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I was wondering the woods and swamps as soon as my mother wanted me out if the house. Learned to keep looking behind me since things look different coming back.
Ben
Ben
Hey you ol schoolers
- Thread starter Aklogcabin
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I live on the "wrong, but to me, right" side of my road that washes out! I'll stay home!!
Selective Availability (SA) was an intentional degradation of public GPS signals implemented for national security reasons.
In May 2000, at the direction of President Bill Clinton, the U.S government discontinued its use of Selective Availability in order to make GPS more responsive to civil and commercial users worldwide.
Selective Availability: A Bad Memory for GPS Developers and Users - Spirent
In May 2000, at the direction of President Bill Clinton, the U.S government discontinued its use of Selective Availability in order to make GPS more responsive to civil and commercial users worldwide.
Selective Availability: A Bad Memory for GPS Developers and Users - Spirent
I used to do a lot of hiking and backpacking when I was younger. Now, it's no more backpacking, and long hikes are getting more rare (still do shorter ones however). Despite never having been lost or even mildly confused in the wilderness, I still take gear with me. If weight isn't a big concern - and it is not for me on day hikes - why NOT take a compass? A map? A GPS? A cellphone? Yeah, I don't think I've ever needed any of these, but I still take them anyway. I view it the same as wearing my seatbelt in the car. I can't think of once that I've ever really "needed" that seatbelt. But I wear it every time I'm in a car. It's not a badge of honor to have never needed these things. That probably describes most people anyway. I consider it a badge of smartness to take them anyway (within reason and weight limits). I also carry probably four different ways to start a fire, although I've never had to start one in an emergency. Getting someone's attention? Yes, I carry a whistle, a signal mirror, and often times my ham radio handheld. I've got a knife, and a backup knife, and even some Exacto blades in my pocket Altoids tin survival kit. All of this weighs only a tad more than a quart of water - and I usually carry 3 quarts of that. If I meet my end in the woods, they can engrave my tombstone, "He died despite being prepared".
FWIW, it is pretty difficult to get lost in Colorado in my experience. Lots of mountains, but there are drainages between them. If you don't hike up and over that ridge to your left or right, you stay in the same drainage. And to find your way out, you just hike downhill. You're pretty much guaranteed to hit a road, a reservoir, or a Walmart at the end. If you did manage to hike up and over a ridge by accident (and that would be quite the "accident"), you'll just be in a parallel drainage and end up at a different Walmart than your expected. Deep flat woods or a large desert would be much more unnerving to me (navigation-wise) than being in the mountains.
I often times take out my map and compass during breaks while hiking. And I triangulate my position using distinctive landmarks. Not because I don't know where I am, but just for practice. Then I pull out my GPS and see how close I came. The only problem is sometimes the most prominent landmarks are off the edge of the map and you can't use them for a fix. So you have to use less prominent landmarks and be able to identify those on a topo map. That's good practice. Anyone could pick out Pike's Peak or Long's Peak on a topo map (at least I hope so!) But being able to identify Pike's Peak 80 miles away doesn't do you much good when you're looking at a 7.5 minute topo map.
If I fall and break my leg in the woods, I want help to get there fast. I'm not into the macho "GPS? I don't need no stinkin' GPS!" mindset. Nothing is going to describe your position to a rescuer better than a good set of coordinates. And if you can call those coordinates out with a cellphone or a ham radio, you're probably going to be home in time for dinner. Not that you need to be, since you've already got food in your daypack, along with first aid materials, shelter materials, firestarting materials, etc. Call me a Boy Scout. Be Prepared! I think my big day pack is around 24 liters (?) I do have smaller ones too, for lesser hikes (which are what I do these days).
FWIW, it is pretty difficult to get lost in Colorado in my experience. Lots of mountains, but there are drainages between them. If you don't hike up and over that ridge to your left or right, you stay in the same drainage. And to find your way out, you just hike downhill. You're pretty much guaranteed to hit a road, a reservoir, or a Walmart at the end. If you did manage to hike up and over a ridge by accident (and that would be quite the "accident"), you'll just be in a parallel drainage and end up at a different Walmart than your expected. Deep flat woods or a large desert would be much more unnerving to me (navigation-wise) than being in the mountains.
I often times take out my map and compass during breaks while hiking. And I triangulate my position using distinctive landmarks. Not because I don't know where I am, but just for practice. Then I pull out my GPS and see how close I came. The only problem is sometimes the most prominent landmarks are off the edge of the map and you can't use them for a fix. So you have to use less prominent landmarks and be able to identify those on a topo map. That's good practice. Anyone could pick out Pike's Peak or Long's Peak on a topo map (at least I hope so!) But being able to identify Pike's Peak 80 miles away doesn't do you much good when you're looking at a 7.5 minute topo map.
If I fall and break my leg in the woods, I want help to get there fast. I'm not into the macho "GPS? I don't need no stinkin' GPS!" mindset. Nothing is going to describe your position to a rescuer better than a good set of coordinates. And if you can call those coordinates out with a cellphone or a ham radio, you're probably going to be home in time for dinner. Not that you need to be, since you've already got food in your daypack, along with first aid materials, shelter materials, firestarting materials, etc. Call me a Boy Scout. Be Prepared! I think my big day pack is around 24 liters (?) I do have smaller ones too, for lesser hikes (which are what I do these days).
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I tend to do a lot of my hikes in the dark, either I go in before sun up or I come out after sun down, once you lose your horizon one tree looks a lot like another. If you are in a new area it's good to try to memorize as much of the area as you can from the maps... A lot of the areas I go into are very thick with no trails, a couple of miles of that stuff doesn't seem like much in the day time, but turn out the lights and it can be a long way...
The worst I ever got lost was trying to drag a deer out of the woods in the dark, with a treestand on my back, I got winded and then tripped, lost my bearing and my compass. Once the confusion sets in it can be scary, this was the only time I ever really "felt lost", I didn't like it... Now days I carry a phone, because at least you can call someone and say I'm going to be late....
The worst I ever got lost was trying to drag a deer out of the woods in the dark, with a treestand on my back, I got winded and then tripped, lost my bearing and my compass. Once the confusion sets in it can be scary, this was the only time I ever really "felt lost", I didn't like it... Now days I carry a phone, because at least you can call someone and say I'm going to be late....
Speaking of crawling out from under a rock .... My dad loved to tell the story of his time in the Army. While in Ethiopia he decided to take a jeep and head out away from the base and local people to find a good spot to practice shooting for some fun. Was in the middle of nowhere and not a soul in sight so he picked a target and shot one round. Out of thin air 5 Ethiopians jumped and scared the crap out of my dad thinking he could have hit one of them. He never could figure out where the heck they were all hiding but it seemed he could drive for an hour in any direction get out where it was desolate and fire one round and they jump out of thin air.Crawl out from under a rock just to spray that libtard BS, lol...
compass,topo map,aerial photos are awesome too. no access to the high dollar aerial photos for free any longer...sooo
back in the day..1990 we were using a type of gps in surveying timber boundary's. it would lose contact and there you sat waiting on next satellite to connect.it was a waste of our time and bosses said just pull the chain and compass and survey the unit.
always carry a map...the guy the movie is about 'into the wild' if he had a map he would have known just up river from him was a cable to get across the river during flooding.instead he stayed put and starved over his own ignorance.
back in the day..1990 we were using a type of gps in surveying timber boundary's. it would lose contact and there you sat waiting on next satellite to connect.it was a waste of our time and bosses said just pull the chain and compass and survey the unit.
always carry a map...the guy the movie is about 'into the wild' if he had a map he would have known just up river from him was a cable to get across the river during flooding.instead he stayed put and starved over his own ignorance.
When we lived in Colorado, just about every time I went hiking, even in an area I was unfamiliar with, I often came back walking on the foot prints I started with the beginning of the hike. The only place I had a concern with getting lost was if I went into the Redwoods, one doesn't have to walk far into them to totally loose sight of where you came from. I grew up with woods surrounding where I lived and when I got married, we were always close to woods, so our son also grew up walking and exploring the woods and to this day the woods are his favorite place to go. We have never carried a phone on our hikes, now days, at my age, I'm lucky to be able to hike down our driveway to get the mail or close up the chickens for the night.
I've only been scary lost twice. The first time was when I went motorcycle riding with a group of people that I didn't know. My first clue that I didn't fit in was they were all riding shiny new modified steeds. Mine was 7 years old modest stock kdx 200. The next clue was the duds they were clad in: bike matching state of the art full body armor. Me in my Fred Flintstone helmet.
I kept up with the group bringing up the rear for awhile. But the ultra competitive group like flipped a switch that the warm up was over and the race was on! Tearing off at maximum limits for machines and men into the wild forest. I got left behind and took a wrong fork. I knew the general direction back to the start, but was blocked by sheer cliffs and the terrain. Reversing course wasn't an option after coming down a crazy steep drop. I stopped and listened at one point, but heard nothing but the wind. Alone and picking my way for a seemingly long time.
The group must have satisfied their contest and must have been heading back low on fuel. They spotted me from a high point and sent a couple volunteers to lead me out. Even that was difficult! Lesson learned there.
The second time, I went out mtn biking to climb another Idaho lookout point. I was half way through my list of all nearby forest service lookouts. I took friends along before, but they didn't get the same joy of climbing steep and long as I did and vowed never again. I reviewed the area map before setting out, but a big washout totally made the regular road impassable. Started on a short, but steep divergent but wound up lost. I set my internal compass before the sun went down and just kept heading in the direction of the main road. Hours later after dark, finally found that road and later on my vehicle.
I kept up with the group bringing up the rear for awhile. But the ultra competitive group like flipped a switch that the warm up was over and the race was on! Tearing off at maximum limits for machines and men into the wild forest. I got left behind and took a wrong fork. I knew the general direction back to the start, but was blocked by sheer cliffs and the terrain. Reversing course wasn't an option after coming down a crazy steep drop. I stopped and listened at one point, but heard nothing but the wind. Alone and picking my way for a seemingly long time.
The group must have satisfied their contest and must have been heading back low on fuel. They spotted me from a high point and sent a couple volunteers to lead me out. Even that was difficult! Lesson learned there.
The second time, I went out mtn biking to climb another Idaho lookout point. I was half way through my list of all nearby forest service lookouts. I took friends along before, but they didn't get the same joy of climbing steep and long as I did and vowed never again. I reviewed the area map before setting out, but a big washout totally made the regular road impassable. Started on a short, but steep divergent but wound up lost. I set my internal compass before the sun went down and just kept heading in the direction of the main road. Hours later after dark, finally found that road and later on my vehicle.
For work I used to travel to cities I'd never been to. When possible I'd book my flight so I arrived in late afternoon. I found that if I could get a good look at a city from the air I'd never have problems navigating on the ground later. That look from the air gave me the street layout in relation to the setting sun.
Same applies to topo maps. I sometimes use the old usgs maps. All I need is a few minutes, check direction of ridge lines, water courses and any serious elevation changes. Once I see a new area from above, get that image in my head, I don't need to take a map with me. Same as haertig wrote. Once I understand water drainage and ridges for an area I can't get lost, even areas hundreds of sq miles in size.
The other side of this is a human’s natural sense of direction. Like any physical ability, some folks have a strong sense of direction. Others couldn’t find their way from the bathroom to their living rm blind folded.
As a kid I coon hunted in the swamp often, always at night. Best training ground for developing a sense of direction and learning to use it. There are no visible landmarks, water courses meander, even seeing stars is iffy. Usually the best guide was the wind which can change over hours and be difficult to read at ground level. If you have a strong sense of direction the swamp isn’t a problem. If you don’t, best stay home. The swamp is the last place you should go.
Sort of funny side note… The first time flew 10 times zones for work… My body clock messed up my sense of direction. My clock was saying it was sundown at sunrise and vice versa. This flipped east/west and north/south in my mind. For a week I was afraid to lose sight of my hotel. My sense of direction was all out of wack!
Once my body clock adjusted, I had no problem, n/s/e/w were where they’d always been. In other words, this was the first time my sense of direction failed me. It was quite unnerving. I was at a loss, even road maps were difficult to understand. I’d never experienced anything like it, and I didn’t have a compass. The next time… I packed a compass. I used it until my natural sense of direction started working again.
Same applies to topo maps. I sometimes use the old usgs maps. All I need is a few minutes, check direction of ridge lines, water courses and any serious elevation changes. Once I see a new area from above, get that image in my head, I don't need to take a map with me. Same as haertig wrote. Once I understand water drainage and ridges for an area I can't get lost, even areas hundreds of sq miles in size.
The other side of this is a human’s natural sense of direction. Like any physical ability, some folks have a strong sense of direction. Others couldn’t find their way from the bathroom to their living rm blind folded.
As a kid I coon hunted in the swamp often, always at night. Best training ground for developing a sense of direction and learning to use it. There are no visible landmarks, water courses meander, even seeing stars is iffy. Usually the best guide was the wind which can change over hours and be difficult to read at ground level. If you have a strong sense of direction the swamp isn’t a problem. If you don’t, best stay home. The swamp is the last place you should go.
Sort of funny side note… The first time flew 10 times zones for work… My body clock messed up my sense of direction. My clock was saying it was sundown at sunrise and vice versa. This flipped east/west and north/south in my mind. For a week I was afraid to lose sight of my hotel. My sense of direction was all out of wack!
Once my body clock adjusted, I had no problem, n/s/e/w were where they’d always been. In other words, this was the first time my sense of direction failed me. It was quite unnerving. I was at a loss, even road maps were difficult to understand. I’d never experienced anything like it, and I didn’t have a compass. The next time… I packed a compass. I used it until my natural sense of direction started working again.
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