How a Person Could Survive if they Got Lost While Camping or Hiking

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How a Person Could Survive if they Got Lost While Camping or Hiking

By Trista - December 16, 2021

11. Stay in the same spot if you aren’t sure where you are in the woods.

Have you been gone for more than a few hours, and someone back at home knows that you were supposed to have been back by now? You can be reasonably sure that help is on the way. The last thing that you want to do is send the people looking for you on a wild goose chase. Especially when it was because you kept running around in circles, wearing yourself out. Instead, find a safe place and stay there. A secure site is some kind of clearing that has no signs of large and dangerous animals nearby. Hopefully, your current location is similar, where you can remain for the next 12 hours.

If you remember back to being a kid going to the store with your parents, what were you supposed to do if you got lost and couldn’t find your mom or dad? In all likelihood, you were to stay put and wait for them to see you. If you went wandering all over the store looking for them, they would have had a much harder time tracking you down. In the meantime, you would have worked yourself up into hysterics and been completely exhausted. Same principle if you find yourself lost in the woods. Stay in the same place so that those trying to find you can have an easier time.

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10. Stay hydrated with fresh running water or a survival straw.

You realize that you are lost and won’t be making it out of the woods before sunset. What do you do? Your first thought may be to develop a shelter that will protect you from the wind and the rain. Also, you probably consider that you should find a place to forage for food. Yes, food and shelter are undoubtedly important. Why? Because you really can die from exposure, especially if a storm hits. However, nothing is more important than water. Stay hydrated! Humans can survive for up to three weeks without food, but they will die of thirst after only three days.

The odds are that if you have already been out for more than a few hours, you have gone through the water supply that you brought with you. The best water source out in nature is running water because the nasties that will make you sick, like animal droppings, mold, and decaying fish, will not be able to build up. Keep your ears open for a nearby stream or waterfall, and head there. Ensure that you are keeping yourself dry when you are getting the water because wet clothes can lead to hypothermia. If you cannot find a source of running water, use a survival straw for drinking water from a lake.

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9. Layer up when you go hiking or camping — just in case.

Your chances of getting through an unplanned night out in the great outdoors are much higher if you stay warm. You should wear layers on your hike! Start layering up before you lay down for the night. Now is also an excellent time to change socks. Why? Because your feet may have gotten wet without you even realizing what happened. Are the socks on your feet are damp? Hopefully, there is a place to lay them out to dry. If you are near a stream of clear water, wash your socks in the stream so that you can put on dry, clean socks in the morning.

You will also want to build a fire to help you say warm, but make sure to do so safely because you do not want to add a forest fire to your list of present woes. In addition to the flame helping you stay warm, you can cook any small animals or fish over the fire. A bonus is that the smoke from the fire will send a signal to anyone looking for you. Ensure that someone is tending the fire for as long as it is burning. Furthermore, be careful not to breathe in too much smoke.

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8. Prepare your mind for this journey.

The biggest struggle you will face if you wander off into woods is not the fight to stay warm, hydrated, and fed. It might be the fight against your own worst fears. We, humans, are social creatures and are driven by the need to survive. If you get lost in the woods, you are, by definition, away from the protection of society. That goes for the individuals who were hiking or camping with you unless you wandered off alone. As such, you are facing one of the greatest threats to survival in the history of humankind, which is the struggle to stay alive when you are pretty much on your own.

One way to win the mental struggle is to tell yourself some mantras and keep repeating them. One might be, “I am lost right now, but I will not be lost forever.” Some other examples are, “Someone is looking for me.” Tell yourself, “I am strong and can get through this.” When the urge to panic sets in, refuse to give in. Take deep, calming breaths and force yourself to focus on something positive. Remember that you may be just one hour away from finding your way to the trail or being found by the people looking for you. The difference in how you get to the other side is all in your mental state, so make sure that positive thoughts are a priority.

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7. Stay calm and consider the survival skills you already learned earlier in life.

If you were in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts when you were younger, odds are you learned some essential survival skills. If you ever went through Basic Training for the military, then you definitely learned some survival skills. Maybe your training is limited to what your family members taught you when you were younger. Whatever the case may be, use all of the survival skills you know to take care of yourself while waiting to be rescued. Those survival skills may include making a fishing line without needing a hook, building a fire, using a pocketknife, or using a compass.

Don’t blank out on these all-important skills at precisely the time when you need them the most. Take some time to sit down and ask yourself what your father, grandfather, Scout leader, et cetera would have done in this particular situation. Recalling the influential individuals in your life who taught you to love the outdoors can be much more helpful than trying to wrack your brain for the basics on how to tie a knot. Also, get input from the people you are out in the woods with because they may have learned some skills they can recall.

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6. If you find yourself lost in the woods, travel downhill.

One last resort that you can take to get yourself unlost is to head downhill, following a stream if possible. Trails and roads tend to be present downhill, so you are more likely to find someone to help you. But this tactic is very dangerous, especially if you are already lost and do not know the area, so only use it as a last resort. If you are at a higher elevation and can see a good ways off, check the view from different angles to see if you can locate a trail, a road, or maybe a campfire. Any indication that someone else may be nearby will help you know which way to go.

When you are heading downhill, be careful that you are not just following animal trails. Animals are not necessarily running where you are trying to get to; more often than not, they try to stay away from people! Following animal trails may lead to a confrontation with wildlife, and they will have the advantage because you will be on their territory. Also, be careful of what may look like a trail but hasn’t been groomed for several years and does not show signs of travel. That trail may be helpful, but forest growth changes constantly, so you may end up where you do not want to be.

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5. Gain knowledge about survival skills — before you need to use them!

Humans are immensely social beings, and we rely on the people around us for protection. Think about the community in which you live. You rely on the people at the grocery store to make sure that you can purchase food when you need to. Again, you rely on the car mechanics to ensure that what you are driving is safe. You don’t worry about breaking down suddenly. Also, you depend on the plumber to do a good job. You don’t think your home will flood and the toilet water will destroy all of your belongings. Even in civilization, we rely on other people for protection.

When our nomadic, hunter-gatherer ancestors were living in the wild every day, they had to rely on each other for protection from wild animals, as well as from things like inadvertently eating poisonous plants. They all honed their survival skills together and helped each other in difficult situations. Many people today think that survival skills come naturally, but the opposite is true. Survival skills come by learning them from other people because we are social beings. Don’t assume that if you get lost, you will instinctively know what to do. Take the time to learn before you start venturing off into the woods.

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4. Practice important survival skills to avoid getting lost in the first place.

Nobody plans to get lost. Even the most well-prepared and experienced hikers can find this horrifying situation happening to them. However, many people who get lost should not have been out on their own in the first place. They lack wilderness training beyond what they may have learned from shows on National Geographic and set out on their own without an experienced guide or another companion. You cannot learn survival skills from reality television shows; those have to be taught either in wilderness classes or from someone who has extensive experience in the outdoors. Likewise, reading books about survival skills does not make you a survivalist. Practicing survival skills with someone who has used them is what you need to do.

That said, do not be one of the people who watch documentaries and read books, then decide that they are ready to hike the Appalachian Trail on their own. Suppose you are not an experienced hiker. Always go out with someone who is. If you are uncertain about the trail you are heading to, don’t be afraid to ask questions. You can talk to the local forest rangers, who are much happier to answer questions beforehand and make sure hikers are prepared than have to launch a rescue mission. Check weather forecasts. If a storm is in the forecast, you may want to stay in.

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3. Learn to forage for food while camping and hiking.

Have you ever watched a survivalist television show? You probably know that one crucial survival skill is the ability to procure food from the woods. While you may have packed enough food to last you through your hike, if you do end up getting lost, you will need to obtain calories and nutrients. How? You will get them from the plant and animal life around you. Taking classes or learning from an experienced person beforehand can help you determine what plants are safe to eat. You can learn whether or not you should cook them first. It is vital to discover how to hunt when you may not have a gun.

If you ever get lost in the woods, that is the worst time to try to become an expert on the wilderness. Don’t pretend like you know what plants you can and cannot eat. At best, you will end up with a really bad bellyache; at worst, you may end up with a life-threatening medical emergency. Of course, it will be at exactly the time when there is no help to be found. If you get lost and experience foraging for food, you will be much more prepared to get through the trying hours and possibly days ahead. You may not be eating at a full-service buffet. Yet, until you get back home, you may not starve.

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2. Look for open country.

Are you worried about hiking through a wooded area and getting lost? One crucial thing that you need to do is try to get into an open space. Open country is much safer for building fires. Plus, it has fewer hiding places for wild animals to secret themselves to. You will also have a much better chance of being seen by others who may be looking for you. Small planes flying low overhead may spot you. Please, get prepared with a signal to let them know that you need help. You could gather rocks and make a giant SOS with them or some other phrase, such as help. You could also hold up a mirror or other shiny object to make a significant glare. If you have flares and it is dark, you can shoot them off.

Open country by a water source is the absolute best place to be. Just make sure that you stay at least 200 feet away from the water at nighttime. Why? Because nocturnal animals are likely to stop by for a drink. Also, some rivers are prone to change course very quickly. Therefore, you want to be far enough away that you won’t get swept away in the middle of the night. If you follow the stream along open country, you may find a trail. Hopefully, it can take you to where other people are also hiking. A bonus is that if your phone still has a charge and you find open country, you are more likely to get a signal.

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1. Stick to the trails.

One of the best things that you can do to prevent getting lost in the first place is to stick to the trails. You may accidentally end up off-trail. However, if you go hiking in an area that has a pretty well-established trail system, you should be able to find the trail within a reasonable amount of time. You can still get lost on a trail system. Nevertheless, you will be much less lost than if you go out on your own away from the trails. Trails tend to be well-marked with signage indicating which way to get to a particular location. Therefore, even if you do get lost, you should find a sign that will help you out within an hour or less.

If you decide to take an off-trail hike, make sure that you go with a well-experienced person. Stick to open country rather than wooded areas. Furthermore, aim for a location that has good visibility. That way, you can see where trails and roads are. Be extra prepared with a compass, first-aid kit, extra clothes, extra food, and anything else you may need should things go south. Preventing yourself from getting lost in the first place is worth more than all of the survival skills in the world. Make sure that you take the necessary precautions to be safe and know where you are.

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