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Getting Lost

After years of hunting there was one time I thought I was lost. Turns out I just didn't know where I was. Anyone else have a time when you were concerned about the direction you were headed?

Count me in, very nerve racking. It's happened a couple of times. Younger in years I kept walking and after a few miles downhill was ok. Now I always pack a compass, and use a good Garmin to set up my hunt. It's now fun to navigate new areas and concentrate on the hunt, N W section of Ct,

I was on a semi guided hunt in KY. The outfitter was quite lazy and more or less gave general direction to the stand. Well it was an afternoon hunt in Mid Nov. It was the first time hunting this particular set on a new farm. I walked in and found the stand ok, but somehow managed to make a wrong turn on the way out in the dark, With the temps dropping and it starting to snow, and coyotes howling and gaining ground I started to worry. Luckily there were 2 other guys hunting the same farm but unknown to me where and what diréction. I called one of them and told them my predicament and I told him to sound the horn on his truck and hopefully I could hear it and head toward the sound. He did and i was too far away to hear it. I then told him to shine his brightest flashlight into the air and maybe i could see the beam from my location, again no such luck. Now I’m really beginning to worry as I now have 10% battery life on my phone and temps in the low 20’s. I start walking again and head in a direction in which i think Is the right way and tell him to just keep sounding his horn every 30 second or so. After which seemed like an eternity (more likely 10 min i hear a faint horn off in the distance but now due to echo can’t pinpoint the exact location. I call him back and ask him to shine his light again. I can finally see it. He ended up being 600 yds away on the other side of a massive field. That was one of the most unnerving nights i ever had in the woods. I will never go on a hunt like that again without my gps and marking the location of the truck. I was very fortunate.

When I was a teen I got turned around while hunting a hilltop and fog rolled in. For about ten minutes I wondered if I was to spend a night in the woods. Then I heard, off in the distance, the whine of truck tires on a road I knew was concrete. With that as a guide I moved in the direction I believed the sound came from and eventually I reached the slope down to the road and understood where I was. That was Connecticut. A few years ago I started hunting Pennsylvania. Of course I studied maps of where I planned to hunt, but the big picture loses perspective with trees, rock formations, brooks and hills all a step away. How quickly I got turned around surprised me, at first, but, with a GPS in hand I was never really lost. Turned around has happened a few times to me in Pennsylvania, it's not like Connecticut because I think I see it as a more dense forest.

I had a sense of being lost when I found myself on duty in a nuclear submarine, beneath the waves somewhere in the North Atlantic. Here I was so far from my beloved outdoors. Weeks had passed since I breathed fresh air or seen the sky, and weeks remained till I would again do so. Granted, I had a hope of return, but what led me to a lifestyle so far from outdoor interests and pastimes I had earlier lived for. I did have a desire to turn back to where I came from and again enjoy the outdoors.

I find it ironic the the first recorded question God put to man, in the garden of Eden was, "Where are you?" The question was not because God did not know, but because he wanted man to ponder his relative nearness to him. Lost is a human spiritual condition brought upon all people fathered by Adam, yet, we all think we wouldn't make his mistake.

As a child there was no GPS and no cell phones. I had gotten into an argument with my father of how well I knew the area we hunted and lived. One day on a scout he said stop. Came up behind me and put on a blind fold. He then led me another couple hundred yards in the woods and when we got to the spot he spun me in a couple circles. He then took off the blindfold and said go home. I thought it would of been a piece of cake. Boy was I wrong. After looking for anything I could recognize and not finding it I started to worry. Not a big boy after all are Ya.. it took me almost an HR and after heading in the wrong direction twice I finally got my bearings. Made me realize how small and vulnerable I was. After that day I think I gained a whole new respect for the "woods".

We think we get lost here in CT and MA but go up in northern Maine and your talking a whole new world. I was up in Jackman riding a rented ATV and was on a trail 20 miles long. All I could think about was what if this ATV dies. No cell service up there makes me think hunting by myself may not be a good idea.

If there aren’t any bugs and you can stay warm ... being lost sounds good sometimes. Just make sure you pack some snacks. Maybe a beer or two.

Never lost just a might confused ??

Every day

spike - that was my first experience with getting confused in the woods. I was hunting The Forks, just below Jackman and one of the locals told us that there was nothing between the road we were hunting off and Canada! The good thing was Rt 201 ran north/south and we went in on west side, so taking the compass out and heading east put us back on the road. I will admit that walking slowly while hunting for 5 hours was not the problem. It was turning around and heading out and thinking, This is taking too long, so you speed and start to question your course because things look different. This compass can't be right. The sun is behind me now, but it doesn't feel right. Can't hear a car or a dog barking or see power lines,.....nothing. Now that's exactly what I like!!

I walked for 6 hours one day on an morning hunt in Upstate Ny....Came across a Snowmobile trail followed that till I found a bulldozer followed those tracks out to the road.I was a long way off...luckily it was right where my buddies were..jumped a nice buck and didn't bother to shoot since at the time had no idea where I WAS...No compass and at that time GPS were not out yet....Lets just say I never go without a compass anymore

On a moose hunt interior Newfoundland the guide , pale and sweaty, asked me"which way is camp"? Luckily I'd hunted West Lake a few years prior and walked him out. Later the outfitter admitted guide was a fisherman from Salley's Cove trying to make a few extra bucks. Moral:on a guided hunt carry GPS,topo map and take your own bearings.

Loner, some guides don't want you to carry your GPS because they know once you have the way points marked you can hunt on your own.

Bob you're right. This was in the 1970's and I had a compass and topo map. Outfitter relocated me with a new guide for 3 extra days gratis. I only had a moose license and saw a book caribou which only added to the frustration. I'm going to be 76 soon , still hang my own treestands. Since that NFLD hunt I'm a little puffier and a lot less put together.

Bob you're right. This was in the 1970's and I had a compass and topo map. Outfitter relocated me with a new guide for 3 extra days gratis. I only had a moose license and saw a book caribou which only added to the frustration. I'm going to be 76 soon , still hang my own treestands. Since that NFLD hunt I'm a little puffier and a lot less put together.

Loner - aren't we all? Aren't we all!

The only time I feel like I was solidly "uncertain" was after my wife hit a deer high. Almost certainly over the spine based on the situation. It was evening, and due to a buck that was scent checking the area we didnt get down until it was DARK. I hiked to her, then she climbed down, and we started on the trail. When we determined we were absolutely out of blood and the specks were done... We had circled and circled and circled... It's now about 9-10PM. We figure we should go grab our stuff at the base of her tree then hike to the car. Now, I've hunted this area since I was a teen (Just turned 44), AND we used a GPS to mark blood. Because it was so dark, we still had trouble finding our stuff... and every part of me wanted to say the GPS was wrong regarding how to get to the car... I'd have had us hiking into the Quabbin Reservoir... But she kept saying the GPS cant be wrong. When our fading lights finally reflected off the lights of the Forester I felt VERY relieved.

It's un-nerving when in the woods, when its super dark, and you are not clear on your direction - whether you have helpful devices (compass/gps) or not...

When I was in New Mexico I was playing with my GPS during lunch to see what features I wasn't using and went out for an afternoon hunt. Walked for several miles to a spot where I saw a small herd bed down in the morning. When it was time to go I turned on the GPS and it was telling me to walk deeper towards the ridge. Luckily I had turned on the bread crumbs trail feature on the way in so my concerned was correct. While playing with GPS I screwed up the compass and needed to recalibrate it. So, when you're bored between action don't play with your GPS. And I still take my compass and map.

When I was in New Mexico I was playing with my GPS during lunch to see what features I wasn't using and went out for an afternoon hunt. Walked for several miles to a spot where I saw a small herd bed down in the morning. When it was time to go I turned on the GPS and it was telling me to walk deeper towards the ridge. Luckily I had turned on the bread crumbs trail feature on the way in so my concerned was correct. While playing with GPS I screwed up the compass and needed to recalibrate it. So, when you're bored between action don't play with your GPS. And I still take my compass and map.

I've never been lost, just temporarily disoriented.

I'm "disoriented" when I'm turkey hunting, fall asleep while sitting on the ground and then wake up and become terrified when I see trees all around me. First thing I think is "Why am I in the woods?" Then I remember I got out of bed and went hunting.

I’ve had one of those “on the border” experiences out grouse hunting; there was a Forest Service road running roughly NE, so I parked and headed North. Then it clouded up. A bird flushed and I missed, so I followed it.

Couldn’t find the bird, couldn’t find the sun... couldn’t tell which way was which. I just knew that to the South was that road, and to the north was.... Canada.

Pulled out the map and noticed a lake just south of the road that allowed motors on it, so I sat myself down for a good, long listen. That was the last time I ever headed out without TWO compasses on me.

I’m ornery enough to argue with one, but not dumb enough to quarrel with two.

Wouldnt the same apply to your deer hunting bob..lol

BBB in my twenties there were many instances when I was concerned about the direction I was headed. Had to use my moral compass to get through it. Go figure!!

I was bushwacking in Pound Ridge,NY on Wednesday and discovered that my compass needle had reversed polarity. It is a quality Silva compass, but how it reversed is unknown to me. It also just so happened that I was maybe fifty feet from a high voltage power line, hmmmm, maybe, possibly?

notme - sleeping in the treestand does happen on occasion, however when spring turkey hunting in the cool morning, then I set up under a big tree and the sun comes up, warms the air, the birds are quiet and my eyes get heavy, then the next thing a bird gobbles 10 yards from me,............that's being disoriented.

Never been lost, but turned around a few times. Mostly trying to find a tree in the morning darkness. I'm a big fan of reflector tacks now.

Caribou hunting in Canada I was a few feet away from my friend obstructed by several evergreen trees ( these trees are everywhere by the thousands a few feet apart) I would call out and move to meet my friend but found myself getting further and further away.

Another time in much more familiar territory I was in the woods by Huntington Park in Redding by my parents house scouting the area. I had to get going to a Superbowl party so I headed toward home and walked and walked and walked and found myself in the same location after quite awhile. I really did walk in a complete circle.

When learning to fly I was going from Concord NH to Pittsfield MA airport. I got lazy and decided to follow some power lines which appeared on the chart to lead directly to my destination airport. As I arrived in the area of my destination airport I started mt descent and realized that airport was not Pittsfield because it only had one runway while Pittsfield had 2. It was a perfectly clear day with a few puffy clouds. I saw the twin lakes and Pittsfield airport 10 miles to my south- yeah a little unnerving It turned out that there were two sets of power lines and both led to an airport and I had chosen the wrong one

Rich - yeah, falling out of the sky is a bit more severe than wearing out your boots!

yeah bigbuckbob there is no place to pull over and collect your thoughts while looking at the map up there - I ended up in a small panic and climbed up to altitude calling for Albany approach for help but I did not think they heard me.

Luckily it was a clear day and Pittsfield was right next to two huge lakes.

The airport I wound up at was Harriman West which is a bunch miles north of Pittsfield

I was turned around 2 times once in Vermont and once in ny now I don't go in the back yard without a gps and compass lol

Anybody wanna go on a flight with rich?? I think ill pass. Lol.

Good idea Shawn

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