People lost in the woods and found again.

N

nodh

Joined
Mar 16, 2007
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Yesterday some five people we camping in the forest on Kroppefjäll mountain in western Sweden. It is not a very big forest compared to US or Canada or even Sweden in general.
They had a sleep over in the forest but got lost. They did not really know where they were so they called the police. The police sent out a helo but could not find them. Finally the police drove up a car into the forest and put the sirens on. Eventually the people (about 60 years old) emerged safely. There was no real danger, since they already were properly dressed and had camping gear, but why no compass or GPS? Even a really cheap GPS or a decent compass would have helped them out.
It happens about three or four times every year that people get lost in that forest. They misjudge the size of it and their ability to keep track of where they are.

Fortunately for them the tax payers pay for the rescue :(
 
It happens in the Rocky Mountains also, but on the TV
news interview/reports, the obvious question is not asked
or answered. So, like you, I am trying to figure this out.

Many are tourists, but some are locals. Many of these
people have experience in hiking and flora/fauna, but they
do not take navigation seriously.

For example, many have a compass, but are Not very good
at taking sights on landmarks to find their position.
Also, during an actual hike, they often do not start navigating
until they feel like they are in trouble, which may be too late.

Almost everyone needs to get lost once, before he takes an
interest in navigation. While some people learn after one lesson
(of getting lost), other people need several lessons, before they
consider navigation important.

A substitute for the getting-lost experience could be a well told story;
I read a few stories of lost explorers and I was convinced. In some
stories (e.g. Shackleton), the importance of navigation is obvious to
me, but some readers only remember the rigors of the journey.

Public school never covered navigation and I was never in
boy scouts, so I do not know about them.
 
I believe that orienteering is something that should be taught in schools even nowadays. Schools could easily work it in with a geography class by starting with a compass course and working up to a gps. Just my opinion, but this could be very useful to start doing.
 
In schools here they used to have orienteering during one of the mandatory "outdoor days". Those kids who were interested finished in something like 40 minutes but the rest of the kids more or less formed a search party and walked around in the forest on random. If the teacher were interested they usually had some instructions on how to use compass the right way and such but usually you were handed a compass and a map and you had to start by drawing the circles on the map yourself from a template. This was before laminated maps so if you were unlucky, the plastic cover moved and you ended up looking in the wrong place and if you are not into orienteering the maps they use can be very confusing and dont look anything like maps usually look.

So, poor interest from the students, boring classes and sub standard equipment/ cost cutting makes it hard for the kids to be interested at all. One other thing that might confuse people is that the nature changes. "Hey, it used to be a forest here, it says so on the map (from 1976)".

Anyway. I dont go into the forest without at least one compass and a GPS and spare batteries and a charged mobile and a whistle or two and an orange smoke bomb :)
 
GPS might be too high-tech or expensive for some schools, but little button compasses could be handed out to kids for an orienteering/map-reading course. This could tie in with the history of Western European voyages of discovery. It would be a great way to build interest and understanding of both history and the outdoors.
 
nodh said:
I dont go into the forest without at least one compass and a GPS and spare batteries and a charged mobile and a whistle or two and an orange smoke bomb :)
Click to expand...

Exactly. It shouldn't be a big deal to have a basic kit -- a light to attract attention, a whistle or even a horn of some sort, and a map and compass.

It's not just for safety. It should be part of the fun of getting out there.
 
I think this is a result of what the society as a whole is heading.
Back in the old days, when Popular Mechanics was filled with balsa planes and how to build a table etc, children learnt from the grown ups. The surrounding nature was "the world" and the house was just somewhere to sleep and eat. Kids learnt from parents and relatives and other people who had knowledge.
Nowadays kids are sent off for government controlled indoctrination at daycare centers. There is no place in the curicculum for learning how the nature works and the parents have no time to do anything about it during the weekends.
Nowadays the house with the computers and mobile phones and such is "the world" and the nature around it is just something that is dangerous and cold and wet.

Hey, some kids think fish is something rectangular with bread crumbs on it and milk comes from boxes in the shop. Some eco/environment nuts even think that we should close the cruel slaughter houses to save the animals because you can buy meat in the shop instead :) Those kids will get lost in Central Park, even if they see the houses around it.
 
nodh said:
Even a really cheap GPS or a decent compass would have helped them out.(
Click to expand...
why not follow their own footsign back out? I'm amazed how many people DON'T EVER LOOK AT THE GROUND. Tracking just takes practice.
 
as well as not looking at the ground , not many folk turn around and look behind them , to see what it looks like from the other way

trails look WAY different going than coming , just as they can in twilight as opposed to mid day

we lived on a small farm when I was a kid , it was big enough that I learned fast that the way the one track looks can change a lot in a short while , after having to find my way a few times , I took a SERIOUS interest in noticing where I was going , and what it would look like going the other way , I guess its like fire , everyone gets told about it but still ya got to burn yourself before you pay any attention ....
 
I've just gotten my first GPS, one of the better ones which you can download topo maps into.Very convenient ! As a kid I learned compass and topo maps .Usually hiking and hunting in a strange area I memorized the map section and that's all I needed.Going into a strange area without knowledge or equipment is very foolish and dangerous....Orange smoke bomb ? No I don't have one and don't hunt wearing an orange suit !!
 
The smoke bomb is one usually found in life boat kits. It is meant to be used for medevac. To show them my location and indicate wind etc. I also have a VS17 (or what they are called) panel in my car.

Occasionaly I hear on my police scanner that when the medevac gets to a place before the ambulance the 911/112/999 operator asks the locals to wave a blanket or something to indicate where they are. That is why I use the GPS, the smoke and the panel. Usually up here the helo arrives before the ambulance.
That also explains the axe and the glove compartment filled with field dressings and the two first aid kits and all that other stuff.
 
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