Welcome to the Monthly Insider for June 2018 (Volume 2, Issue 6). This month’s topic is the Lost In the Woods.
It’s finally Friday and you’ve been planning this weekend for the last two weeks. For the last five nights, you’ve unpacked and re-packed your bag. You have everything needed for a weekend in the woods. Everything is going perfectly as you pull up to the trailhead. You spend a couple of minutes enjoying the last of your coffee at the car before shouldering the pack and heading off into the woods. You start down the trail although your ultimate destination lies off the trail. There’s a particular rock outcrop that will lead you to a secluded waterfall found out about online.
Three hours into your hike you find the rocks and turn off trail. From what you read online it should be a little more than three hours to the waterfall. As dark approaches a nagging feeling begins creeping into your mind, you’re lost.
In this edition of the Insider we’re going to cover this very scenario, being lost in the woods. What you do beforehand, at the moment of realization, and immediately afterwards will determine how you fix the situation.
It determines whether you’re able to walk out on your own, vector rescue personnel to your position, or in a worst case scenario you perish in the woods. This last outcome is simply not acceptable. It’s up to you to prevent that outcome. We hope to provide you with resources to help prevent the worst of all outcomes. Getting lost in the woods shouldn’t be a death sentence.
You can download the Lost in the Woods PDF by clicking here.
If you prefer to view the information in web site form, you can do so as well. Each section is linked below.
- Lost in the Woods
- Statistics of Getting Lost and Found
- How to Make a Plan Before Heading Out Into the Woods
- Staying Calm When You Find Yourself Lost
- Assessing Your Situation
- Signaling 101 – Contrast, Color, Movement
- How to Use a Signal Mirror
- How to Build and Stage a Signal Fire
- Universal Ground Signals
- New Gear Releases
- Building a Signal Kit
- Hamming it Up in the Woods
- Do It Yourself: Building a Buzz Saw
- Basic Shelter Options
- Gear Review: Maxpedition Riftcore Backpack
- Make a Pocket Wilderness Survival Kit
- Map Reading and Land Navigation
- Tech for When You Get Lost in the Woods
- Leaving a Trail Behind
- What We’re Reading Now
- Setting Up Your Cell Phone for Hiking
- Sarge A “Going Home” Serial: Part 7