Ever been lost in the woods?

[trapfreek]

I got lost one time at a state forrestry area deer hunting. I didn't know that the area was so big. Anyhow after hunting till about 11:30 AM I started out and got turned around and got into some pretty rough and hilly terrain. Realizing I was lost and having done the most stupid thing (not telling my wife where I was hunting) I tried to focus on going in one direction by picking out a tree and staying focused on that direction. After about 3 hrs. I started to hear traffic on a road, Changing my direction and going toward the noise, I hit some almost impenetrable brush and thickets and had to circle a couple of times to get around that, Suddenly I came out on a barely used road, and headed towards the traffic. By this time I suspected that I may be on private property but I was worn out and did not care. The road finally came out and was going past a house. The homeowner was out doing some yard work and I called out to her so I would not scare her. She hit the ceiling, Man was she pi**ed. She told me to wait there and she went to call the sherriff. She came back out and I was laying on the ground wore out. She said that they would send someone but they were very busy. We waited about 1/2 hour and after a while she started to relax a bit, I told her the whole story and where I had parked and when she told me where we were, it was pretty clear I did not do it on purpose. She finally ageed to let me go and I gave her my name, address ph. num. and headed back to my truck. Just as I got to the truck about 40 minutes later she and her husband, who had just got home from work, drove up. He said he just wanted to see if I was telling the truth about where I was parked. By this time my legs felt like Jello. Whats bad is that I would often go on all day hunts and my wife would not have been concerned until about an hour after dark. The very next day I bought a GPS. Once is enough.

[ArkansasHunter]

Yes I have and I didn't care for it at all !!! Although you get to see a lot of woods you don't normaly get to see...
Sorry to hear about your experience feller...A.H

[Seabeescotty]

Trap, I did almost as bad. I was hunting on horseback, and got turned around. My horse kept wanting to go in the direction that I knew was wrong, so we wandered around til I got tired of it, and let him have his head. Stupid me! A horse knows which way to go when he's hungry. We got back to camp without any further trouble. A lesson learned and a lesson remembered. Just make sure he's a little hungry when you head out! Scotty

[mk70ss]

One word: Compass.

[Seabeescotty]

Oh, come on! That would be too easy! RLMAO! Scotty

[Big Dog]

Even a GPS can get you "a might befuddled" as Mr. Crockett once said. Me and a buddy followed his GPS down what it called "road", and it petered out into a deertrail. We followed that, and came out on a paved road - "EUREKA!"

[burd1959]

not a good day when you spend the night there uncle got lost found him the next day he wasnt happy when we gave him a bic lighter cause he said i dont smoke

[billy]

T.F.
wow!
i have never heard of someone calling the cops because someone came out of the woods lost.
i wouldve given you a bite to eat and a ride to your truck.

[A-10]

A buddy and I were tracking a wounded deer (in the dark). We shined the flashlight arount looking for the glint of an eye and when we caught one, we followd it. It turned out to be the tail light of a truck that belonged to a hunter and his girl friend. It was on a truck trail in the middle of the woods. We spoke with him for a minute or two about a cow horn buck his girlfriend had shot. When we decided to head back, it became apearant that we had gotten a might bit lost. Luckily, we could hear the distant highway and headed in its direction. It wasn't too far, but the brush was so dense, it felt like it took a little over an hour to get back.

[jerry]

Yes

[BunnyWabbit]

On a cloudy day and walking around trees, it's really easy to lose your way. My hubby had to come find find one time when I was turkey hunting. I decided it wasn't smart to venture that far into unknown woods. I was a little nervous, just glad it was early enough in the day. I knew if I walked far enough I would eventually run into a road, but I would have had a long walk back.

[two-70]

i always try to remember the sun rises in the east and sets in the west in relationship to a hunt, and always carry lighters or a lot of matches, most of the time carry napkins and or toilet paper, quick firestarters, staying focused is the key, sometimes its very easy to panic and forget.

[dixierat]

A map and a compass, plus a little land-nav knowledge is a wonderful thing. I don't get lost in the woods too much. A lot of training in that area back in my youth.

[Oxford]

One day for a little fun and relaxation, I was hiking in thick timber with my adult daughter which we often do. When we seemed to be seeing the same trails again and again we realized there was a problem. So...I noticed which side of the trees moss was growing on to determine north, and finally was able to find our way back to the main trail.

Just in case it was needed, I was carrying my .22 H&R 922 nine shot revolver, which I usually do when hiking in strange country. The terrain had several large rocks jutting out of hillside which were heavily eroded underneath. Those could have been natural den sites for coyotes, etc.

[neophyte]

Lost? who the h$$l can get lost Now I being one of the ones to carry 2 and I mean 2 compasses, map and a canteen. How in the cold of the night can you possssibbble got lost. Not trusting your equipment; will get you lost cause we listened to the fellow who know'ed the wwwooodds like the back of his hand.
A good dose of 'kick behind' was employed cause WE LISTENED and he sat on a stump and giggled.

[troy2000]

Originally Posted by Oxford

One day for a little fun and relaxation, I was hiking in thick timber with my adult daughter which we often do. When we seemed to be seeing the same trails again and again we realized there was a problem. So...I noticed which side of the trees moss was growing on to determine north, and finally was able to find our way back to the main trail.
Just in case it was needed, I was carrying my .22 H&R 922 nine shot revolver, which I usually do when hiking in strange country. The terrain had several large rocks jutting out of hillside which were heavily eroded underneath. Those could have been natural den sites for coyotes, etc.

You know Ox, I used to try that "moss on the north side of the tree" thing every time I went out when I was young. Never could find any on a mesquite or palo verde tree; I finally decided it's an old wives tale.

I tried the "find a creek or stream and follow it" advice too, and couldn't find any of them either...

[dixierat]

Originally Posted by troy2000

You know Ox, I used to try that "moss on the north side of the tree" thing every time I went out when I was young. Never could find any on a mesquite or palo verde tree; I finally decided it's an old wives tale.

I tried the "find a creek or stream and follow it" advice too, and couldn't find any of them either...

I thought if you were lost in Southern California you're best bet was to try and locate a Starbucks?

[dscrick]

Once and Only once. I was 15, lived in WAY Northern MN at the time. If you walked out the back door of our farmhouse headed east you didn't cross a road for more than 25 miles. (gee, if I'd had a compass all I would need to do is figure out where west was)I went out hiking around and generally exploring alone in the spring, a mild sunny day, didn't have a compass (duh), anyway after awhile I figured I should head back home. Suddenly realized that the flat-as-a-pancake birch/poplar/cedar forest looked the same in all directions, the clouds had rolled in and obscured the sun, and of course there were no trails through the muskeg. I had an epiphany - I'm LOST! I kept a clear head, and when the sun came through the clouds I climbed the biggest birch I could find, and managed to catch the glint of the sun on our barn's tin roof - about a mile and ahalf away. Walked out to our field based on that bearing.

Needless to say I am NEVER without a compass since. Have a little one on all the zipper pulls on my jackets, one on my keys, one on my knife lanyard.

[troy2000]

Originally Posted by dixierat

I thought if you were lost in Southern California you're best bet was to try and locate a Starbucks?

There were no Starbucks in the Mojave/Sonoran Desert forty years ago, dixierat.

And there still aren't any once you're out of town...

[jashoffa]

Well I wouldn't call it woods really but here is my story.

My buddy and I were in high school and he got a new bow. it was early spring and it had been raining quite a bit we headed out to a county park that had a gun and bow range located inside a timber. When we got there the gate was closed to vehicles so we parked at the gate and walked in with several arrows and his new bow. The park was in a river bottom and the gate was at the top of a very steep hill. Like I said it was early spring and it was about 7 pm or so. We hiked in and had to deal with getting around some marshy ground (in the summer it is dry but at this time of year it is pretty sloppy). I would say it took us about a half hour to get to the range. We fooled around and shot the bow several times. We had taken a flashlight in anticipation of it being dark when we would return. As it started getting dark and after we had lost all of his arrows (don't ask we were stupid kids) we decided to head back but decided to hike up the burm (a natural hill) rather than go through the marshy area again (and this is where it started going wrong).

After we climed the berm we found a pasture. We walked through that and ended up crossing a fence or two heading in the direction of what we thought was the car. I think we overshot it a little but. We crossed a small stream and shortly there after we came to a river. We knew to get to the car we would have had to cross the river but it was deep and moving pretty fast (remember it was a pretty wet spring and it had been raining a lot). We were forced to either keep walking or go back. We choose to keep walking and ended up very direction turned. After my buddy started to panic a little bit we climbed to the top of a hill and could see and hear the highway we knew was about a mile 1/2 away. After we located the highway we knew which direction to walk to find a road. At some point it rained on us and we Finally got to the road, walked to a farm house and they gave us a ride back to our car. It was very late. We had spend several hours walking and I think it was past midnight on a school night when I finally got home. My dad was waiting up and not very happy. I walked in the door muddy and wet. He said, "it is pretty late and you have school tomarrow. Where have you been?" I responded, "don't ask." He looked at me and said, "get cleaned up and go to bed." He never asked me again and I have to say I learned a very important lesson that day. My buddy and I still laugh about that night and joke about taking a short cut