David Hotka School of Geological Sciences, California State University Long Beach Getting Lost: A Guide to Getting Out

Few things are as genuinely scary as getting lost. The panic that sets in your brain is matched only by the uncontrollable nausea in your stomach, and you begin to ask yourself: is this it?. However, few hikers realize that this fear is actually the biggest danger to an adventurer who has gone off the trail. Panic causes us to lose clarity, both in our senses and judgment; keeping a clear head and weighing out your options are the only chance you have at rescuing yourself. Sit Down, and Calm Down. By sitting down, having a bite to eat, and collecting ones nerves, the chances of survival are significantly increased. The anxiety that strikes you when becoming painfully aware of your own morality can be mind crippling. All too often stray hikers act off of instant adrenaline and begin searching for something familiar at a very fast pace. The fear causes your brain to forget information it already knows, including familiar looking places; your brain will be less likely to differentiate between places youve actually seen and places youve not seen. Furthermore, the adrenaline rush usually generates a much quicker pace in ones hiking, improving the likely hood of injury due to tripping or potentially travelling further away from the trail/help. Refueling your brain and maintaining composure will enable you to focus on the important factors essential for survival/rescue and the order in which you should accumulate them: Signal, Weapon, Water, Shelter, and Food. Always assume the worst in a life and death situation. Therefore, the assumption will be that despite your preparation for this trip, and your knowledge of the areas topography, you will be unsuccessful in finding the way out by yourself. There are many ways to gain a potential rescuers attention, some more effective than others. Emergency blankets are inexpensive, and its reflective surface is an ideal choice when attempting Morse code with nearby aircraft. Signal fires are a semi-dangerous means of drawing attention to yourself, and therefore should only be used as a last resort. By making a pit, digging a hole in which the fire will sit, you will greatly decrease the chances of igniting a wildfire; this method will also be the easiest way in getting a fire started in stormy/windy weather. Gather large amounts of living, green, shrubbery. This fuel source will create a thick smoke more easily seen by rescuers. When creating a signal it is important to remember that you are not the only living being in the wilderness; show respect even when its hard. A signal will undoubtedly get you out of your predicament if youre lucky enough to have someone going by at that moment, but face it: life just doesnt always work like that. The wilderness is well, just that: wild. You will encounter an animal, whether friendly or not is partially dependent on your knowledge of animal behavior and of course, luck. The power that is endowed when a person gets a weapon is just the morale boost a lost hiker needs to survive; the greater the weapon, the greater the power. One of the most primitive weapons would be the spear. By breaking off a large, live branch and sharpening one end to a point you not only have a ranged weapon for defense, but also a hunting tool for both land animals and fish. A mallet or hammer is also another possible option; causing blunt trauma to the victim, the mallet/hammer tool will be mostly effective in defense, or hunting only land animals. Again, start by finding a large, live branch, and live malleable vines. Bend the vines to and fro decreasing the rigidity

David Hotka School of Geological Sciences, California State University Long Beach and creating a more rope like feel. Lastly, find a large stone proportionate to the stick you collected and fasten the stone to one end of the branch using your vines. Ensure that it will not fall apart before attempting use. A hikers weapon will grant them security, a means to hunt, and could prove useful in creating a shelter. A human being can live a maximum of two to three days without water; a fact commonly known, but never as profound or prevalent until actually becoming lost. Assuming you live and hike in parts of Southern California (because thats where I do), clean water sources are few and far between. Precipitation in the form of dew, fog, or rain is always a sure source of clean water, but the availability is not always so sure. Create multiply funnels with nylon/similar synthetics, leaves, or animal skins that can accumulate moisture over time and potentially offer some water. Natural springs, tributaries, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and puddles offer water. Hiking along the base of cliffs and mountains will be your best bet in finding a water source, always moving with a descent in elevation. DO NOT TRAVEL TOO FAR IMMEDIATELY! You should have a fire burning nearby already producing some smoke, and you do not want to let it go out. Also, youre expending many needed calories and dehydrating yourself further if you venture off too far. In the event that you are unsuccessful in finding a natural water source, drink what little you have accumulated via precipitation, limit your exposure to the sun, and head the opposite direction you headed before. (Envision your fire in the center of a circles diameter, instead of venturing in one direction at length, it is wiser to travel one half the distance in either direction. Thus the same amount of ground is covered; however, the distance travelled away from the circles radius is not.) If water is found, it is essential to remember numerous bacterial and viral illnesses can be contracted through contaminated water. Water can be treated by boiling, aqua-tabs (water purification tabs), or portable water filters. Boiling is the only method available for treating water without preplanning or having survival equipment. Another potential water source will be discussed in the category of Food. Now that you are protected with your weapon, fully hydrated, and awaiting a rescuer to see your signal, the task of building a shelter begins. This event will be your most physically trying, but will be the most rewarding at the end of the night. Depending on the geographical region and current weather conditions youll decide how much effort you need to put into the shelter. In snowy conditions, it is recommended that you find a pre-built animal shelter (ideally abandoned), but you can attempt to build a snow wall providing wind blockage. When building snow shelters it is important to remember that hot air rises. Creating holes, or outlets for your body heat, will prevent the structure from dripping on you or collapsing all together. In warmer conditions you might get away with a lean-to structure consisting of branches and foliage leaning against a base, or tree trunk. Finding a cave or other animal shelter is a great means of saving essential fluids and calories, but be cautious of other animals living within. Building an elevated shelter is a good idea if there is a lot of rainfall and/or there is a potential for flash flooding; NEVER BUILD A SHELTER IN A CANYON OR AREA PRONE TO FLOODING. Furthermore, elevated shelters provide a much greater degree of protection against nocturnally active animals (i.e. coyotes, mountain lions, skunks, etc.) The shelter should meet the needs of the survivor, some dont mind sleeping on the ground and some do. A structure is fifty percent about getting out of the elements, and fifty percent about the morale it gives the person.

David Hotka School of Geological Sciences, California State University Long Beach Food will be the last item on a lost hikers agenda. Human beings, depending on various factors, can last more than two weeks without food. Simply put, the likelihood of you dying of starvation is vastly more minute than any other danger (falls, animals, dehydration, over exposure, drowning, etc.). Having said that, eating a meal while lost has the same spiritual and emotional enhancement as obtaining a weapon or building a shelter; this morale leads to optimism, both of which are essential for a lost hiker to keep going. Build small rodent traps by sharpening sticks, and gathering more vines (as described in Weapon). At the base of a tree or embankment, construct a mouse-trap by creating tension in the vine between your sharpened stick point and the base of structure. Tension can be applied in one of two ways: weight distribution, or a twisting motion in the vine. Either way relies on a trip-stick, or wire that has to be set off by the prey, thus releasing the tension piercing the prey with the sharpened stick and pinning it to the tree/embankment. These traps OFTEN fail, so it is recommended that multiple traps are set while hunting elsewhere. If you feel it necessary to hunt large game, your highest chances of success will be in the early morning and early evening, as most game is moving about during these times. When hunting wild animals, patience is key. You will never catch a meal if you walk consistently. Scavenging is a rather unpleasant but viable option in obtaining a meal. Some large animals, like llamas and cows, have so much meat that predators leave behind generous portions; if the meat is not rancid and salvageable do not be too prideful to COOK it. In addition to the potential meal a large, dead animal could provide, is a water source. Some mammals have separate stomach compartments for food and fluids, and if you can keep it down the water within the animals fluid compartment will hydrate you. The various forms of meat that a lost hiker can find in the wilderness will offer many needed calories and proteins, but are not the only source of food in the wild. In Southern California there are many plants and herbs that can be safely consumed with high nutritional content. Avocados, berries, mint, sage, onion, garlic, mountain potato, and many other food items can be found growing in the soil beneath your feet. Brush up on your North American edible plant species so you dont eat anything that is going to harm you. A general rule of thumb when it comes to food: if youre not sure, dont even think about it. Now you have all of the necessities for life: security, water, shelter, and food; the fear that was a figment of your imagination has all but disappeared. The fire is burning and the smoke cloud rising, you sit waiting to be rescued. Your shelter gets bigger and stronger with each passing day; your dry food storage is overflowing as you gather more. The birds sing, and the ants dance around you in mindless bliss, you are as they are now. As you wash your feet in the chilled stream and feel the wind at your face, you ask yourself: Am I lost or just enjoying nature? Then the answer becomes clear as you put out the fire, and retire for one more night in the wild.