Getting Lost

[balzaccom]

"Remember that trip when we were lost?" M asked me. "What?  We've never been lost!" I replied. 

"Yes we were," she said.  "And we couldn't find that lake."

"Oh, you mean Grouse Lake.  We weren't lost.  The lake was," I clarified. 

To be very clear, we have never been lost on a hiking trip, at least by my definition.  My definition of "lost" is not knowing where you are, and not knowing how to get home. 

By that definition I have never been lost--not even when I was six and became separated from my family in a huge department store in an unknown city.  I simply went to the door we used to enter the store and waited.  I knew they'd be back through that door, and I'd meet them there. I wasn't worried.  They apparently were.  

But there are certainly other definitions.  And by those, we have wandered at times. 

>>  We have not known exactly where we were.  In fact, on one memorable occasion, we didn't find out until we came home and posted photos. 

>>  We have not found what we were looking for, even though we were clearly very close to it--sometimes within 100 yards, as it turned out later. 

>> We have become separated and only found each other by using whistles to find out where the other one had gone.  (Do NOT underestimate how important whistles are in this situation---we couldn't hear each other's voice, but we could clearly hear the whistles!) But while we haven't been lost, we have been unsure.   

Now bear in mind that we don't use a GPS--mainly because we don't like the cost, and don't like the fact that the batteries won't last long enough for many of the trips we take.  What we do use is a compass, lots of topo maps, signs, trails, and dead-reckoning.  And yes, we have been unsure:

>>  We once hiked to Heart Lake near Lassen National Park.  There is no trail, and the topo map showed lots of logging roads.  But the area had been logged after the topo maps were printed, and so the roads were completely different.  We never did find the lake.  But we will next time.

>>  We once hiked to Tangle Blue Lake in the Trinity Alps, following directions from a local, who had only ridden horses there, and told us about a short-cut that by-passed the first few miles of the trail.  After a couple of delightful (more or less) hours wandering through alders and manzanita, we gave up. She later told us that she had forgotten one key point in those short-cut directions...!

>>  We've hiked through the forest out of Tuolumne Meadows towards Mariolumne and Mendicott Domes, only to find ourselves at the foot of Fairview Dome. 

>>  We once hiked up from Fremont Lake to Cinko Lake, by-passing Chain of Lakes to hike up Walker Meadow....because we never did see the trail to Chain of Lakes.

>>  We once hiked DOWN the East Fork of the Carson River to Murray Canyon because we cold not find the trail that hiked UP the Carson River to connect to the PCT.  We later learned that trail had not been maintained for nearly forty years, according to the ranger.

>>  We once hiked around the west end of Milk Run Meadow for an hour and a half because we could not find the trail that leads up to Peep Sight Peak.

>>  We once hiked cross country over snow covered creeks and up near vertical slopes because we could not find the trail to Broke-Off Mountain in Lassen.  We did get to the top.  We got  back.  But not via the trail.

>>  And yes, we once hiked across the southern part of Yosemite National Park towards Grouse Lake, where we were going to camp the first night.  We could not find it.   I was quite frustrated, and finally hiked down into a little valley to see if I could find a trail up to the lake.  After staring up the valley for a good five minutes, I turned around to find the lake fifty yards away in plain sight behind me.

But we've never been lost.   

Edited March 21, 2016 by balzaccom
typos

[KYhiker40]

By that definition of being "lost", I guess I have never been lost either.  I've had no idea where I was going or where I was on the map, but I've always known how to get back to the car.  I've also taken picture from a destination spot, showed them to friends, then been laughed at when they explained I was not where I thought I was.  I've wandered around in circles, back and forth on a trail for an hour, trying to figure out where I should have turned.  I've missed designated camp spots and camped illegally on the thankfully flat trail at midnight, out of options and mentally & physically tired.  I've walked toward "the river" for hours, having no idea where the trail went, but knowing where it ends.  But technically, I've never been lost.

[wspscott]

Those all sound like good trips

I've never been lost either, just really, really confused on occasion.

[ppine]

I used to work a lot in rough country with no trails. Map reading is the only way to find your co-workers or the truck.  

Hunting is one of the times people get lost because they tend to stay out late for the fading light of evening and then have to walk back to camp in the dark.

I  have never been lost, but have not been sure of my location for a few days.

Edited March 22, 2016 by ppine

[lonerock]

If you're here to post on this site then you've never been completely lost, unless you used a PLB or similar device to get found.

Over the years I ve used a map and compass simply because most of those years were before smartphones and gps. Now I  have a smartphone wih gps , downloaded maps and navigation apps but I use it mostly to record waypoints and tracts for future reference.

The closest I  came to really getting lost was when I  was XC skiing in the Sierras and got caught in a whiteout. My compass and map were of little use since I couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of me. I hunkered down for several hours until the worst of the storm passed and found my way back just as daylight was fading. 

.There's been several occasions where I've been temporarily "misplaced", most often when I 've been hiking by myself rather than with someone who was NOT a space cadet (I 've let my mind wander on occasion when I'm  out in nautre). Over the years I 've learned that some initial panic can happen and is normal  so I  simply stay rooted at that point until it passes and I 'm able to make a rational decision (or at times an irrational decision).

Like ppine I  too worked out in the woods far away from roads and trails doing wildlife studies for the blm and forest service. I just had a map and compass and stayed focus on where I  was at all times. I knew a couple of biologists over the years who had gotten lost and injured because they either didn't have the skills or didn't stay focused.

When I'm simply out hiking on trails it's a different matter. Less focused and more fun seeking.

I was hiking with a friend some time ago. At one point she looked up and was adamant that the mountain in front of us was in the wrong place. I told her the answer was obvious and that somehow the mountain had moved. Sometimes that works foe me !

[ppine]

Good words by Lonerock.

I remember chasing a large herd of deer once as a forestry student back in the 1970s.  It was in winter with snow on the ground, and I was very intent on the critters like lonerock eluded to.  I stopped and looked around and realized it was going to get dark soon and I was not sure where the truck was.  It had started snowing heavily wiping out my tracks.  There was that certain sense of panic which I have never felt before or since.  It was a very useful experience to know what that feels like. 

I followed a drainage out to the highway, hitchhiked a few miles in a warm truck,and then walked back in the same road that I had taken to get there.  Sometimes being a scientist requires a lot of focus, but it should never be at the expense of situational awareness.