
ü Between
whistle blasts start building a shelter/nest.
You need protection from the wind and the weather, and you MUST stay dry
and out of the wind. Find a mid-height
evergreen tree, large rock, or log to use as a wind break.
leave signals pointing in the direction you are heading.
ü In
case the searchers use aircraft, stay near open space, where you or your
signals can be easily seen.
OK, They’re
Misplaced, Now What?
ü Immediately
mark the place where the missing person was last seen (the place last seen or PLS),
so that trained searchers can find it.
ü Blow
one long whistle blast every two minutes.
blasts, you can get a compass bearing on the sound.
ü If
you are alone, stay at the PLS and blow one long whistle blast every two
minutes and listen for whistle blasts for 30 minutes.
ü If
you are hiking with another person, leave one person at the PLS, to blow one
long whistle blast every two minutes and to listen for whistle blasts. The other person should continue along the
direction of the trail, until they are just within hearing distance of the
person at the PLS. This person should
also blow one long whistle blast every two minutes. Meet back at the PLS after 30 minutes.
ü After
30 minutes return to base camp or travel to the rally point, for help. Note the time you left the PLS, so you can
tell searchers how long it will take to reach the PLS.
ü Ask
other hikers going up or down the trail if they have seen the missing
person. Ask them to ask other
hikers. If they meet your buddy, have
them tell him or her to return to the agreed upon meeting point, be that the
base camp or a rally point further along the trail.
ü If
possible, have two people remain at the PLS while the rest of the party returns
to base camp or rally point to call for help.
But
what if you end up in a scenario that you hadn’t planned for or thought about
already? Simple, just stop, take a deep
breath or four, and ask yourself “What would an intelligent person do in my
place”?
So
hopefully, YOU or THEY will never become “misplaced”, but if it happens,
and remember it can happen, hopefully these rules, protocols and SOPs will keep
YOU and THEM from becoming truly “lost”!
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The
Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE,
and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free
to leave a comment on either site. I
announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at
bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.
That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Notes
1
Personally, I hate the word “lost” and prefer to use the word “misplaced”,
that is because misplaced things, by definition, are eventually found. But lost things are lost forever. Lost is scary!
2 In
fact 6 out of 10 people living with dementia will wander at least once; some
repeatedly. From the Alzheimer’s
Association, January 2023, HERE.
Sources
Lyons, Nancy; “Lost
Proofing”, Wilderness Medicine Newsletter, July/August 2000, Volume 11,
Numbers 1-6, page 6 to 7, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED448991.pdf,
accessed October 29, 2023
U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service; Outdoor Safety Tips, PA-887, [U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington D.C., 1975], https://books.google.com/books?id=KgVULdu0QPIC&pg=PA7&dq=survival+lost+s.t.o.p.&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjY9NjoyMKDAxU5weYEHfU_AQEQ6AF6BAgLEAI#v=onepage&q=survival%20lost%20s.t.o.p.&f=false, accessed January 6, 2024
